The Digital Open

Found this over at http://digitalopen.org/

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Conclusions (Study Visit to Finland)

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I've been thinking about this for the last week or so. There's been so much to take in and think about. How can we here in Wales introduce and build on what we witnessed out in Finland? What lessons can we learn? How can we make sure this sharing of good practice and new ideas continues?

I'll start with the last question as we discussed this while we were out in Finland. One of the last exercises we did was to project to the year 2012 and what would information services for young people look like in our respective countries. I don't have the diagrams we made here although I believe they are on their way to me (thanks Elias). As soon as I get them I can post them somewhere along with the presentations.

My idea was to set up a Ning site where maybe we can begin sharing these ideas and plan how this study visit can develop. I know we were discussing some kind of visit here to Wales? I'd really like to move ahead with this and see what develops and how we can use the outputs to inform and develop wider networks (e.g. EYCA and ERYICA?).

We can discuss this on this blog with a fantastic new tool I found out about from Tim Davies who was using "Cover it Live" to "instant blog" a conference around Digital Inclusion and Social Capital here in the UK - check it out in action HERE. This tool is great and may serve as a useful (and open source) solution to holding online youth work and discussions as it has built in moderation as well as a toolbox for storing media and picking up twitter feeds . The interface can be placed on a web page with no fuss. @all on the study visit: Maybe we could schedule an online meeting using CIL in order to discuss how we move forward with our findings from Finland. I've opened up the comments on my blog so you don't need to be registered in order to leave a comment. Let me know what you think and I can organise it here. Maybe we can invite some information workers from the Wales network and beyond?

I'd like to point out a comment left on my blog from Tim (many thanx Tim):

"Really enjoying reading your updates from Finland - and have noted down the Digital Generation elements in the Youth Strategy as key ones we should be learning from in UK.

Where should we be looking to capture learning coming out of efforts to put all of the good ideas from the Finnish Youth Strategy into practice?"

Again I'd really like to emphasise how impressed I was at the Digital Generation aspects of the youth policy in Finland. Elias, maybe you have some ideas of where there may exist already some examples of this online?

For me, there seems at the moment to be something of a gap in provision between digital inclusion, youth work and information work. In my presentation I was banging on about the lack of difference in these fields but yet practitioners have been able to "set up camp" as it were often in the most remote parts of this one field; sometimes erecting lines of defense and distinct policy borders.

The "joined up thinking" and open source philosophy which for me is at the heart of youth work, is often clouded and complicated by the interpretation of policy makers who sometimes allow only a few favourites into their ivory towers (at the worst), or produce policy based on Chinese whispers that come from the ground.

For me, all of these activities go absolutely hand in hand; digital and media literacy is essential as we move forward to an increasingly digital future. In Finland there seemed to be a massive call for "online youth workers", which is fine if there is equality of digital access, whereas here in the UK and definitely in Wales, the idea of universal digital literacy and access is still just that; an idea.

At Canllaw Online, the Gwireddu project aims to try and create equality of access for young people by providing digilabs (over 100 at present) across Wales, especially in those areas most deprived, as without access then there can only be exclusion for those young people; the same young people who lost out in many other policies and initiatives due to lack of access and support.

To promote and deliver digital equality and minimize digital exclusion, it's crucial for us to provide not only the means of access but FACILITATED access: youth workers who provide information, facilitators who promote digital competence and media literacy and not (as I heard a politician say recently) just providing internet access in libraries and community centres. Is this where young people are? If they are at these places are they confident and literate enough to use the kit effectively and creatively? Are they able to develop and produce content?

As well as this, there are of course the inevitable "banned" sites within local authority access points. In the case of the politician I mentioned earlier, despite his show of media competence through having a facebook profile, a twitter account etc, young people in Wales, far from being more connected to decision makers are in fact being excluded from them by virtue of these sites being banned in most local authority provision.

Our call at Canllaw Online is for facilitated access that provides opportunity, in the best tradition of youth work, for open discussion, for the promotion of media literacy and digital competence as opposed to censorship which in itself can be a contributory factor to exclusion, especially for those (great number) of young people who have no access at home.

