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1. Intercultural awareness

2. Young people's rights

3. Key initiatives to safeguard democracy and prevent radicalisation leading to violent extremism

Intercultural awareness

 
Central initiatives promoting intercultural awareness fall under the broader action plan, A New Boost for Equality in Finland: Government action plan to combat racism and promote equality (Uutta vauhtia yhdenvertaisuuteen Suomessa: Valtioneuvoston toimenpideohjelma rasismin torjumiseksi ja yhdenvertaisuuden edistämiseksi, in Finnish), published on 5 September 2024. Relevant initiatives are presented below.  

Broadening the dialogue activities carried out by the national and regional Advisory Boards for Ethnic Relations with respect to racism experienced by children and young people (2024–2027) 

• The aim is to expand dialogue activities and organise events for decision-makers regarding racism experienced by children and young people. 
• The dialogues began in the spring of 2024 in various Finnish cities, and they continue in 2026.  
• The Ministry of Justice is the ministry responsible for the development work.
   

Developing the pedagogical competence of leisure activity instructors and coaches working with children and young people (2024–2027) 

• The aim is to increase the awareness and competence of professionals working with children and young people who participate in guided leisure activities. One outcome of the initiative has been the publication Flexible hobby, conversational instructor and other recommendations from researchers to the instructors of children and youth leisure activities (Joustava harrastus, jutteleva ohjaaja ja muita tutkijoiden suosituksia lasten ja nuorten harrastustoiminnan ohjaajille, in Finnish) published in 2025, which includes a sub-chapter entitled ‘Cultural and linguistic plurality in leisure activities’ (pp. 125–133, in Finnish).  
• The work will also be carried out in connection with the Finnish model for leisure activities development projects.
• The Ministry of Education and Culture is the ministry responsible for the development work.  

Consolidation and expansion of the You Are Not Alone service (2024–2027) 

• The nationwide support service ‘You Are Not Alone’ supports vulnerable groups, such as young people with immigrant backgrounds, disabilities, and young people belonging to other minority groups. The service is coordinated by the Family Federation of Finland.
• The current initiative to expand the service has been implemented, and resources (staff, training, communication) have been provided.  
• The Ministry of Education and Culture is the ministry responsible for the development work. 

Producing information in line with the needs identified by the specialist group for monitoring discrimination (2024–2027)   

• The Government has appointed a specialist group for monitoring discrimination for the period 2024–2027.  
• Regarding young people, awareness-raising activities steered by the group in 2025 have included the publication of the report: An equal Finland for children and young people? Report on the realisation of ethnic equality among people under 30 in Finland, published on 18 March 2025 (Lasten ja nuorten yhdenvertainen Suomi? Selvitys alle 30-vuotiaiden etnisen yhdenvertaisuuden toteutumisesta Suomessa, full report in Finnish).  
•  The report aims to raise awareness of equality issues concerning ethnic equality among young people under 30 years of age. 
•  The Prime Minister’s Office is responsible for the development work.  
   

There are also other sub-projects and awareness-raising initiatives that are not targeted only at young people but may concern them. The full list of initiatives and activities can be found on the Finnish Government’s website, Progress of the government action plan to combat racism. 
 

Young people's rights

Maintaining the www.perusoikeusseuranta.fi website and producing analysis reports (2024–2027) 

• The website supports government monitoring of the implementation of fundamental and human rights. 
• The data produced is also used to evaluate inequalities concerning young people.  
• For example, the previously mentioned report An equal Finland for children and young people? Report on the realisation of ethnic equality among people under 30 in Finland, published on 18 March 2025 (Lasten ja nuorten yhdenvertainen Suomi? Selvitys alle 30-vuotiaiden etnisen yhdenvertaisuuden toteutumisesta Suomessa, full report in Finnish), was based on data from the www.perusoikeusseuranta.fi website.  
   

