Honorary Doctor Klas Bergling is committed to improving young people’s mental health

Klas Bergling, father of Avicii and founder of the Tim Bergling Foundation, has been nominated for an Honorary Doctor at MDU in 2024. Through this nomination, MDU wishes to recognise Klas Bergling’s efforts to improve mental health for young people. This is incredibly essential work, which links the University’s ambition to contribute by conducting research in the area of ”Sustainable upbringing – young people’s learning and well-being”.

In 2019, Klas Bergling, entrepreneur and business leader, founded the Tim Bergling Foundation, to prevent and reduce the rate of mental illness and suicide in society, reducing the stigma surrounding the issues, and promoting meaningful leisure time. The target group is children, adolescents and young people.

Shares essential inspiration and knowledge

In addition to distributing foundation money for various purposes, Klas gives lectures on mental health in various contexts, always to spread inspiration and share knowledge. He has held a TEDx SSE Talk and has been interviewed about his work on many occasions, by American and Swedish TV for instance. The Tim Bergling Foundation has also supported the ”For A Better Day” initiative that is run together with Bris, Mind and Suicide Zero. The aim is to understand young people's needs for a better life, where young people have shared their experiences, thoughts, ideas and suggestions.

In the wake of this successful initiative, Klas Bergling is behind the book ”Det här behöver vi ”For a Better Day” (This is what We Need For a Better Day) that he wrote together with more than a thousand young people, and personally handed over to the Prime Minister of Sweden at the time Stefan Löfvén in 2021. The Tim Bergling Foundation also supports the” Psykisk hälsa på schemat” national campaign. (Mental health on the schedule).

In December 2023, a musical event took place at the Avicii Arena in Stockholm for the second time. A large number of singers participated in "Together For A Better Day", to break the stigma of mental health and suicide among young people, but also to convey hope and faith in the future.

Improving young people’s mental health and well-being

By nominating Klas Bergling for an honorary doctorate, Mälardalen University wishes to acknowledge and honour his valuable efforts, as he works scientifically and demonstrates a huge commitment to improving mental health among young people in Sweden.

Klas Bergling’s achievements align with MDU’s vision of being a progressive and collaborative University where together we can shape a sustainable future. The link to MDU's strategy is very transparent where we aim to contribute to solving societal challenges through research in the area of "Sustainable upbringing - young people's learning and well-being" and is aligned with activities such as ”Samhällskontraktet”. MDU looks forward to future partnerships with Klas Bergling and the Tim Bergling Foundation.

• Honorary Doctors at MDU