Inspired activity and good memories

September 15, 2014

Every year, UNICEF Norway receives inquiries from children and young people, but also adults, who are dreading the summer vacation. Everything that is tough and difficult can be experienced more strongly when the daily routines fall away. Some experience serious challenges such as neglect, substance abuse and poverty, while others dread the holidays because they have nothing to do or no one to spend time with.

- Feriesentralen is a digital campaign that reminds us that even in the summer, children who are struggling in everyday life need a safe hand to hold. At feriesentralen.no, everyone has the opportunity to post tips on simple and inclusive summer activities that are low or no cost," explains Kristin Oudmayer, Technical Manager at Unicef Norway, and adds:

- "It's a place you can go to get ideas for activities and inspiration to create good memories together with others.

Dagbladet has worked closely with Unicef for several years, including through the "Den ene" and "Stå sammen" projects.

- With Feriesentralen, Unicef highlights local initiatives across the country and gives everyone the opportunity to post tips in the form of text, video and photos. This triggered the editorial team to see the possibilities of a collaboration with Unicef," says Hilde Schjerve, editorial manager at Dagbladet.

Editorial focus
The collaboration between Dagbladet and Unicef Norway has been initiated and managed editorially. The result was a series of articles about special stories and local initiatives and events. All online articles were equipped with the Holiday Center's tip box, so that Dagbladet's readers could also submit their tips directly to Unicef Norway.

In addition, readers were encouraged to share tips and experiences by using #feriesentralen in social media.

- Although the collaboration was primarily aimed at dagbladet.no, it has also resulted in several good stories in the form of interviews and a documentary for Helgeavisa and DB+. "Through our articles, we have tried to capture the entire breadth of Feriesentralen," says Schjerve.

Great response
The response to Feriesentralen has been overwhelmingly positive, and Unicef has received hundreds of tips and inquiries from children and young people who have had a difficult time this summer.

- "Being able to share in people's desire to help others makes a deep impression on those of us who work with this," says Oudmayer.

In total, Dagbladet's stories about Feriesentralen have generated 435,000 views on desktop (226,000) and mobile (209,000).

- "In relation to the number of stories we have published, we are very pleased with the results," says Schjerve.

Even though summer is over, Feriesentralen is not closing down.

- "This year, as last year, we will use Feriesentralen to highlight that other vacations and holidays can also be difficult periods. We hope to inspire adults to be inclusive and generous at other times of the year," Oudmayer concludes.

Read the top three most read stories from desktop here:
Financing my vacation with bottles
- At the cabin, someone finally saw me
- During the summer holidays, I was locked up as punishment