A couple of the projects that have been granted funding, including Nordic Youth Media Lab, look at improving young people’s media analysis skills to help them identify disinformation and propaganda online.
“These are incredibly important topics at a time when democracy is under pressure and AI is gaining increasing influence over digital platforms that can be used for disinformation purposes,” says Jack Hancock, chair of the decision-making expert group for Norden 0–30.
At the same time, he mentions that there are fewer applications than expected concerning topics such as sustainable peace, democracy, and security.
“Although these topics are not directly underrepresented, we haven’t seen as large a wave of such initiatives as we might have expected. That said, applications often come with a certain delay in relation to global developments,” says Jack.
High level of quality among applications
According to Jack, this round has been one of the most difficult to assess during the expert group’s mandate period.
“There were a lot of applications, the majority of which were very good – exciting, well-written, and with the potential to achieve a lot for many different target groups. The initiatives also often covered several application criteria simultaneously,” he says.
“A single application could cover both environmental and social sustainability aspects, which we appreciated. The Scandinavian Cello School is a good example, whereby young people are taught music and sustainability at the same time. In addition, many of the projects also had broad representation from across the Nordic Region, which we also take into account in our assessment,” Jack concludes.
Examples of applications that were granted funding
- Esport Denmark was granted funding for the project Nordisk Esport i øjenhøjde med unge – fokus på digital dannelse (Nordic e-sports from a young people’s perspective – focus on digital learning), which seeks to establish a positive gaming culture based on community, fair play, and Nordic values. The project gives children and young people the opportunity to create a Nordic e-sports culture for tomorrow, that includes and respects everyone.
- Stockholm Poet Society has been granted funding to bring stage poets together from across the Nordics to take part in Svenska mästerskapen i poetry slam med nordisk medverkan (Swedish poetry slam championships with Nordic participation) in May 2026, with the winner to be chosen by the audience. Street poetry is a young genre. Teenage finalists are not an uncommon sight, and the audience is also young.
- Scandinavian Cello School for young musicians has been granted funding for a two-year talent programme called 360° Musiker (360° Musicians) based on proven and globally recognised pilot projects. This collaboratively designed elite-level training programme combined with external activities scales up a world-leading model for sustainable music education.