Background:
ChangeFactory was founded based closely on what children told us: that if we are to succeed in creating a better society, children must be included in developing ideas, finding solutions, and making decisions. The vision was to build an organisation where adults and young people work as equals, with a shared understanding that we need one another. This requires adults in the organisation who are willing to seek understanding, even when challenged on what they have learned, know, or believe, or when young people question what they say, write, or do. It also requires adults who have the courage to be honest and open with young people.
Why can it be challenging for adults to work as equal with young people? Many years of experience have taught us about both the challenges and the opportunities:
- We have found very few organisations or initiatives in Norway or elsewhere in Europe with experience that we could learn from.
- Most of the young people in the organisation have been attending school while contributing. This has made it challenging to organise collaboration between young people and adults within standard working hours.
- Some adults who started at ChangeFactory believed they would support the way the organisation was run, but ended up wanting to turn ChangeFactory into a regular workplace. The challenges were particularly related to pace, flexibility in working hours, and the desire for adults to contribute enough. Impatient young people pushed for this.
What ChangeFactory does:
ChangeFactory’s work is carried out through close collaboration between young people with experience from different public systems and adult Factory Workers. The summarized views collected through the qualitative surveys determine the organisation’s strategy and priorities. Young people and adults work as equal partners in implementing this strategy. The young people help ensure that ChangeFactory’s work remains true to the views of children. It is a powerful way of working, but not always an easy one in practice. Even so, we continue to work in this way because we have seen the remarkable results it creates and the opportunities it makes possible.
What ChangeFactory is doing now:
- Publishes a book in autumn 2026 describing 15 years of experience building an organisation based on equal collaboration between young people and adults.
- Challenges authorities and services based on what we have learned about how solutions must be developed in close collaboration between children and adults.