Bo Persson is the initiator of the twelve yellow benches that are to be set up in Malmö and which are intended for people who feel bad to sit down and talk to someone they don’t know.
– Anyone can sit down and if you see someone sitting there, maybe you should sit down and start talking. It is to remove the stigma around mental illness and above all to talk to each other, he says.
The initiative already exists in Helsingborg – but the decision to install similar meeting places in Malmö was made quickly. What started as a proposal in the planning work for the Malmö festival was hammered through on Monday.
Now the work begins to complete the yellow benches.
– It could also be that you use the benches in a different way, for example with some form of QR code that allows you to get in touch with someone with similar experiences who tells their story, says Bo.