Another action point to come out of this for me is the often hypocritical nature of youth work and the "one way" traffic of empowerment. It strikes me that the Finnish youth policy has been truly informed by both practitioners and young people across the country and thus reflects a real dialogue between all interested parties. As youth workers we are always extolling the virtues of empowerment and encouraging participation based around the UNCRC, for young people; but what about us as workers?

It seems to me to be often the case that youth workers feel that their opinion is not important, decision makers are "not interested" in how we feel about youth work on the ground. Perhaps we need to be more empowered as workers in order to express and input into national policy. In terms of information work, we always recognise that information for young people should be CRAP (Concise, Relevant, Accurate and fit for Purpose), with this as our mantra (especially the fit for purpose part; being age and audience specific) all we need do is be aware of our client group and present the information accordingly.

That is, we can employ our "youth work skills" to engage with all people regardless of age and therefore empower ourselves to contribute in a louder voice to policy, instead of having to be reactionary to policy in which we feel our voice has not been represented; after all, would we stand by and allow the voices of young people to be treated in this manner?

Wow, that was a bit much? Didn't expect all that to roll out! But then again, whenever I get the chance to work with people from other countries, there seems always so much to bring back, and so much to share.

This blog is being fed into the Youth Information Wales (YIWC) network too, so I'd be really interested to find out how everyone feel s about how we may be able to work together with our European colleagues for mutual benefit and for the benefit of the young people involved.

As well as this I'd also like to point you in the direction of UK Youth Work Online where there are many discussions around digital engagement as well as links to research, new ideas etc. from across the UK.

Hopefully we'll soon have a space where we can begin to develop and implement some of the learning outcomes from the study visit. @Study Group; please let me know if you want to meet up online and I'll get started.

One Final Point

When I returned from Finland, it was the final day of the EYCA conference in Cardiff organised by Canllaw Online. Around 100 members from all across Europe attended and the conference was a fantastic success. All of the effort and organisation form the Canllaw team was volunteered as we have all been made redundant in the last 2-3 months.

We are a small team and I think the level of commitment and enthusiasm to the development of resources for young people (both on and off line) here in Wales and in Europe has been shown to be pretty much unstoppable.

I've been unemployed since the end of March this year, but I believe that there is still much to done and I am committed to continuing this work. My great thanks to all who have, and continue to support us and the work that we believe in.

As a final treat, I invite you to witness the traditional Welsh folk dancing...perhaps this explains a lot about the Welsh (keep you're eyes peeled around 1:18...yes we all dance like this here!!!!!). CHECK IT OUT

Friday 15.05.09

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So the last day had arrived, and after rather a late night (although sometimes it's hard to tell with the light in Finland) we arrived at the town hall for presentations from all the participants plus a tour of the surrounding buildings.

I'll post the presentations somewhere when I receive them and post a link. Suffice to say there was much discussion and enthusiasm (and drinking water for me!).

We also had a tour of the surrounding buildings all designed by Alvar Aalto. Follow the link for more info.

We had a fantastic tour and ended up at the top of the bell tower with fantastic views over Seinajoki.

We had some discussion on how we take the findings from this study visit forward which i'll elaborate on in a later post.

The evening was the official reception at the wonderful manor in Tornava. My great thanks to everyone here for a great evening.

Then, unfortunately back to the train for the journey home....

My great thanks to everyone for such a great time: we saw some great practice, talked to some great people, we had great fun. Thanks:

Belgium: Femke, Ringo, Stevie, Gee and Sam
Slovenia: Matjaz, Sanela, Anja and Simona
Wales: Rachel and Kath

and especially to the mega hard working Finns:

Elias (the master)
Heidi and Hanna

See you all in Wales soon???

Seinajoki youth council (Thur 14.05.09 pm)

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What a day it had been so far., and then off to we knew not where...

We arrived at a fantastic youth provision (often referred to as a youth house in Finland) where the youth council of Seinajoki had very kindly arranged to cook us dinner!

