We have been to: Kristiansand, Trondheim, Oslo, Asker&Bærum, Tromsø, Molde, Stavanger and Bergen.
Springboard addresses the difficulties that people of immigrant background face in Norway particularly as they relate to securing employment or growing their own businesses.
Springboard empowers immigrants, especially women, with the tools they need to start their own businesses. The primary goal of this project is to provide professional training through detailed courses and mentorship for immigrants to secure the skills and knowledge they need to improve their lives and start sustainable businesses.
Training will be provided across via in-person and digital courses on vital topics and information needed to successfully start and grow a business (i.e. making a business plan, business strategy, accounting, marketing and branding, technology tools to grow your business) and/or find work. The in-person courses will take place in six Norwegian cities.
*There are no costs involved in participating in the program.
People of immigrant backgrounds encounter varying degrees of discrimination on the grounds such as gender, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual preference or socio-economic position. In Norway today, many immigrants (women and men alike) believe that they are unlikely to secure skilled work regardless of their academic attainment and professional experience. They often attribute this to their race, ethnicity, religion, language barrier and the perception of being “the other” or foreign.
This belief continues to be the trend and has now become the status quo, as newly arrived immigrant people learn that their opportunities are limited. For those able to secure employment, they are often employed in low-skilled jobs. With Springboard, we plan to challenge societal limitations that have been internalised by people in our target group, and chart a new way forward, together.
The primary goals of this project are to amplify the voices of immigrants on the economic, social and professional challenges they face, and, to provide a training platform for business skills acquisition and entrepreneurship. This project seeks to not only highlight existing problems but also find actionable solutions by engaging with stakeholders across social and economic sectors. Through this series of events, we aim to facilitate competence development, business understanding and strengthened self-esteem for immigrant people in cities across Norway.
With Springboard, we aim to amplify the conversation on professional empowerment for our target group, whilst creating a platform for visibility, job opportunities, and socio-economic progress for immigrant and minority groups in Norway. In so doing, we hope to break barriers, create networks and enable employment opportunities that will empower.
18 – 65 years of age, and identify as being an immigrant, a member of a minority group, or a repat.
Have an interest in starting your own company and may already have a business idea.
Self-starter, energetic, ambitious and eager to improve your professional and personal life.
Over 16 hours of learning that includes business skills acquisition, branding, marketing and networking.
Courses on relevant topics that include Business Strategy, Digital Marketing, Financial & Legal requirements that is accessible 24/7.
Increase your network & opportunities. Learn from experts & experienced entrepreneurs.
We will hold in-person workshops in cities across Norway throughout the year. The Springboard workshop will provide skills and tools needed to accelerate your business acumen and grow your business. Selected participants will receive tailored feedback on their ideas and projects. They will also learn from industry experts and entrepreneurs who will share tools and best practices.
The digital platform will provide various multi-media resources full of video courses, documents and tools to assist your entrepreneurial journey. Participants of the on-site workshops will also join the digital platform to access additional resources and continue learning and improving their skills from the comfort of their homes.
This platform is free and open (with registration) to everyone and members of our target groups across Norwegian towns, cities and communes.
More information will bes sent out to participants and published on our social media.
Founder, Diversify & Mettle Consult
Economist, with expertise in Entrepreneurship, Business Strategy, Monetisation & Growth
Founder, Papillon Bergen & Co-Founder of Support not Protect
Project Partner, Panelist & Workshop Facilitator
Founder, Inter-Nationals
Panelist & Workshop Facilitator with expertise in Finance
Associate Professor, University of Bergen
Panelist & Workshop Facilitator
Program Director, Catalysts
Panelist & Workshop Facilitator with expertise in Project Design, Management, and Research
Founder, Manifold
Workshop Facilitator with expertise in Project Design and Execution
Founder, Network for Work
Workshop Facilitator with expertise in Communication and Networking
Consultant, Bjørnefjorden Kommune
Panelist & Workshop Facilitator
Program Director, Diversify
Springboard Project Management
Founder, TechUp
Mentor & Course Facilitator with expertise in Website Development, SME Accounting & Digitalisation
Director of Partnerships, Diversify
Multi-city Project Facilitation
Project Manager, Diversify
Multi-city Project Manager
