In the summer of 2025, Stockholm’s red-green government approved what they call an action plan against racism. The need is described as extensive. In January, they followed up with an LGBTQI training for municipal operations, and now yet another diploma program is being launched – this time against racism. However, growing racism against Swedes is left unaddressed.

According to a report from the City of Stockholm, racism is becoming normalized as early as preschool, and many teachers feel uncertain about how to handle the subject. Now, the city is offering support in the form of its new diploma course, which is said to provide concrete tools to combat racism.

The ambition is for the course to be implemented broadly throughout the city, where organizations can take the course and subsequently become certified.

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According to the City Councilor for Environment and Climate Åsa Lindhagen (Green Party), a mapping shows that the initiative is necessary.

– The political debate, of course, also has an impact on society, and the school is part of society. When racism increases in society, it increases in schools as well. We must take forceful action against this kind of normalization, she told DN.

Expensive Trainings

The new diploma program is part of the action plan against racism and is estimated to cost 1.7 million SEK. The training against racism and the LGBTQI certification together cost 450,000 SEK.

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– Racism can have very serious consequences for a child. Their mental health is negatively affected. Their schooling can also be negatively affected. In the worst case, this can leave marks for life, says Åsa Lindhagen.

Racism Against Swedes

The City of Stockholm’s action plan is specifically focused on afrophobia, antisemitism, antigypsyism, Islamophobia, and racism against the Sami – as usual, racism against Swedes is neither acknowledged nor considered a problem.

Recently, the Forum for Living History released another report showing that the vulnerability of school students has clearly increased since 2013. When the results are broken down, a clear difference emerges between different groups – the greatest increase in vulnerability has occurred among students born in Sweden with Swedish-born parents.

In the latest survey, 53 percent of students in this group reported being teased, 14 percent said they had been threatened, and 17 percent said they had been beaten.

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