The idea of starting a nerd association began with Fredrik and Jonathan, who work together at Nordmarken’s upper secondary school with students who have problematic school absences or a problematic school situation. There, they saw that many of the students they worked with lacked social and meaningful leisure activities, which made them even more isolated.
The solution was clear: to offer young people and adults with nerdy interests a meeting place where they could feel seen and welcome.
Proud nerds together
We gathered console games, role-playing games, books, card games, miniature painting kits and space to tinker together in a basement.
The association actively works toward equality and inclusion, and against discrimination. We conduct outreach activities to meet people who otherwise risk having no social contact at all. This is done through contact with the schools’ student health teams, welfare institutions and family care.
That the association has made an impact on the local community is made evident in the way we work together as a collective support system for young people who are struggling. The way we offer a forum for interactions between people who otherwise lack it. The conversations that occur between members often function as a form of adult education.
The association’s activities involve both creativity and collaboration between members, where lessons learned from both successes and setbacks become the basis for progression and development, in-game and in life.
The Young Reading Council in Årjäng
We feel that encouraging young people to read more, for example by using role-playing game material, is a great way to develop both vocabulary and imagination. Using texts that the participants are interested in creates natural motivation.
The NPNA Role Playing Group is a clear example – where participants benefit from each other’s differences in the shared adventure they embark upon through the game.
To play, you must read up on the different character traits, settings, rules and game mechanics. This helps maximize the game experience.
In our view, it motivates participants to read more when there is a personal interest in familiarizing yourself with how the game works.
In the association, we also try to highlight the history of games, films and other story mediums where older members may have nostalgia or a connection to retro media that they want to share.
We are passionate about all the fantastic things that are part of nerdy subcultures, and see that reading is an important part of continuing to develop in those spheres. This is exactly what we will do as part of the board for Årjäng’s Young Reading Council.