I got hammered in table tennis by the guy in the picture second from the right, which underlined to me my need to brush up on my youth work skills!(Joke).

We helped prepare the food and it gave us a chance to meet and talk to the guys which was a really nice opportunity. The youth council comes from schools all across the area and aims to input and lobby on local matters. During their presentation (in fantastic English) they described how "meeting the man" can sometimes work out and sometimes not.

It seemed to me that the problems we often face here in Wales, in terms of getting local decision makers involved and interested and trying to break down the stereotypes of young people, are just as relevant in Finland.

However, the youth council seem to be pro-active in representing the views of other young people on matters that affect them.

This was a really great night and the young people were really friendly and talkative - despite the downhill decline of my table tennis skills.

Quick Visit to Seinajoki Skate Park (Thurs 14.05.09 pm)

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So I didn't really know where we we were going and then we turned up here:

An indoor skatepark run and maintained mostly by young people. Man, I loved this place but unfortunately there wasn't a spare board so i could have a quick blast around!

This place is so nice; the lines are awesome and I could spend a whole day here just carving it up.

Anyway, the whole thing is run and organised by the young people with some help from local youth workers. They run film nights, competitions and all sorts in order to fund raise for events and maintenance.

I found a youtube vid of the park being used HERE. It's often the case that young people are criminalised for "hanging around" and "causing trouble", I know this form first hand experience, but when you see this kind of pro-active, empowering work being truly led by young people themselves, you really want to shout about it and celebrate it.

At least I do, but then I'm a bit biased towards skating stuff.

Visit to Rytmikorjaamo (Thurs 14.05.09 pm)

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This is a great live music venue in Seinajoki which sees many live events, local bands and offers practice rooms and facilities for up and coming bands at a reduced rate.

The guys were telling us about a project they're involved in called Louhimo where they go out to local schools with music equipment (guitar, drums, keyboards etc) and give the young people a taste of music with the aim to produce a "song" often within as little time as 45 minutes!

It's often the case that these young people have never picked up an instrument before and to give them a taste of music and all the attached soft skills that go with that is a great idea. Again, even though it's about working in schools, the schools themselves seem to be very much on board and the project is very successful. It reminds me of Community Music Wales, where the idea is very much the same.

Although the music scene in Finland seems vibrant it would appear that there is not a lot of interest in buying music nationally, so unfortunately it is often the case that bands are aiming for success outside Finland, although at this project they are also trying to bring the music back home.

A really interesting insight to the Finnish psyche was offered up by our guide here, who suggested that Finnish people in general are quite reserved and take some time to "come out of their shell" as it were (a bit like reverse Belgians??? He He) and for this reason are often shy of performing. He said this may be the reason that metal is so popular in Finland as "you don't really need to be a great singer"; a fantastic observation!

I feel that music is often a great vehicle for youth work and the associated skills it aims to encourage and celebrate. This coupled with pro-active information work always makes for fantastically empowering and exciting project work. We definitely had a great time here!!!

Policy and Structures of Youth INFO work in Finland (Thus 14.05.09 pm)

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So, after being hospitably fed at the high school in Ilmajoki, we were of back to Seinajoki to find out about some national policy and projects and wider European work in Finland.

The ministry of Education in Finland is the co-ordinating body for national youth information and counselling services. These services have been strongly influenced by the Finnish Youth Act (2006) which seems very forward thinking in it's approach, also the ERYICA Charter (see the young person friendly version HERE plus the charter itself HERE) and the Finish Governments Child and Youth Policy Programme 2007-2011 (get the PDF HERE).

Altogether there is a lot of national support for youth information which is reflected in the attitudes expressed especially within the youth policy programme. I only briefly thumbed through the document but I would recommend a look to all. I'm definitely coming back to Wales with that document as a great example of how policy can be forward thinking and far reaching; insightful whilst being able to provide concrete challenges. The attitude to new technologies and internet use, once again, aroused my interest and maybe there's a leaf or two in Chapter 6 "Digital Generation" we could use? Comments please!

