On this page

1. Reducing obstacles to young people's access to culture

2. Disseminating information on cultural opportunities

3. Knowledge of cultural heritage amongst young people

Reducing obstacles to young people's access to culture

Finnish Model for Leisure Activities

The Finnish Model for Leisure Activities (see YouthWiki/Finland 7.3 Sport, youth fitness and physical activity) provides children and young people with the opportunity to engage in leisure activities alongside the school day. In 2025–2026, municipalities received 14.5 million euros in total to organise leisure activities. The leisure activities take place in approximately 2,000 schools across Finland, and activity groups are divided based on the leisure activity. The activities include arts and culture-related activities, such as theatre, film education, and literature. Participation is cost-free, removing financial barriers to young people’s access to hobbies. For more information, see the information page on the official Finnish Model for Leisure Activities website. 

Art Testers

Art Testers is the largest culture education programme in Finland. The programme offers all pupils in the 8^th grade 1–2 annual visits to cultural institutions and reaches over 70,000 people annually. The programme is funded by the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland. 

The School Cinema Week

The School Cinema Week (in Finnish) is an annual thematic week dedicated to promoting cinema education for children and young people (grades 0–9). In 2026, the School Cinema Week takes place from 9 to 15 November 2026. Schools may also decide to organise the thematic week at another time. The School Cinema Week is also a website where educators and young people can access educational material, as well as online screenings of an international children's and young people’s film festival. The School Cinema Week and the film festival are coordinated by the Cultural Centre Valve, located in Oulu. 

The Association of Finnish Children’s Cultural Centres 

The Ministry of Education and Culture provides funding for the Association of Finnish Children’s Cultural Centres' daily activities. The association currently operates in Finnish and Swedish, and consists of over 30 children’s cultural centres. The association promotes the cultural engagement of children and young people. In 2025, the Association reported that it had been active in 61% of Finnish municipalities and had provided cultural encounters for 2,136,792 children (under-18-year-olds).

Disseminating information on cultural opportunities

YouthPass 

YouthPass (Nuorisopassi, in Finnish) is a benefit system and a mobile app (discount application) that supports young people’s awareness of and engagement with leisure activities, including cultural activities. The application is actively used in 17 municipalities. The benefits offered and the age group with access to the YouthPass vary between municipalities. 

Knowledge of cultural heritage amongst young people

Cultural Heritage Strategy 2030

Strengthening education, competence, and the ability to cultivate and use cultural heritage is included in the strategic objectives of the Cultural Heritage Strategy 2030. This objective is realised through the following measures:

• Strengthening cultural heritage education in the national core curricula
• Bringing cultural heritage education to leisure activities 
• Enhancing teaching staff’s competences in cultural heritage education and developing pedagogical materials, methods, and tools
• Strengthening the opportunities for Sámi youth to learn about Sámi cultural heritage. 

The Association of Cultural Heritage Education in Finland

The Association of Cultural Heritage Education in Finland is a non-governmental organisation that develops, promotes, and publishes learning materials, policy ideas, and pedagogical models about cultural heritage. The areas of cultural heritage include intangible and tangible cultural heritage, cultural environments, world heritage, as well as digital and difficult cultural heritage.

The association aims to strengthen and support young people's cultural competences, identity building, and involvement in culture and society. In addition, the association promotes the fulfilment of cultural rights.

The association’s partners include the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Ministry of the Environment, the Finnish National Agency for Education, and the Finnish Heritage Agency, as well as various organisations and associations, schools and educational establishments, museums, archives, and World Heritage Sites.