Lessons from the Stellenbosch and Jönköping Municipal Partnership
Contributors: Chantal Côte & Robin Alnäs
This is a practical toolbox designed to guide the implementation of Normstorm in classrooms and communities across South Africa and beyond. Normstorm is a method designed to break the silence. It is a value-driven educational approach that engages young people through dialogue and artivism, fostering critical reflection on norms while promoting equality, inclusion, and active youth participation. It illustrates the power of youth empowerment, norms examination, democratic learning, local leadership and international solidarity.
Originating in Jönköping Municipality, Sweden, Normstorm was transported to South Africa through a municipal partnership to create a global impact on a global problem. The response from teachers, politicians and students alike was overwhelmingly positive. Learners, from one side of the equator to the other, face the same challenges – so why not apply the same method to make a positive difference?
The application of the method shows how municipalities can serve as incubators of change by listening to their youth, investing in education and creating safe spaces for youth to share their perspectives. This toolbox condenses the experience into a blueprint for adapting the Normstorm method in South Africa and other contexts outside of Sweden.