The next part of the presentation introduced a novel and exciting approach to E democracy via THIS SITE (Finnish only). This site (launched 2008( allows young people to voice their concerns and put forward ideas that they feel are relevant to their local areas. The ideas are posted and then voted on by peers, when the voting reaches a certain level the ideas/concerns are passed on to local decision makers. The service also allows decision makers to take into account the views of young people before making decisions. Although the site is only in Finnish, a cursory look can show the mechanics of operation.

This service is being rolled out across localities all over Finland and for me offers a fantastic engagement and e-democracy tool which we can all benefit from. We even discussed later how this tool may be an open source forum...I've had some ideas around that too!

Suffice to say, I felt this was a great idea although there have been concerns regarding the speed at which the process operates; in that it can take a long time for these concerns to be addressed.

Finally was an update from ERYICA (European Youth Information and Counselling Agency), especially around the Meet the Streets Project which is developing to it's next stage which involves a tour bus!! The project aims to collect the views of young people across Europe on the future of youth policy and how current policy effects them. Using "in your pocket" technology and open source editing and publishing this really is a fantastic information project.

If you're reading this in Wales please go and look at the Meet the Streets link above and if you want to get involved please contact me and we'll provide everything you need: training, equipment etc. The next phase of the project really sounds exciting and it's a great opportunity to get involved!!!

So, I think the state of policy in Finland seems to be extrememly encouraging and we can all take something from that. At a local, national and European level i feel we can all offer something!!! Please get in touch with me if you want to get involved...

South Ostrobothnia Folk High School (Thu 14.05.09 am)

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So, after the JIBBO centre, we moved on to the folk high school, about five minutes away:

A really impressive building and grounds, especially in the lovely weather!

This is a private (fee paying) school that offers a vocational youth work qualification. This qualification is free and is recognised as a national youth work qualification in youth work.

The training is very much "on the job", so if anyone is considering providing a placement for a worker, this is the place to start.

I won't go into too much detail as to the programmes on offer here as all the info you need can be found using the link above. However, if you're interested in offering a placement to Finnish students just get in touch with me.

For me, the really intersting point that came out of this visit was around age. The course is aimed at 14-19 year olds and Satu (Teacher, Educational Subjects) expressed some concern at people of this age choosing a career who's main area of work is aimed at themselves.

In Wales, with the development and introsduction of the degree course in youth and community work, there may well be a similar issue as we see more and more young people choosing youth work as a career option withouht, perhaps, the experience to back it up.

As Satu expressed, it can be difficult for younger people to fully appreciate a youth work situation without relevant, professional experience. The paralell here in Wales can often mean there is a disparity between those with the experience and insight and those with the qualification.

Another point that junps out at me from this is the inclusion (and once again the mutual exclusivity) of youth work as part of the wider vocation of information work. Here in Wales, it is often the case that workers are given the guidelines and mantra of youth work as to "offer information, advice and guidance" without necessarily investigating and exploring the implications and reach of "information".

Of course there are arguments on both sides and the very fact that a national qualification that raises the profile of youth work is by no means the least important. However, I certainly feel that there is always room for reflection and actoion based on that reflection in order to improve the quality of our services.

I hope this is a discussion that will go on.

JIBBO - Ilmajoki (Thu 14.05.09 am)

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JIBBO is the youth information and counselling umbrella organisation for the region and we visited a centre set just within the grounds of a school in Ilmajoki (just down the road from Seinajoki).

This is a great information centre with really friendly youth work staff who are pro-actively providing information services to young people in the area.

There were a couple of points that came up during our brief visit here which I think are very applicable to work here in Wales and maybe in the wider world of youth information work.

The first was the concept of working in schools. Oh yes, the classic situation where, even though this particular information centre is within the school grounds, there has been some resistance to information provision. I think, from listening to the staff, it's a matter of understanding the relevance of information and how it can be mutually beneficial for workers, teachers and young people. The staff at the centre expressed how it has been a struggle for the last year or so to be "accepted" by the formal educators and has required a pro-active approach in terms of engagement with the school to promote the value and importance of information work.

