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1. Historical developments

2. Main concepts

Historical developments

Based on the Register of Associations maintained by the Finnish Patent and  Registration Office, there were 108,292 registered associations in Finland by the end of the year 2023 (see the webpages Number of associations and religious communities.) In the Finnish discourse, registered associations are typically called third sector associations, the public and private being the first two. 

In her article ‘Empowering New Agents of Civil Society or Fostering Good Citizens? Framing Youth Participation in Finnish Youth Organisations’ (published in Journal of Civil Society in 2018), researcher Hanna Laitinen describes the kinds of roles the Finnish youth organisations (third sector) have to offer to young people, whether these are as main actors, members, volunteers or as other of participatory roles. She divides the organisations into five types: interest, activist, leisure time, religious, and social reinforcement and youth education organizations. According to her, ‘there is concern regarding the future of youth organisations as younger generations seem not to be interested in participating in them or taking responsibility for their future existence.’ Laitinen refers to several studies according to which ‘young people are turning away from established political and civil society organizations, are less willing to join as members and prefer short-term volunteering to long-term commitments.’ 

Accordingly, it is said that in Finland nowadays also a fourth sector exists. As researchers Pasi Mäenpää and Maija Faehnle wrote in their article entitled ‘Urban civic activism: solutions for the governance of a self-organising urban community’, in the urban civic society, today, there are new actors, methods and roles that are based on independent self-organisation. According to them, the city administration, such as Helsinki’s, for example, ‘should’, and as they say, ‘eventually must adapt’ to this new sector. One concrete example of this adaptation process is the consideration of how much the Associations Act needs to be updated. One of the amendment proposals to that Act suggested by the working group nominated by the Ministry of Justice illustrate the situation. As reported in the bulletin (15.2.2021) of the Ministry of Justice entitled as ’Enhancing the civic actions realised as communities’ (available in Finnish) it is said that the working group has suggested a lighter way of organising and accounting for action groups. In conclusion, several other amendments of the Act entered into force in 2022 and 2023, but not that one, as the funding base was insufficient. The amendment process is described on the webpages of the Ministry of Justice entitled ‘Changes to the Associations Act' (in Finnish).

It is traditionally thought in Finland that the welfare state, rather than the non-formal sector, should guarantee services. Thus, it is often claimed that voluntary activities should not replace public services. However, volunteering is on the policy agenda and its significance for many different sectors is recognised. In the Government Programme 2024-2027, the role of the third sector organisations and the collaboration with them are often mentioned. The themes to which the third sector is connected in the programme are various. It is mentioned in relation to the wellbeing of young people, prevention and exit activities (youth and gang crime), integration, engagement in physical activity, care of older people, families, employment services, development cooperation, national defence, cyber security, incidents, emergencies and in needs related to the preparedness. In the Government programme, the nature of the role of the third sector is further scrutinised as being a part of a section called ‘Strengthening democracy, participation and trust in society’ where it is said that the government will prepare a strategy on civil society organisations (see more in Youth Wiki Finland 2.3 National strategy on youth volunteering).

On the other hand, the government is also committed to, as described in the Government programme “[closing] the gap between general government revenue and expenditure and will reverse the trajectory of Finland’s debt burden', as ‘a sustainable economy is the foundation for prosperity. The most important goal of the Government’s economic policy will be to achieve sustainable growth.’ As described in the Youth Wiki Finland 2.10 Current debates and reforms, many of the third sector organisations have reported possible problems to cover in the future, should the government carry through the funding policy as it had lately told be planned. 

Main concepts

The concept of volunteering traditionally includes both voluntary work and voluntary activities, which are a type of civic activity and a way to engage in civil society. This also applies to youth volunteering. 

Finland has adopted the Council Recommendation on the Mobility of Young Volunteers of 2008. According to the recommendation, voluntary activities are open to all young people, undertaken by their own free will in the general interest for a sustained period within a clear framework, that is either unpaid or with a token payment and/or reimbursement of expenses. As the recommendation emphasises, voluntary activities provide an informal educational and learning experience through which young people may develop their professional and social skills, and competences. Thereby, these activities enhance their employability and active citizenship, while benefiting local communities and fostering social cohesion. 

The Citizen Forum, which is an umbrella organisation of more than 140 organizations and a social influencer for volunteer activities, offers a definition  of  volunteering on the webpage entitled Volunteering in Finland. Accordingly to this definition, volunteering is described as follows: 

• Volunteering means taking action on issues that you feel are important.
• Voluntary work is unpaid work based on free will and choice.
• Anyone, regardless of their age, gender, race, or other qualities can volunteer according to their abilities, schedules, and resources.
• Volunteering does not replace professional work in social services, but volunteers bring their own personal contribution to the activities.
• In Finland, volunteers help prevent loneliness and social exclusion, promote arts and culture, organize sports club activities, keep nature and the environment clean, and promote the well-being of people and animals in many ways.
• Volunteering is a two-way process where both the volunteer and the target gain something. Volunteers learn new skills, experience joy, meet new people, get new experiences, and are even empowered by volunteering. 
• Volunteering is very valuable for individuals and the community. Voluntary work enhances communal trust and social capital which are also the bases of economic development in the society.

The key words that appear in most definitions of volunteering are: ‘unpaid activity’, ‘for the benefit of others’, and ‘act of free will’. In other words, voluntary activities are understood to be a non-paid activity carried out for the public good that is based on civic participation.