Forældrekommissionen is a nationwide association and movement of parents of children experiencing concerning or involuntary school absence. Its mission is to help reverse the rise in involuntary school absence by strengthening and organising parent communities, so families do not have to stand alone, support can come earlier, and parents’ experiences become part of the solutions.

The association grew out of the mobilisation surrounding the Cavling-nominated documentary series Skolens tabte børn. As families’ stories became visible, it became clear that what may appear to be an individual family’s private struggle is in fact a shared societal challenge. Within just a few months, Forældrekommissionen has grown to more than 2,500 members across 96 of Denmark’s 98 municipalities.

Forældrekommissionen is founded on the understanding that complex welfare challenges cannot be solved by systems, professionals or families working separately. Professional expertise and well-functioning systems are essential, but so are the knowledge, relationships and resources found among people and within communities.

The work is built around three interconnected approaches: organised parent communities, documentary storytelling and systemic change work, bringing parents’ lived experiences together with professional knowledge and decision-making power.

The ambition is to create a movement:
from isolation to community
from powerlessness to agency
from individual experience to shared knowledge
from shared knowledge to change.

The movement takes shape through four interconnected communities:

• Parent groups, where facilitated programmes give parents a safe space to meet others who recognise their situation and strengthen their wellbeing and agency.
• Local communities, where families build relationships, activities and new opportunities close to their everyday lives.
• Action communities, where parents turn their experiences into shared learning and concrete change together with professionals, schools, municipalities and others.
• A national collaborative community, where parents, civil society, municipalities, and professional and knowledge-based organisations develop solutions and learn across contexts.

These communities are intended both to strengthen individual families and to generate knowledge that can contribute to earlier support and lasting change.

Stories that can create change

Art and documentary storytelling are central to Forældrekommissionen’s work for change. Stories can make what is otherwise difficult to see or understand feel human and tangible. They can break down taboos, create recognition and open up new conversations across families, professions and systems.

When one family’s story is told, others may realise that they are not alone. When many stories are brought together, patterns become visible. And when those patterns become visible, it becomes possible to understand the challenge in new ways and develop solutions together. For us, the story does not end when it has been told. It should help turn individual experience into shared knowledge, and shared knowledge into the will and ability to create change.

At Thoravej 29, Forældrekommissionen contributes parents’ lived experiences, strong mobilisation and a documentary perspective on the challenges facing the welfare system. Here, this knowledge can meet artistic practices, other disciplines and societal actors and be transformed into new communities and solutions.

The initiative for Forældrekommissionen was started by Louise Gielov, Jens Langhorn, Mette Bjerregaard and Maja Schmidt, who bring different experiences, perspectives and areas of expertise to the work. The association is being developed together with parents from across Denmark, whose experiences, needs and engagement help shape its direction, communities and work for change.