Founder, SAWA Foods
Mentor & Workshop Facilitator, with expertise in Business Idea Generation, Validation & Design Thinking
Community Manager, Diversify
Events & Community Director, Brand Execution
IT Consultant, Netlight Consulting
Workshop Facilitator with expertise in Agile Methods, Customer Focus, Build-Measure-Learn & MVP
Social Worker, Bergen Kommune
Panelist with expertise in Project Startup and Management
Founder, Startup Consultancy & Adjunct lecturer in Entrepreneurship, BI
Workshop Facilitator with expertise in Business idea Creation & Validation, Business & Revenue Models, Fundraising & Investment
Organisational Psychologist & Speaker's Coach
Panelist & Workshop Facilitator with expertise in Design-Thinking and Research & Analysis
CEO, Lelo-Development
Panelist & Workshop Facilitator with expertise in International Business, Marketing, Innovation Management & Branding
Founder @ Decarbonify
Panelist & Experience Sharing with expertise in Sustainability & Circular Economy
Founder, Elenovations
Panelist with expertise in Electrical & Telecommunication Engineering, Bio-electrical Research & Development
CEO, Fotobaren AS
Workshop facilitator with expertise in Business Development, Corporate Partnerships and Strategy
Speaker, Coach and Intercultural Trainer at the Stavanger Chamber of Commerce
Workshop facilitator with expertise in Project Management, Intercultural Competencies
Founder, Living Seeds
Workshop Facilitator with expertise in Business and Personal Development
Founder of Salsitas AS and Seeds of Norway
Panelist and Experience Sharing
Geologist and Founder of Guillem Cheung Photography
Panelist and Experience Sharing
Entrepreneur and Founder of Startup Migrants
Panelist
Senior Associate, Ernst & Young
Experience Sharing
Founder, The Oslo Desk
Experience Sharing
CEO, TheFactory Academy
Experience Sharing
Chief Talent Sourcer, Avantgarde Search
Panelist with expertise in job opportunities and career development.
Lecturer/Assistant Professor in Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Innovation,
BI
Workshop Facilitator with expertise in Strategy, Product and Pricing, and Investments Policy
Founder, Adapt360 and The Mars Society Scandinavia
Experience Sharing
Communications Director, Founder Institute
Workshop Facilitator with expertise in Communications and Business Development
Founder, ENK på 1-2-3
Workshop Facilitator with expertise in operations management and accounting.
Professor of Cross-cultural Psychology, University of Bergen
Experience Sharing
Professor of Strategy, Norwegian School of Economics (NHH)
Workshop Facilitator with expertise in Business Strategy, Growth and Management
CHRO and Internal Communications, Grieg Seafood ASA
Panelist with expertise in HR Consulting, Crisis Management, International Project Management and Business Development
Consultant, Fargespill; Public Speaker
Panelist with expertise in Research, Public Speaking and Teaching, with focus on diversity and leadership
Community Manager, StartupLab Bergen
Workshop Facilitator with expertise in Sustainable Innovation and Design Thinking
Performance Marketing Specialist, AG&
Workshop Facilitator with expertise in Digital Marketing and Communications
Founder and CEO, VINCO Innovation Consulting
Workshop Facilitator with expertise in Innovation and Business Development
Founder of Hunter and
Florence; Visual Designer
at Huma
Workshop Facilitator
Researcher at NHH,
Public Speaker,
and Podcaster
Workshop Facilitator
Founder of Flow
Concepts
Panelist
Adviser, Agder fylkeskommune on the project Likestilt Arbeidsliv
Panelist
Works in rehabilitation, member of Kristiansand City Council, Chairman of the Borad of FIDA
Panelist
Head of Intellectual Property, Elkem ASA
Panelist
CEO & CoFounder CoWorx AS
Panelist and Workshop Facilitator
CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, Kristiansand region
Panelist
Project Manager, Agder fylkeskommune
Panelist and Workshop Facilitator
CEO at LundConsult AS
Workshop Facilitator
Senior adviser at University of Agder
Workshop Facilitator
MA student in Global Development and Social Planning at the University of Vest Agder
Experience Sharing
Co-founder of PenguinUp
Experience Sharing
Co-founder of PenguinUp
Experience Sharing
Consultant at Enkindled Vision
Workshop Facilitator
Co-founder of Corn Design
Experience Sharing
CEO of Dealflow
Panelist
Senior Advisor at the Research and Innovation Department at University of Bergen
Panelist
Founder of Goscore
Experience Sharing
Founder of Intipakucha
Experience Sharing
Co-founder of Roots & Fruits Norway
Experience Sharing
Specialist Manager at Apriil
Workshop Facilitator
Senior Advisor at Azets
Workshop Facilitator
Advokat/Special Counsel at SANDS
Workshop Facilitator
Linn is a polyglot with work experience from service, journalism, graphics and illustrations and social media management. She has a bachelors in media studies and sociology from the University of Hong Kong and a masters in journalism from the University College of Volda. Linn has been active in public debates about identity and belonging and is pursuing additional studies in migration and social geography. Her past experiences include volunteering for a range of multicultural events and illustrative work for Samora Forum. At Diversify she is a project manager and DEIB associate, supporting the organization’s work on DEIB surveys, workshops and mentorship programs.
