Tjejzonens Storasystrar online wins the 2014 Surfa Lugnt award
Following a vote and jury assessment, this year's recipient of the Surfa Lugnt award has now been chosen. The winner was the support organization Tjejzonens Storasystrar på nätet, which receives SEK 25,000 for further development of the business.
For the third consecutive year, the Surfa Lugnt Award is given to the organization that best promotes communication between young people and adults online. Eight organizations were nominated for the award. After a vote involving several thousand participants, the three with the most votes went forward to a jury assessment. The jury selected the online support organization Tjejzonens Storasystrar as the winner of the 2014 Surfa Lugnt Award.
- It's great to be recognized by Surfa Lugnt. We have been at the forefront of online support for young people for many years and know how useful the internet can be in reaching out to those who need someone to listen when life feels heavy. The online conversations take place on the girls' terms, which means that the thresholds are low even for difficult conversations," says Lotta Zetterqvist, Head of Operations at Tjejzonen.
The Surfa Lugnt award will be presented on Safer Internet Day on Tuesday, February 11. The motivation for the Girl Zone Big Sisters Online is as follows:
With their commitment and thorough work, Tjejzonens Storasystrar på nätet has shown the way for how support organizations can work with the internet as an arena. Through trained volunteers, Big Sisters Online meets young girls with conversations both online and live and always on the girls' own terms.
With their supportive approach, which gives young girls hope for the future and increased confidence in themselves and others, Big Sisters Online is a good role model that exemplifies Surfa Lugnt's vision of the Internet as a positive place for communication. This makes Tjejzonens Storasystrar på nätet a worthy recipient of the 2014 Surfa Lugnt Award.
- According to the 2013 National Public Health Report, young girls between the ages of 15 and 24 are the group in society that feels the most anxiety and fear. The online Big Sisters of the Girl Zone work in a structured and committed way with young girls' difficult life issues. They are therefore a very important online support organization that deserves to be recognized with the Surfa Lugnt award," says Kristina Axén Olin, Chair of Surfa Lugnt.
About Tjejzonen
Tjejzonen has been working since 1998 to provide support and alleviate mental illness in young girls. With their Big Sister program, those who want can get support from an adult trained volunteer who through chat, Skype or live meetings is available a few hours a week. The chat is divided into two streams, one for topics of choice and one focused on eating disorder issues. In addition to basic training, the volunteers also receive continuous individual supervision while they are involved as Big Sisters. Tjejzonen has more than 10,000 contacts with young girls every year.
About the Surfa Lugnt Award
There are many good internet initiatives in Sweden that rarely get the attention they deserve. Surfa Lugnt wants to highlight the organizations that want to work for young people's and adults' communication online. That's why the Surfa Lugnt prize has been established, with the winner receiving SEK 25,000 for further development of the project.
For more information contact:
Marko Määttä, project manager Surfa Lugnt
0708-65 40 81