Swedish partner: Vara kommun

Inclusion in society – for all youth

The Project “Inclusion in Society – for all youth” is a two-year project adressing decision makers politicians, and officials in Huangshan China and Vara Sweden. The project is based on the fact that the number of youth with mental illnes is increasing.

The main focus is the development of a new strategy that promotes schools as an arena for preventive and promotive measures to reduce mental ilness among youth as well as a working method.

The project will focus on the right to good health (The Universal Declaration of Human Rights) and inclusion in society. Inclusion and good mental health together help to successfully reduce exclusion. Good public health is essential on an individual level as well as for society. Health impairment impacts the ability to participate and engage in society negatively, which ultimately influences the chanses to exercise democratic influence. Inequality in health is a threat to the fulfilment of important societal targets.

Project Area
Education
Swedish partner
Vara kommun
International partner
Huangshan City

Left-Behind Children Caring Support

The overall objective of the project is that local authorities will have a high level of competence about stay-at-home children and teenagers.

The project will primarily be conducted at the “Stay-at-home children and teenagers caring centre” in Qiankou Village but the methods and tools developed during the project and the results will be transferable to all centers in Huangshan City, both established and new. The left-behind children and teenagers Centre in Qiankou Village will offer professional support for the children and for their parents and grandparents. The employees and volunteers working at the center have got knowledge in professional methods and tools to be able to give the children and parents professional support. Their ability to give psychological counseling will have increased.

The expected results are:

  • the participants have got a pre-understanding about family systems, views on children and parents expectations on children’s ability at different ages in the both countries
  • the employees at the Centre in Qiankou Village have good knowledge in children’s basic needs
  • methods have been shared to get maintained communication and relationships between parents and children
  • the Stay-at-home center provides support for grandparents
  • activities for younger children have started
  • leisure activities for children and teenagers have been developed.
Project Area
Social care and wellbeing
Swedish partner
Vara kommun
International partner
Huganshan City

Sustainable Water Management

Both Vara and Huangshan are countryside municipalities with similar water-related problems such as eutrophication, contamination by pesticide residues and poorly treated wastewater from both households and industries.

The municipalities will therefore conduct a project focusing on different methods and techniques for managing, preserving and creating water of good quality.

The aim of the project is to gain knowledge about methods and techniques that can help solving today’s problems. The aim of the project will be achieved through visits in each municipality, a mutual exhibition and a folder containing both examples of techniques and methods as well as guidelines for preventive work with water:

Examples of expected results are:

  • At least 2% of the local residents will visit the project exhibition
  • At least 2 new guidelines for preventing pollution and contamination of surface water and/or ground water
  • A list of possible areas for future cooperation

In order to broaden the project, local entrepreneurs will also participate. The knowledge that emerges from the project will also be spread through each municipalities network using the produced folder.

Project Area
Technical Services and Infrastructure
Swedish partner
Vara kommun
International partner
Huangshan

School Development Project (upper pre-and sec level)

The collaborating project between Vara and Srikakulam concerns the development of didactic and pedagogical methodology within the field of mathematics in the two municipalities.

The executed inception phase established a memorandum where declined results in mathematics in Vara, together with a high level of school “drop outs” in Srikakulam formed the foundation of the proposed project. The teachers and school managers in the two municipalities saw the confiding relations, as a great possibility to collaborate on educational/didactic issues, developing teaching methods and approaches in the schools and municipalities.

The project objectives are:

  • That through the teacher’s network develops methods of observation, appreciative dialogues, supervision and action-research in order to reach better quality in the interaction between teacher-student in mathematics.
  • That a higher number of students in Vara reaches better scores at the National Tests in mathematics as a result of the project.
  • That a higher proportion of students in Srikakulam stay longer in education as a result of the partnership work.

In general the project also aims at deepen, broaden and further develop the mutual relations between the municipalities. Knowledge and understanding of the respective cultures, school conditions are hopefully going to be further increased for the benefit of the target groups within the two municipalities.

Project Area
Education
Swedish partner
Vara kommun
International partner
Srikakulam District

Storm Water Management

The overall objective of the project, Storm Water Management, is to increase the ecological and chemical status of lakes and watercourses in Vara and Huangshan.

The project will run for two years, during that time the project objective will be met.

The project objective is formulated as follows: To create a policy for storm water management. The project objective also contains to enhance the capacity within the municipalities, through a mutual knowledge exchange with the cooperation-partner.

Project Area
Environment/Climate change
Swedish partner
Vara kommun
International partner
Huangshan City