Founded by Selim Ablo-Nielsen & Dr. Phaedria Marie St.Hilaire, ProWoc has catalysed an increased focus on intersectional and ethnic diversity in Denmark. ProWoc provides a community for Women of Colour (WoC) to be empowered and supported in their professional and personal development. They promote positive images of WoC and established an Impact Award that honours the achievements of WoC role models. ProWoc promotes allyship and collaborates with individuals, organisations and companies from different ethnicities, sexes and industries to make sustainable change.
Jasmin Assulin is a DEI (diversity, equity & inclusion), racial equity & communications professional and the CEO & Co-founder of deidei, a Helsinki-based consulting agency helping organizations on their DEI and inclusive communications transformation journeys. Her much-praised strength is combining her extensive DEI expertise at the intersection of business and society.
Yesmith is a DEI Consultant and Business Strategist who has been advocating for more inclusive organizational practices in Finland throughout her career. Yesmith constantly engages in conversations related to how structural changes are needed in order to have a truly inclusive approach to diversity in the workplace and in the society at large.
Nordic Women in Tech Awards is a non-profit initiative and once a year we gather to celebrate the achievements of female role models across all Nordic countries. Our goal is to highlight the outstanding female figures and share their successful stories with the general public, in order to attract & inspire the new generation of women wanting to take on the challenging and exciting path in the tech industry.
Thelma Kristín Kvaran is a partner and a recruiter/head-hunter at Intellecta, a recruitment and consulting agency in Iceland. Thelma is also the Project Manager of the Gender Equality Scale, a project established by the Association of Businesswomen in Iceland. Thelma has advocated for equality in the workplace and has used her platform to get many of Iceland’s biggest companies, municipalities, and institutions to sign a pledge where they make it their mission to even out the gender gap in their workplace. Thelma has held lectures and appeared in the media multiple times where her emphasis has been on diversity, equal opportunities, equal representation in the workplace, media and more. Thelma is a board member at the Association of Young Businesswomen in Iceland.
The purpose of the Mimmit koodaa -program (women code -program) is to increase gender equality in the Finnish software industry by breaking the stereotype that coding is only for men.
The core of the program is to provide easily accessible coding workshops free of charge for women who are interested in coding but have no previous experience in it. The long-term objective of #MimmitKoodaa is to help give future generations an equal opportunity to study and flourish in the IT field, especially in the software industry. The program is powered by the Finnish Software and E-business Association and its member companies.
Astrid Sundberg is a People + Talent leader with 26 years’ experience in the STEM sector, specialising within the start up and scale up climate. Astrid is a frequent contributor to DEIB events as a keynote speaker, panelist, moderator, presenter and facilitator. She’s also a Google accredited facilitator of the #IamRemarkable workshop, delivering sessions in her spare time to raise awareness around bias and discrimination. Currently, as Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Oda she has a fundamental and strategic role, building a Global Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging programme.
GeoSilica develops daily supplements that naturally repair, recover and renew your body from head to toe. We use advanced technology to harvest and process the minerals found in Iceland’s volcanic earth. Our products are pure, natural, vegan certified and sustainably produced. We believe in manufacturing and developing products in harmony with nature, using minerals from deep within the earth while leaving a minimal trace on the planet. GeoSilica believes there is a clear link between diversity inclusion and successful business.
Sidekick is a digital therapeutics innovator. The company operates a digital care platform, providing a 360-degree support to people with chronic illnesses – including remote monitoring, treatment adherence and disease-specific education – driven by gamification, resulting in industry-leading retention rates and proven to boost health outcomes. The platform is a CE-marked, Class I Medical Device.
Marianne Egelund Siig, CEO of Mannaz, is a respected strategic leader dedicated to creating value and purpose for people, companies and society at large. Marianne is a thought leader when it comes to equal opportunities, diversity and inclusion. She has successfully designed and executed transformations related to organizational strategies and development, including diversity and inclusion, for more than 20 years. In 2022, Marianne published her book “Gid vi Gad” (Wish we would), a collection of articles and essays on various ED&I subjects.
Jyoti Sohal-David is the Founder & CEO of Skillhus, a recruitment and consultancy agency that specializes in increasing diversity and inclusion in Norwegian workplaces. As an entrepreneur, recruiter, diversity coach, and passionate individual she has facilitated and delivered workshops within the diversity and inclusion space. Her multicultural background and experiences of working and living abroad led her to pursue her passion for working in the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging space.
