develop your place

Welcome to the course week January 11-16 where we in Leader Bergslagen together with Finnish Leader Satasilta deepen our understanding of how we best help our youth to take part in everything the EU offers. The theme is: Ready to Lead – Preparing Group Leaders for International Erasmus+ Youth Exchanges.

Local Development Sweden is an association for organizations that work with rural development through the leader method. The award ”Sweden's best Leader project” is given in two categories; Project of the Year and Young Leader Project of the Year. Common to all finalists is that they show how faith in the future can be translated into action.

Vivi at the Leader office is exploring the terrain to see what the interest looks like for Bergslagen's youth and young adults to take part in the opportunities that the EU offers.
* Volunteer jobs within Sweden and abroad for young adults?
* Youth trips within Erasmus+?
* Free Interrail tickets for 18-year-olds?

Leader Bergslagen's board has since the spring of 2023 distributed just over 40 million kronor to 70 larger projects as well as over 240 checks, the smaller activities.

Conversations about climate and transition is a two-year project run by Leader Bergslagen in connection with the association being accepted to become a Climate Pact Partner within the EU in 2026.

We at the leader office help you to find more ways to cover costs if Leader is not for you. We have gathered tips on more financiers of projects.

The new long-term budget brings together several EU funds in a common plan. Leader mandatory measure for Rural Areas with special constraints. The Swedish Board of Agriculture is now working on developing proposals for measures that include Leader. Leader Bergslagen will begin developing a new strategy at the end of 2026. The goal is for the next period to start in 2028.

Vivi at the Leader office is exploring the terrain to see what the interest looks like for Bergslagen's youth and young adults to take part in the opportunities that the EU offers.
* Volunteer jobs within Sweden and abroad for young adults?
* Youth trips within Erasmus+?
* Free Interrail tickets for 18-year-olds?

There are just over two million kronor available to apply for Leader checks. The LAG board makes ongoing decisions throughout the year about the small projects focused on business, youth, quality of life, preparedness, and the environment. Checks are also available for small feasibility studies, for example, if an association wants to develop in a new direction.

The board consists of members from all three sectors (private, non-profit, and public) and all ten municipalities. In addition, there is a network of 20 municipal officials with ”Leader on their desk.”.

A new compilation based on over 3000 Leader projects shows how local initiatives create long-term development throughout Sweden! Read the short compilation, dive into the full report – or watch a recording on Youtube.

Help for anyone communicating about a project or leader check. Important info about the information requirement.

The purpose of the check Association check LIVSKVALITET6 is to improve the living conditions for the people in Bergslagen. The goal is to implement sub-projects that contribute to achieving the goal ”Increased quality of life”.

Through the project, the foundation is laid for upcoming collaborations and productions with the newly formed theater association. The young people get to be involved in all parts of the production and with support from the adults, their long-standing dream comes true – to perform the musical Annie on stage.

The project is exciting in many ways. The goat has potential as a resource, both as a nature conservationist and a meat animal. Bergslagen's municipalities have smaller nature conservation areas that need to be kept open – but are too small to have cows.

Our wish is that Folkets hus in Kopparberg will become an obvious meeting place again and a building that can be used by many associations and individuals. The commitment is there for the house and we are slowly starting to jointly build where we stand. Of course, the association wants to work especially to reach, listen and create conditions for the needs and initiatives of children and young people. If the young people feel a safe and meaningful upbringing with adults who take their lives seriously, it gives them better conditions to handle and realize their life's desires.

This project is the result of long conversations between the non-profit, private and public sectors – a project group that met in a dream of challenging the Jante Act and the business mentality. The LAG board believes that the Hällefors Dream has good prospects for creating a lasting creative meeting place in Hällefors in the form of the “Dream Studio”. 

In the countryside, it is important that people come together and find common platforms where they can exchange experiences and inspiration for living more sustainably. This also creates a sense of community, which provides a synergy effect. Where fun and interesting courses are offered, it also becomes more attractive to live. 

Thanks to the project, Fredriksberg can offer a scenically located activity area for organized group training with training opportunities for as many people as possible - everything from high school students to pensioners - both trained and untrained.

Virsbo Sports Association is investing heavily in attracting the joy of movement among children and young people. The investment in the leader project is to prepare an asphalted activity path around the artificial turf field for cycling and inline skating.

The purpose of the association check Even more QUALITY OF LIFE is to improve living conditions for the people in Bergslagen. The goal is to implement sub-projects that contribute to achieving the goal of "Increased quality of life".

Within the framework of the feasibility study, structured work has been carried out with the aim of developing a decision basis for a possible new equestrian facility in Nora.

The goal of the project is that at least 8 subprojects related to community preparedness are implemented. The purpose of the check is to improve the living conditions for the people in Bergslagen. First out was the check Rescue Dog in Kopparberg!

Together with associations and companies, Norberg Municipality will work to make it easy to organize safe events. Among other things, free training is offered in CPR, fire safety and hosting.