Details of the member organisation / center

Street address: Mikonkatu 8 A K145
Postcode: 100
City: Helsinki
Region: Uusimaa
Country: Finland
Email: mari.puranen@snk.fi
Website: www.snk.fi
Telephone: +358 500 902330

Contact person

Ms Mari PURANEN
Position/function: coordinator of international affairs
Contact Email: mari.puranen@snk.fi
Contact Telephone: +358 417301651

Profile of the member organisation/center

Type of organisation: NGO
Status of organisation: non-governmental
Activity level of organisation: national

Short description of organisation / center:

Finnish Youth Centres Association is umbrella organization of 9 National youth centres in Finland. The main task is coordinate Youth Centres work in National and international level.
The Youth Centres are run under the Finnish Youth Act and observed by the Ministry of Education.

Finnish Youth Centre Association is a National Development Centre working by support of Ministy of Education and Culture. Our work for Finnish Youth centres include:

• Support and services for the Youth Centres
• Cooperation with our interest groups
• Advocacy
• Public relations, communication and marketing
• Cooperation between the centres

Integration of the intercultural learning, human rights education and education for active citizenship in its activities:

The Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland supports the national youth centres as well as sets the priorities for their work. The role and the tasks of the youth centres are defined in the Youth Act. The Finnish Youth Act is based on the values of the Council of Europe. The core values of Council of Europe, human rights and democracy, are the basis of our work. We are supporting our centres to use materials of the Council of Europe in Programmes and projects. We offer these materials also to all our partners who are working with us.

Our experience in organization of international youth activities and the training of youth workers in multinational and multicultural context:

Internationalism is one of the cornerstones of Youth Centre operations.
Goal achievement relies on the sense of community, human rights, solidarity, fairness and equality, multiculturalism and internationalism, healthy lifestyles, the environment and respect of life.
Work includes volunteer work, trainings, seminars and camps arranged by the Centres that draw participants from around the world, in addition to camps and events organized by other non-profit associations at the Youth Centres
Coordination and support of international work is done by Youth Centre Villa Elba.
Support for international work includes networking with team of international coordinators in Youth Centres. Corporation with international partners.
Associates of the Youth Centre Association in Finland include the European Network of Youth Centres (ENYC), the German Erlebnistage Association, the Platform Network for youth mobility, and the Avartti Programme for Young People.

The mechanisms we use in our organization / center in terms of ensuring the participation of young people in preparation and realization of our activities:

We are national Network organization. Young people participation in our acitivities comes through our partner organizations. We have many activities where young people through our member organizations can be part of our activities. Every year we have several interns and young people in training in our main headquarters learning and giving their input in our activities.

Where we see the role of our organization / center in promotion and implementation of the youth policies of Council of Europe in our country, region and internationally:

Finnish Youth Centre Association acts as a development centre of Finnish Ministry of Education, Youth & Culture. Our work realy in YOUTH ACT of Finland. The Finnish Youth Act is based on the values of the Council of Europe. The core values of Council of Europe, human rights and democracy, are the basis of our work. We are supporting our centres to use materials of the Council of Europe in Programmes and projects. We offer these materials also to all our partners who are working with us.

The facilities of our organization / center(accommodation, educational facilities, training staff, specific methodologies etc.):

Finnish Youth Centres Association is umbrella organization of 10 National youth centres in Finland. The main task is coordinate Youth Centres work in National and international level.

Our Centres are:

• Located close to the nature
• Cosy and functional facilities and equipment designed for youth
• Wide range of activities throughout the year
• 250 000 activity days, 80 % related to youth work
• Accommodation capacity varies from 70-200 persons/center

Our priorities / fields of interest for cooperation with other members of the Network in the sphere of intercultural learning:

The international work among young people is one of the priorities in our work. Our goal is to offer youngsters the possibilities of learning in multicultural environment and finding their own strengths and abilities through international activity.

Main interests:

• Human right education
• Global Education
• Nature and Adventure pedagogy