Johanna Lundin, gender expert , CEO and founder of Equalate AB. Johanna has worked with gender mainstreaming, equality and diversity since 2008 and has great experience of working with core values in organisations and government agencies with valid results. Johanna has developed new gender and diversity programs and tools for organisations in the public and private sector and is committed to the thought of making gender equality in her lifetime.
Charlotte Biering is Marel’s first D&I Specialist, based in Iceland but operating across 30+ countries. She brings a multidisciplinary and intersectional approach to her work, drawing from her experiences working across multiple industries and cultures. She spent several years working in international development, disaster response, gender equality and social justice, for organizations such as the Red Cross Climate Center, ActionAid and UN Global Compact, before moving into management consultancy, supporting energy companies in improving their societal and environmental impact.
In 2015, she made D&I the sole focus of her career, first working within male-dominated corporate finance and subsequently co-leading EY’s Women. Fast forward platform.
She is working to develop a culture of inclusion at Marel through education and initiatives; by applying a D&I lens to policies, processes and projects and equipping employees with the tools to be more inclusive.
Sammen om en jobb is a social enterprise working for an inclusive society where everyone gets to use their skills and potential. This is done through a mentor programme matching skilled immigrants with mentors with long professional experience from Norway.
The program matches mentors and mentees who share the same professional background. The mentees receive field specific guidance and support in relation to their job search in Norway. They meet 1-2 times a month for 6 months.During the 6 months the Mentee develops a short term as well as a long term plan with specific steps to take in order to access a job within their field. The Mentors also develop a greater understanding of different cultures and the structural and cultural barriers that people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds face entering the Norwegian labour market.
The Program has proved to be successful in integrating highly qualified immigrants into the Norwegian labor market and some into further education. Our partners include big businesses and the public sector.
Papillon is an organization that stands for an inclusive society. We aim to empower young cross-cultural people to stand in their own choices by, among other things, offering a meeting place, networking, and guidance. Papillon mobilizes the participants to fight the challenges they face and to become resourceful and independent. Therefore, encourage participants to live an independent life, get an education, fit into the workplaces, and participate in the public sector. Furthermore, we function as a bridge-builder in society and contribute to social inclusion, which again contributes to the experience and feeling of community and belonging.
Þroskahjálp, The National Association of Intellectual Disabilities, was founded in 1976. It’s objective is to advocate for the rights and promote the interests of persons with disabilities. The organization puts particular emphasis on being a strong advocate for people with intellectual disabilities and children with disabilities, and to empower people with intellectual disabilities to express their opinions and will and to promote and protect their rights and interests. Everybody should enjoy the same rights and opportunities in a diverse society.
The Reykjavík Global Forum is co-hosted annually in Reykjavík, Iceland by Women Political Leaders (WPL) and the Government and Parliament of Iceland. The Forum convenes a diverse group of women leaders from all sectors to share their stories, ideas and solutions on how to further advance society and positively develop the number of women in leadership positions. By prioritizing diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging the forum creates a platform where different voices are heard and accounted for. To represent participation on equal grounds, all the participants of the Forum are labeled as conversationalists, as they equally contribute to the conversation and success of this ever growing Forum and Community of women leaders.
We’re Futurice. We help forward-thinking organizations develop resilience and take control of their futures.
We are experts in software development, design and strategy, and we combine these capabilities to transform organisations at every level.
We believe in co-creation, ultimate learning opportunities and cross-competence teams.
We are committed to building an equitable and sustainable company, society and future. Our values – trust, transparency, care and continuous improvement – are at the core of everything that we do.
Develop Diverse is on a mission to create equal opportunities for all in the workplace – and we believe inclusive language is a key in achieving this. We have built a writing platform that detects biased language in text and suggests more inclusive alternatives, so companies can make their communication more inclusive. We currently focus on making job ads more inclusive, but aim to extend our platform to cover all types of text and communication channels.
As a European Tech leader specialized in consulting, digital services and software development, we span today over 30 countries with our 47 000 employees. Our mission is: “Together, building a positive future by making digital work for people”, reflecting our firm belief that digital technology can create opportunity and progress for all.
We have chosen to be a “contributor” company involved in building a sustainable world in which everyone has a part to play. We see our contribution as sustainable, human-centred and guiding. Our internal work on DEIB activities are focused on:
In that way our aim is to be a catalyst for change, also in the area of DEIB at the workplace.
