The document summarizes youth work in Helsinki, Finland. It notes that there are approximately 41,000 youth aged 10-17 and 27,000 aged 13-17 in Helsinki. The youth department has 350 staff members and a budget of 30.2 million euros annually. The department focuses on building trust with youth, making groups work well, advocating for youth views and rights, providing flexible and experimental activities, and collaborating with others. The new strategy aims to empower youth, bring more activities to suburbs, collaborate with arts institutions, provide family experiences, use participatory budgeting, and create summer jobs in arts.

1. Youth Work in Helsinki
Tommi Laitio
Director of Youth Affairs

3. 600 000 residents
10-17yo: 41 000
13-17yo: 27 000
5 000 / age group

5. Youth Department

6. 1 400 000 annual visits
350 staff members
30,2 million euros per year

7. Why we are
needed in
Helsinki?

8. Competence of youth workers
• Capability to build a
trust-based
relationship with a
young person
• Capability to make a
group work well
• Audacity to defend
young people´s views
and rights
• Action-based work and
guidance
• Flexibility and audacity
to experiment
• Collaboration

9. Young people
enjoy their
neighbourhoods.
Helsinki consist
of different and
unequal realities.
Conciliatory
values and a
sense of
competition.

10. A welfare society requires that we are
capable of empathy and we have a sense of
shared interests.

11. The entire Helsinki is a nice place for young people. Nice equals
having friends, things to do and being important to others. A young
Helsinkian is able to see the world from other people´s point of view.

12. New strategy defines the capabilities
every young person should have.
• Capability to form
friendships
• Capability to help others
and have an impact on
one´s environment
• Capability to experience
and create culture
• Capability for sports
• Capability to spend time in
spaces, which welcome
young people
• Capability to get help and
support
• Capability to learn and
strengthen one´s skills

13. Role of the youth department
• Knowledge on young people´s lives and
needs
• Building, supporting and guiding youth
groups; responsible roles for young
people
• Method for young people to influence
their neighbourhood
• Leisure and after school activities
• Targeted support
• Support and guidance regarding the
future
• Support for civil society

15. New strategy means
changes:
- start from young people, not premises
- more responsibility for young people
(”producer roles”
- methods chosen based on and with
the community (participatory
budgeting)
- more community and outreach work
- youth clubs have a local and city-level
profile
- cultural work more in the suburbs and
with the arts institutions
- more resources to suburbs
- more joint premises with other
departments
- department heads have both a
regional and a thematic responsibility

16. Open and free of charge sports tournaments.

17. Locating attractive activities to suburbs,
which need a boost.

18. Kumpula school garden, nature experiences also for
those without a summer house.

19. Collaboration with arts institutions like the renewed
Helsinki Art Museum.

20. Free of charge experiences for families, Fallkulla
animal farm.

21. Participatory budgeting of youth work and annually
doing a community analysis by interviewing young
people and adults.

22. Summer activities and camps.

23. Annual report on young people´s wellbeing
combining statistics, expert views
and young people´s views. (online)

24. Staff dialogue on values.

25. Creating arts as a summer job with Helsinki Festival.

26. Non-representative dialogue between decision
makers and youth.

27. Tommi Laitio
Director of Youth Affairs
City of Helsinki, Youth Department
Hietaniemenkatu 9B
PL 5000, 00099 City of Helsinki
tommi.laitio (a) hel.fi
tommilaitio.munstadi.fi
ruuti.net
twitter: tommilaitio