However, it would seem that the work is paying dividends for both the school and the information centre with mutual referrals and signposting as well as the opportunity for joined up workshops and events. I feel that this example really shows how information work can be a "seasonal" venture (e.g. providing pro-active information depending on the time of year; info around exams perhaps?) as well as a preventative service (e.g. providing pro-active information relating to monitoring of enquiries; providing workshops/specialists in response to an increase in enquiries around housing/bullying etc.).

The second point raised concerned my ongoing internal ethical discussion around the often mutual exclusivity of information work vs issue based/traditional youth work. The staff here felt that their information work was very much a "part" of their youth work, a part of their working week when they were required to provide purely information work.

For me, youth work is very much a part of information work; it's all about how you see and reflect on the way you work and the methods you employ dependent on the situation that arises. Now, I don't want to start going on about praxis, Friere and so on as that's for another post, but I'm really becoming fascinated with youth work approaches and the inclusion or otherwise of the wider field of youth information work that harnesses and encompasses many youth work based approaches.

Although this was very much a flying visit, it did provoke a lot of debate for me which I hope will provide some comments here.

More info on JIBBO HERE (Finnish only)

Seinajoki youth dept (Wed 13.05.09 pm)

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So after some 4 hours on the bus we arrived in the city of Senajoki. The journey was long although it did provide an opportunity to witness the Finnish landscape. For me (I'm just a boy form the Welsh valleys like innit?) it was very flat. I'm not used to flat and the expanse of flatness was something to behold. It also struck me that Finland, in general, seems to be a rural place with great distances between major towns and cities. For this reason young people board at schools and so, during school times the major centres can be very busy although during holidays the centres are relatively empty.

The youth dept of the city and region of Seinajoki sees all young people (those under 30 in accordance with the Finnish Youth Act) as "active operators in a tolerant and cultural town".

I really liked this description; it puts a really positive slant on young people and along with a commitment to developing culture and business as well as multi cultural and sustainable development in the town demonstrates a sense of community development with relationships at it's heart.

The youth dept talks about tapping into the "energy" of the young people, joined up working and utilising "stages" to showcase the talents of young people. This concept of participation and engagement within the community in order to encourage community cohesion and pride seems to be reflected in the way that young people from the region will return to settle down after school/college/university. There's definitely a sense of pride in Seinajoki.

I think that the "brain drain" we often see in other countries where young people take their skills elsewhere and do not return to invest in their own communities, is not so apparent here and the youth dept seems to be encouraging this attitude through community events such as the annual "Provinssirock" rock festival (Link to the English page).

Interestingly, once again the issue of "online youth work" popped up as the youth dept are calling for more youth workers to spend time in online counselling fora. This once more demonstrates the falling number of face to face enquiries and the need to go to "where young people are"; surely a pre-requisite of the youth worker? This opened up a great deal of debate (at least in my head) as to where the line is and reminded me of some of the discussions over on UK youth work online (LINK) where these issues are able to be discussed openly and hopefully inform policy over here.

I think this recurring theme in Finland has given me something to bring back to Wales and discuss with the Information Workers Network. I'd be interested to receive any comments around this issue, whether in Wales the UK or other countries. Hmmm.

In conclusion, I felt there was a real energy and motivation within the youth dept in Seinajoki and despite universal issues of staffing, time and resources the centre seemed busy, running dance and ballet programmes, arts and crafts etc. as well as a space for general information work.

More info on Seinajoki youth dept HERE.

Visit to Kompassi youth information centre (Wed 13.05.09 am)

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So, obviously I'm writing this now in retrospect as it's been a bit manic over the last few days.


Wednesday morning found us visiting the youth information centre at Kompassi in Helsinki (www.kompassi.info) which is a youth information centre established around 1983 and providing general information for 13-25s.

Kompassi seems to be very much THE info point in Helsinki and with a great deal of experience behind them offer a range of information services both on and off line, including; phone help lines, publications, web services, 7 computers with free internet access, information workshops, drop in facilities, referrals and signposting and media/information literacy.