Samkaup is one of the biggest retail companies in Iceland. It runs 65 stores in all parts of Iceland and on average the company has around 1.300 employees in over 660 full-time positions. One of the company’s main goals is to be a desirable workplace where the emphasis is placed on a positive and healthy culture, equality and open communication, opportunities for employees to increase education, training, and career development and good information sharing. The company’s corporate culture promotes that all employees can develop, both personally and professionally.
At the Human Library you can borrow books, like at any library. The difference is that the “books” are people with personal stories and experiences. Every book represents a group in society who are marginalised or targeted with prejudice and discrimination because of their identity, lifestyle, social status, religious belief, sexuality, ethnic origin etc. Everyone has prejudices, but not everyone can challenge these, within a safe space. The Human Library offers the opportunity to meet your prejudice and not judge someone.
Oda is a leading online grocery store delivering a huge range of affordable groceries to millions of doorsteps. Using data driven methodology, with a focus on sustainability, they’re building the world’s most efficient retail system. Online shopping with home delivery is thought to be better for the climate than driving to the store, with an average Oda van delivering food to 26 families. Oda offers climate receipts for every customer order, developed in collaboration with Cicero, Center of Climate Research. Launched in the winter of 2020, this feature offers an overview of the climate cost for different foods. This unique feature encourages customers to grow knowledge about food emissions and be conscious of what they put in their basket. Oda has already changed to LED-lightning in their warehouses, saving 1.700.000 kWh per year and aim to have 100% renewable energy consumption by 2025. In 2020, every 5th burger sold by Oda was vegan and a vegetarian lentil soup was among the top 10 recipes bought by customers in 2020. With a bold ambition to cut emissions of the products they sell by 50%, Oda have pledged to continue working with Green nudging in collaboration with Cicero. Oda has also recently set new targets relating to animal welfare while actively promoting plant based diets in campaigns such as “Green January,” with a food waste percentage of 0.5%. Oda were recognised with the 2021 Norwegian Diversity Award owing to the high numbers of people employed from the immigrant community of Norway. They currently have 31.5% women in the company with a dedicated team of people tirelessly and passionately working together with the strategy for Sustainability, Diversity and Inclusion.
The Center for Sustainability Research at the Stockholm School of Economics is a multidisciplinary social science research center focused on diverse challenges in sustainable development. We connect areas in socioeconomic development, global governance, migration and integration and sustainable markets. We are especially interested in the connection between the climate and environment and the social dimensions of sustainable development with special emphasis on diverse human rights issues. Our research is scientifically rigorous but also relevant and applicable to practitioners.
The Social Few is a data and insight driven growth agency focusing on enabling sustainable growth by including more perspectives. We focus on enabling sustainable growth with the purpose of future-proofing organizations and societies – built by all and for all.
We were founded in 2016, initially as a think-tank with the aim of developing HOW TO methodologies for efforts regarding diversity, inclusion and belonging. In 2019 we had established a clear proof of concept and many business cases and therefore decided that it was time to launch our methods in the Scandinavian market. We became the first agency in the Nordics with focus on growth and innovation by adding more perspectives, based on data-driven methodology. Today we are the leading agency in data driven inclusion – in Europe.
The Social Few is founded by three members, all with different perspectives, backgrounds and from different sectors, industries and disciplines. Collectively, we speak many languages and come from different regions of Sweden and the world.
As do our partners and suppliers, within their respective areas of expertise.
This gives us not only expertise within our field but also deeper perspectives and knowledge regarding the very complex target audiences we include in all of our efforts. Our way of working is digital, iterative and incremental with the focus of solving and overcoming challenges, in a quantifiable and measurable way.
Ka Man Mak, a British-born Hong Konger, is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Oslo Desk where she leverages different journalistic and trauma-informed approaches to transform Norwegian media by portraying racialized immigrant communities more accurately and completely. Ka Man covers immigration, identity, human rights, digital violence and violence in closed relationships through the gender and race lens. Through the She Witness project, she tackles the latter topic with two other NGOs. She has also appeared in numerous panel discussions.
Viaplay Group is the Nordic region’s leading entertainment provider. We entertain millions of people every day with our streaming services, TV channels and radio stations, and our production companies create content that is experienced around the world. We make life more entertaining by telling stories, touching lives, and expanding worlds –from live sports, movies and series to music and original shows.
At Viaplay group we embrace diversity by appreciating and including varied perspectives. We are committed to providing equal access, opportunity & resources for everyone. We believe that equality, diversity & inclusion will lead us to better decisions, bring forward greater creativity, give us increased engagement, and a highly motivating sense of belonging for our people.
To join us as a mentor at ZENITH program please fill the form