Louise Mohn Honored with the Unity Honorary Award Presented By Unity Spark
Our Founder and Owner, Louise Mohn has been awarded the Unity Honorary Award by Unity Spark, an organization that promotes diversity and inclusion, and is open to anyone who wants to learn, grow, and contribute – regardless of background. Unity Spark believes in the power of new perspectives, community, and shared opportunities. The Unity Honorary Award recognizes individuals and organizations that build bridges, create change, open doors for others and use their leadership and influence to create a positive impact in society.
Louise was selected for the Honorary Award for these very reasons and in recognition for her long-standing commitment to diversity and equal opportunity, particularly her dedication to advancing opportunities for girls and women in sport through her NextGen Neighbor Network initiative. Louise was announced as the recipient on September 3, 2026 during the Unity Summit & Awards in Bergen, Norway, and was presented with the award during NextGen Neighbor Networks’s Miløplakten Sletten event, which brought together schools, culture, sports clubs, volunteers, and key community leaders within the Sletten area.
Two of the event's main collaborators were Arild Hovland, representing the grassroots with the LIM project (Lekser Idrett Mat) and Norges Toppidrettsgymnast (NTG). Both have entered into a strategic partnership with NextGen Neighbor Network (NNN) and its signature “I care.” campaign. Together they strive to identify young people who demonstrate high social capital, contribute to their local community, along with having a capacity to care for others, to be nominated to the NTG I care. Scholarship. The scholarship is rewarding those who deserve it, based on their contribution, good values and right choices, regardless of their background, parental involvement, or personal challenges.
NNN has used their “I care.” campaign as visual branding that is provided free of charge to promote social responsibility and community service, raise awareness for the importance of public health, and encourage young people to stay physically active, say no to drugs, reduce their risks addiction, spend less time on their smartphones, help prevent crime, and reflect the values of what it means to be a good neighbor.
NNN advocates for increased government funding to strengthen the Norwegian sports model. Over the past two years, their work has highlighted the important relationship between grassroots and elite sport, while also promoting greater investment in girls’ sports in Norway.
The Unity Honorary Award forms part of the wider Unity Awards, which highlights people and organizations that build bridges between communities, create change, open doors for others and use their leadership and influence to make a positive contribution to society.
“Over many years, Louise Mohn has used her engagement, position and resources to open doors for others and help create opportunities for more people to participate, develop and succeed. Her contribution to girls in sport was particularly important to Unity Spark. We believe girls should have the same opportunities to participate, develop their talents, pursue their ambitions and reach the highest level, regardless of gender, background or financial circumstances,” says Francine Mbanza Jensen, Founder of Unity Spark
Unity Summit
The theme of this year’s Unity Summit was “The Future of Leadership.” Held at Grieghallen in Bergen, the conference brought together entrepreneurs, business leaders, researchers, community leaders, politicians and other decision-makers to examine what leadership requires in a society undergoing rapid change. Particular attention was given to diversity in leadership, communication and innovation. It was also an opportunity to to discuss the challenges facing businesses, communities and institutions that are often interconnected, while discussing lasting solutions that often emerge when people with different experiences and areas of expertise are brought into the same conversation. The ambition is to understand how organizations, businesses and communities can be built stronger and what kind of leadership will be required to do so. (Photographer Credit: Karl Otto Nesdal)
Unity Spark - Founded by Francine Mbanza Jensen
One of the central ideas behind Unity Spark is the importance of diversity and who has been invited to participate. Unity Spark believes that true inclusion is also about who is given the opportunity to be seen, to develop their potential and ultimately to succeed. That distinction lies at the heart of the organization founded by Francine Mbanza Jensen. Unity Spark, formerly known as Cre8 Hub, grew out of Jensen’s academic research into multicultural entrepreneurship in Norway. In 2017, she completed her master’s thesis examining the experiences of entrepreneurs with multicultural backgrounds. Her research highlighted an important paradox. (Photographer Credit: Karl Otto Nesdal)
Impactful Research
People with immigrant and multicultural backgrounds were demonstrating considerable entrepreneurial drive. Research referenced in her thesis indicated that the proportion of people starting businesses was, in some studies, higher among people with multicultural backgrounds than among ethnic Norwegians.
At the same time, businesses established by immigrants were shown to have a lower survival rate during their first five years. For Jensen, the question was about why people were starting businesses and what happened to them once they did.
Her research pointed to a number of recurring barriers.
Many multicultural entrepreneurs experienced a lack of appropriate support and guidance. Access to markets, professional networks and financing could be difficult. These challenges could make the already demanding early stages of entrepreneurship considerably harder.
Yet her research revealed something else as well. Many of the entrepreneurs she encountered possessed considerable motivation, knowledge and experience. They brought perspectives, abilities and determination that could become valuable foundations for successful businesses. Research cited in Jensen’s work also suggested that when immigrant-founded companies successfully moved beyond the difficult early years, they could go on to generate significant turnover and employment. In result, successful businesses can be created providing financial independence for families, generating value and strengthening participation in society.
These findings inspired Francine Mbanza Jensen to establish what would become UNITY SPARK.