Kompassi's web pages offer a novel service called trouble shooting corner where young people can post queries anonymously which are guaranteed to be answered within 5 days by a youth info worker. The queries (and responses) are open for debate and comment on the site by other users and offer a forum for discussion. With an apparent fall in face to face enquiries, Kompassi feel investment in these online counselling services to be the future of youth information work in Finland.

Coupled with this, Kompassi offer training and support for other young people to become online peer counsellors/advisers. Training includes ethical issues and moderation of queries that allow a peer led approach through an online forum that reaches across Finland.

Along with the trouble shooting corner, Kompassi have also been involved with a larger scale project involving online counselling within the SNS world. I don't remember the name of the site (Elias, can you help me out?) but it's very much the Finnish equivalent of facebook; a place where young people are. Information workers along with other professionals (police, social services etc.) hold "online surgeries" or chat fora where young people can query and receive advice directly.

The interesting part of this from my point of view is the eagerness of the Finns to reach out (to do outreach work) where young people are, even if that place is online. It seems obvious to me that if there are less face to face information enquiries, that doesn't mean there is less need for youth information work. Young people are just "somewhere else"; online. Maybe if we took more of a youth work approach to working with young people online in the UK?

There was a final point I wanted to make with regard to Kompassi and that is around the indexing/classification of information. Now, no doubt, you guys here in Wales are completely familiar with the concept and appreciate the benefits and advantages it can bring, however in Finland there seems to be no universal indexing system. In Kompassi though there is a comprehensive info index system both on and off line.

That made me very happy!!! But then these thing do!!!

In conclusion, Kompassi was a fantastic example of an information centre that is developing and moving and adapting while still being able to draw on a rich history and experience in information work.

I think it's a real model information resource where the workers really seem to appreciate the role of information in youth work and it's unique approach.

Busy busy busy...

THE MOG BLOG continues...

Yep I know it's been a couple of days but it's been absolutely flat out and I will DEFINITELY post some reports on some of wicked places we've seen and the things we've done when I get a chance.

Suffice to say I hope you like moomins as much as the Belgians seem to...

(Yep..."in joke")

Visit to CIMO (Centre for International Mobility)

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So, after a great luncheon at Allianssi with their fantastic facilities (really liked the layout of the library and info services) we take a tram over to the Centre for International Mobility (CIMO).

What fantastic building! I found the coolest green chairs inside:

CIMO (est 1991) is the national organisation promoting cross cultural communication and mobility, including international projects such as youth in action, life long learning programme, Erasmus, DaVinci etc. as well as offering information, advice, guidance and training regarding international mobility.

CIMO is also responsible for the marketing and PR realting to HE recruitment in Finland as well as overeeing a network of Finnish lectures in HE and FE establishments across the globe.

In terms of INFO work, I found this organisation to be an excellent eample of almost pure enquiry based INFO work, which I hope will help me during my presentation of Canllaw Online's INFO work on Friday (I'll post a link somewhere).

CIMO provide INFO on an enquiry basis regarding the various projects mentioned above as well as enquiries involving other cross cultural issues such as studying and volunteering abroad through signposting, referral and printed materials. As well as face to face work CIMO deals with e-queris via email and the website (www.studyinfinland.fi).

It struck me as a "classic" INFO scenario where monitoring and evaluation inform CIMO of trends/needs as well as the production of some pro-active INFO, such as guides for Finnish young people which are distributed to guidance counsellors, schools and youth workers containing outline information as well as ideas for lesson plans/activities that promote and encourage analysis of cross cultural exchange and study.

CIMO also have good relationships with "expert" organisations (such as Fulbright who specialise in exchenages and studying in America/Canada) and feel that there is no such thing as a stupid question: They had a call from South Africa regarding a dead bird that some guys found that had a ring around it's leg that said "Finland". They wanted to know what they should do.

This unconditional personal regard (UPR) is an essential part of INFO work for me.

