The Association of Cultural Heritage Education in Finland works nationwide to develop methods and tools for cultural heritage education. It supports involving children and youth in defining and engaging with cultural heritage. It participated in developing Finland's National World Heritage Strategy, which focuses on heritage policy, preservation, capacity building, and raising awareness. The Association promotes including world heritage education in national curricula and provides teaching materials and training to support teachers in offering this education. It works with students living near world heritage sites to produce educational videos about the sites.

1. Association
of Cultural
Heritage
Education in
Finland
Ira Vihreälehto
Executive director

2. • Working nationwide
• In cooperation with culture,
education, youth,
environment, and
sustainable policy sectors
• Developing methods and
tools for cultural heritage
education
• Supporting the role of
children and young people
in defining cultural heritage
and their active agency in
the society and culture
• Located in Helsinki at the
House of Nobility

3. We participated in developing the
Implementation Plan for the National World
Heritage Strategy 2015 - 2025
(Ministry of Education and Culture)
The main strategic guidelines:
1. World Heritage policy
2. Preservation of World Heritage sites
3. Capacity building
4. Raising awareness of World heritage and
presentation of sites
5. Communities
Link: https://minedu.fi/en/world-heritage

4. Measure 27
• World heritage education as a part
of other education on cultural
heritage and the environment will
be realised according to the
principles outlined in the curricula.
Course of action:
• The Finnish National Board of
Education will consider the
possibility of including World
Heritage education in national
core curricula as well as in the
drafting of new curricula and
revision of existing curricula.
• The Association of Cultural
Heritage Education in
Finland promotes the
development and
implementation of national
core curricula.

5. Measure 28
• World Heritage education as a part of cultural
heritage, environmental and global education will
also be included in the curricula of local schools
and supplementary education will be provided to
teachers where possible. UNESCO's ASP network
will be supported and others schools will be
informed about opportunities to act as World
Heritage schools. Closer cooperation will be
sought between educational institutions and
museums.
Course of Action
• The objective is to make World Heritage
education a part of the cultural education plan
or other plans.
• Produce World Heritage-themed materials for
other schools, in developing and disseminating
good practices

6. Cultural education plan
• www. kulttuurikasvatussuunnitelma.fi is a tool for
providing cultural, art and cultural heritage
education in municipalities as part of the standard
curricula
• Cultural education is integrated into different
subjects, thus ensuring that the pupils are given
an equal opportunity to participate in and learn
about art and culture.
• Example: The City of Rauma includes World
Heritage education in its municipal cultural
education plan. Third graders will be taken on
guided field trips to Old Rauma and fifth graders
to Sammallahdenmäki.

7. The winner of the 2018 EU Prize for Cultural Heritage
/ Europa Nostra Award
The Grand Prix laureate:
Category Education, Training and Awareness-Raising
▪ Culture Leap: Educational Programme, FINLAND

8. A questionnaire to
teachers (2017)
• We wanted to find out the needs and
hopes of teachers regarding world
heritage education.
• Questionnaire was organised as a part of
a regional teacher training conference on
world heritage education (5 conferences).
• Results show that teachers wish for
videos, ready-made and easy to use
teaching materials as well as training.

9. Intangible cultural
heritage
• Producing
learning
materials for
schools
• Workshop tour
in Finnish
schools 2017

10. World heritage
education
• We work with children and youth
living close to World Heritage Sites to
produce videos of the site
• Pupils reported that they felt like
"acting as teachers” ”and are happy
that children and young people
around Finland (and the world?) can
access their video”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af
PB3S5hll8&t=137s
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M
7aM6OjzzdY&t=1s

11. • We promote all Finnish schools to celebrate the World Heritage Day (18th of April)
• The online exhibition ‘Our Shared World Heritage’ tells about the world heritage process and the seven
Finnish World Heritage Sites with illustrative text and beautiful images. The exhibition and its related
learning materials with their questions and answers are available in Finnish, Swedish and English
• Link: http://www.kulttuurinvuosikello.fi

12. • Teacher training, seminars
• We educated teachers to ”Kipinöitä
kulttuuriperintöön” at Suomenlinna
Word Heritage site, where we
mixed some intangible heritage as
well: capoeira!
• ”practical workshops and exercises
have been significant, and I now
have ideas how to vitalize my
lessons, also I have more
confidence when it comes to
cultural heritage education” -
teacher, 30 years old

13. Mobile Routes to Cultural
Heritage in World Heritage
Sites
• In this project pupils
create mobile routes at
a World Heritage site
and reveal their most
important places
• Routes are under
museum collections
and everybody can
download them and
take a ”tour with the
makers”
• https://tarinasoitin.fi/Ra
LaSa/fi

14. Cultural Heritage Education &
Sustainable skills
• Noticing local culture and heritage
• Supporting one’s own cultural identity
• Understanding broader global community
• Cultural literacy: reading the cultural messages and values
of the environment
• Participation and influence skills: ability to take the
responsibility for cultural heritage and its transformation
• Cultural diversity skills: Understanding the specificities of
cultures, dialogue and cooperation
 Every child has a right to experience culture and to
visit cultural sights; a right to intepret, shape and
produce culture

15. What is the most important living heritage
to you?
Write it down and add it to the Living
Heritage Tree on the wall!
Thank you!