It was 2018 that Lund Municipality formally decided that Lund is an MRI city (city for human rights), then the first in the Nordic countries. This means that the municipality of Lund has adopted a systematic approach to working with human rights, where the idea permeates the municipality's work — for example, with policies, strategies and actions that can cover everything from security, education and care to urban building.

Since 1984, the headquarters of Lund have been located Raoul Wallenberg Institute (RWI), which is an academic research organization with offices and programs in 40 countries. The aim is to contribute to a broader understanding of and respect for human rights and international humanitarian law. Cooperation with other departments and faculties at Lund University is fundamental — as with the faculties of law, technology, economics and medicine. The Institute combines research with a commitment to see just and inclusive societies in which human rights are all involved.

The environment in Lund has also contributed to the national Institute for Human Rights It was placed in Lund.

“I think we have a dynamic environment in Lund around human rights,” says Morten Kjaerum, director of the Raoul Wallenberg Institute. We cooperate with the municipality, universities, the Institute for Human Rights and civil society and this makes Lund an attractive place that attracts modern employees who think this is important.

Human rights are at the heart of all activities. In the work of a municipality, this can mean creating transparency between drains and cooperating transversely with civil society and authorities.

- As an example, one can take the question of how to work on finding out why children want to leave school. Often you ask a lot of questions to the children about the municipality, the structure and so on, but not so many questions that make you know something about the children. When you do that, you get other answers that create your new agenda,” says Morten Kjaerum.

The human starting point can also influence the innovation climate.

- The way of thinking with people first makes you release more innovation but also that you create innovations that you have the desire to use. For example, if you are going to develop an app, it is important that it is free from the very beginning of data that can lead to discrimination, such as gender, ethnicity and so on. Most people would rather have an app based on MRI than a cheaper app.

The way of thinking can also be about how to draw bus routes from areas where people are marginalised. Public transport often goes to a school, but perhaps should also go to the public swimming pool, library and various leisure activities so that more people can get there.

Morten Kjaerum was in Iceland in the spring of 2023. There is a large government project in which RWI is involved and in which a concerted approach has been taken to stop violence against children. This is a work that inspired Morten Kjaerum.

“It is important to show that there is a different way of thinking when it comes to economics. Today, social work is seen as an expense rather than an investment that yields a higher return. My dream is that Lund and other municipalities really want to get involved in all kinds of violence against women and children but also in hate crimes. Violence is appalling to be subjected to and carries a great cost to society. We need to know what we want to achieve, to cooperate more closely and to break down downpours. Then we can reach much further!

RWI and Lund University of Economics work together to develop knowledge in this area, which has attracted international interest. The work is carried out in close cooperation with the United Nations.

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