National Agency for Education: ‘Democracy, human rights and participation’ 

• In the field of education, the National Agency for Education’s website (available in Finnish and Swedish, and including examples of good practices also in North Sámi and sign language) provides information on creating a democratic and inclusive working environment in educational contexts. 
• The website is targeted at teachers and professionals in the field of education. 
• In addition to the National Agency, the Finnish League for Human Rights offers educational materials through its website Humanrights.net (available in Finnish). 

The Muuttajat –working model  

•  The Muuttajat! working model (in English ‘The Movers’) by Plan International Finland offers training in participation and human rights for young people who have moved to Finland. Training is offered, for example, in schools.  
• The work is funded by the Funding Centre for Social Welfare and Health Organisations (STEA), which is a state aid authority under the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. 
   

Finnish Committee for UNICEF’s material 

• The Finnish Committee for UNICEF’s material on human rights (in Finnish) and global education enables discussion of children’s rights as part of learning and teaching.
• The materials address children’s rights from perspectives related to the environment, health, education, and equality.  
• In addition, staff can host educational activities in schools. 
   

Informative websites on children’s and young people’s rights 

• The website of the Ombudsman for Children in Finland offers a comprehensive list of children’s and young people’s rights. 
• The lists are available in Arabic, Estonian, English, Finnish, Romani, Russian, Sámi languages, and Swedish. 
• InfoFinland.fi offers information in 12 different languages about moving or living in Finland, Finnish society, legislation, and rights, including children’s and young people’s rights and obligations. The service is provided in cooperation with several cities and supported by the Finnish state. 
   

Key initiatives to safeguard democracy and prevent radicalisation leading to violent extremism

As mentioned on the website of the Ministry of the Interior entitled Combating violent radicalisation through preventive action, the National Action Plan for the Prevention and Combating of Violent Radicalisation and Violent Extremism 2024–2027 (Kansallinen väkivaltaisen radikalisoitumisen ja väkivaltaisen ekstremismin ennaltaehkäisyn ja torjunnan toimenpideohjelma 2024–2027, in Finnish), published in July 2024, defines measures for preventing and countering violent radicalisation and violent extremism. The action plan is the fourth of its kind. The updated plan continues to initiate actions that are still seen as relevant and that have proven to be effective in earlier programmes. For example, the goal of developing multi-professional Anchor Teams continues. Based on the Manual on multiprofessional Anchor work: a multi-professional collaboration to promote the well-being of adolescents and prevent crime (Ankkuritoiminnan käsikirja, 2019), written by Tanja Moilanen, Matti Airaksinen, and Mari Kangasniemi, Anchor Work refers to a multi-professional collaboration that: 
 

• is targeted at children and adolescents under 18 years of age to promote wellbeing and prevent crime,
• is carried out by a multi-professional Anchor Team,
• consists of professionals from the police, social services, health services and youth services, and includes expertise and competences that have been ensured in other ways,
• meets the adolescent and their family at the earliest possible stage and
• seeks to prevent radicalisation into violent extremism (without age limits). 

For more information about Anchor work, see the Anchor work in Finland website. The project has received funding from the European Union’s Internal Security Fund. The project has been implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior, the National Police Board, and the University of Eastern Finland. 

The Action Plan also notes the key role that non-governmental organisations, youth work, friends and family have in promoting togetherness.

The Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare has put forward an interesting approach to the role of young people in the prevention of violent extremism and street violence under the 2024–2026 project called Safe Streets (Turvalliset kadut, in Finnish). One of the intervention packages includes inviting young people and parents from troubled areas to join efforts in preventing street violence. How this is carried out depends on project proposals from external action bodies that are currently being evaluated. For more information in English, see Senior Researcher Minna Niemi’s presentation entitled Complex Interventions and Multisectoral Collaboration Addressing Street Violence, Gangs, and Violent Youth Radicalization at the Nordic Conference on Violent Extremism 2024. The project is funded by the Finnish Government's annual health promotion grants.