This post is the third in our series of interviews with participants of Community Alphabet, Via’s international peer learning program. Community Alphabet (CA) connects them active residents interested in inclusive participatory approaches to community building. It creates space for learning and uses practical examples from various European countries to show ways to bring together people with different life experiences and worldviews. “CA participants explore specific approaches and examples that shed light on themes that are crucial to community building. Our goal is to ensure that community initiatives in Central and Southern Europe have the necessary knowledge, tools and support to confidently implement inclusive participatory processes. We have also developed and run the Trust Community website, which offers case studies, videos, e-books on relevant themes and contacts to our participants and other community builders engaged in the program,” says Helen Lenda, who leads the Community Alphabet program.
Abbas Sbeity is a young designer, curator, and cultural worker originally from Lebanon. His work there included, for example, research exploring how young people in Palestinian camps in Lebanon perceive the spaces they inhabit. He now lives and works in the port city of Helsingborg in southern Sweden. Here, in the former working-class district of Söder, which is now home to people from over 40 different ethnic backgrounds and is socially segregated from the northern part of the city, Abbas leads the Söderscen project. “Söder is perceived as an area associated with unemployment and crime. Our goal is to change this perception, revitalize the district and provide local residents with opportunities to meet and organize community events,” explained Abbas, who was a participant in the 2023-24 Community Alphabet program.
How can Söder be transformed into a safe neighborhood? Abbas firmly believes that the first step is to engage directly in public spaces. “In Gustav Adolfs Torg square at the center of the district, we created a pop-up container where we talk to people, asking them about their experiences with public space and how they would like to help shape the community,” Abbas said.
Abbas collaborates with a community center, various associations and groups and individuals to create a diverse array of activities and projects that enliven the space and make the entire neighborhood safer and more attractive for residents. “We host a pop-up café, play board games, assemble puzzles, chat with people, and raise awareness about the project. We have many cultural events—concerts, exhibitions—but we also offer acrobatics and juggling classes or cycling lessons for girls,” he noted. “The most beautiful thing about Söder is the multicultural atmosphere of different cultures, which is very vibrant.”
“Having a public space is not enough to create a safe neighborhood. It needs to be given value through community events planning. It became clear to us that we have to primarily support residents from various ethnic backgrounds who want to organize community activities."
Through Community Alphabet, Abbas drew inspiration from an asset-based community development approach. He began considering how he, together with his colleagues at local community support organizations, could strengthen some of Söder’s existing resources: the active people within local associations, who were already supporting the community from within. This, he came to believe, might be more meaningful for the long-term sustainability of the Söder community. “I realized that the strongest asset our community has is its diverse local associations. That’s what we decided to strengthen,” he said, noting that he and his colleagues organized a series of workshops to help people from various civic associations and ethnic backgrounds in the neighborhood understand how to apply for city grants and acquire essential skills that would empower them as stronger actors in the neighborhood.
He continued: “I see the role as now investing more in the sustainability and independence of the local associations in running their own placemaking and/or engagement initiatives. Supporting the local associations would help them map and understand the local (public) resources that exist. This could be an opportunity for them to think of their activities in a strategic way and support their efforts towards their desired goals.”
Two of the five associations which participated in the workshop series applied for a small grant to organize a summer event. The association that works with differently abled children put on an inclusion virtual reality experience for children with special needs at the public square.
“The Community Alphabet program prompted me to reflect on the question of who we give space to organize events in public areas. We successfully engaged not only minority groups but also older Swedish women, who greatly appreciated the opportunity to be part of something larger."
Abbas’s efforts to revitalize the area have also increased Söder’s visibility throughout the city of Helsingborg. “Last year, Söder was included for the first time in the traditional Christmas markets held in various parts of the city, and the train that runs between the markets now stops in Söder as well,” Abbas Sbeity reports.
Read more in this case study about Abbas’ work in Söder, and watch this video about how Community Alphabet influenced his work there.