CIMO also offer advice and guidance on effective internet searches for cross cultural experiences and are pro actively present at student fayres both nationally and internationally.

"Euroguidance" is also housed under the umbrella of CIMO. This network for guidance counsellors, employment advisors and youth workers aims to support practioners and professionals in the field through training, information and advice, publications and the website, in the field of cross cultural communication and mobility.

There is a Euroguidance centre in every country of the EU that can offer this networking opportunity as well as other opportunities for training, study visits and exchanges.

In conclusion, I feel it was great to see all this INFO in one place, under one organisation with a clear aim to provide information in an enquiry based scenario.

Really cool building too!

Righ I'm off for a drink!!!

Visit to Allianassi (Finnish Youth Co-operation)

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So the REAL today is Tuesday 12th May 2009. Last night was great; hetting to know each other etc. although it's nearly high summer here, so there's hardly any dark. A bit like that film "Insomnia" with Al Pacino and Robin Williams, except it's really nice in Helsinki.

Anyway this morning after having a weird dream where i had got up late and missed today's visits, I woke up and found I hadn't missed them at all.

So let's begin with our visit to Alliansi (Being Different Together), the national youth work organisation in Finland (est.1993) which supports over 3,400 youth workers in the field as well as 1200 member youth organisations across the country.

Quick Overview

So the vast majority of organinsations engaging and working with young peolple in Finland are members of Alliansi, which aims to support and develop youth work practice regionally, nationally and internationally.

The main focus of the organisation is to represent and lobby for the rights of both young people and those who support them through influencing and lobbying government in order to influence policy and the direction of youth work nationally.

Alliansi also offers a range of services to member organisations and the young people they represent through education and training and major seminars in youth work such as the Alliansi Cruise ( a youth work seminar on a boat!!!).

Multi cultural and minority work and the strive towards equality in youth work in the face of an ever changing demographic pushes Alliansi onward to provide resources and training for youth work organisations in order to promote equality of opportunity and representation.

Collaborative project work with organisations representing minority groups as well as networking can promote a sense of belonging and a feeling of being part of a national strategy; Alliansi is leading the way in this ongoing process in Finland which encourages mutual learning and understanding.

Other activities include:

• youth elections which are connected to parliamentary elections which encourages participation and develops an interest and understanding of politics and democracy. Alliansi have also been campaigning and lobbying to lower the voting age from 18 to 16 years.

• A magazine for professionals in the field (published 8 times a year)

• A library and Information Service for young people (NOTE: young people in Finland are those under 30 years as defined by The Youth Act).

• Youth Exchanges

• Member European Youth Forum (YFJ), ERYICA and the member organisation for EYCA (European Youth Card Association)

More info: ENGLISH
FINNISH

YOUTH PARTICIPATION AND ALLIANSI

Alliansi has a range of youth participation projects that it supports including:

• Youth Councils
• Youth Parliament
  
• Youth Forums
• A national Board of Youth Councils

But perhaps the most intriguing is a participation project run by Alliansi at www.valtikka.fi

This project actively promotes citizenship, E-democracy and politics by offering a discussion platform for young people involved, plus those who work with young people by offering lesson plans and other resources.

Also included on the website is a search engine realsted directly to upcoming EU elections. Young people can use this site to engage with parliament and each other in an on and offline environment.

EDUCATION METHODS

"The Living Library"
This model comes from Denmark as a reaction to issues around racist violence and aims to break down prejudice and promote equality by encouraging participants to engage in dialogue with those whom they rarely have the opportunity to to talk to.

The model centers on the "living book" who is a volunteer with a paticular story/experience/background (plus support and training prior to the event) that can be "borrowed" by participants through the facilitation of a "librarian", who has a "catalogue" of "books" (topics/issues).

This encourages the "reader" to "borrow" "books" relating to issues that directly affect them and thus provide an opportunity discuss those issues directly; face to face.

There are a few rules:

• Based on mutual respect
• The "reader" must return the "book" in the same physical and mental condition as it was "borrowed".
• The "book" can end the discussion at any time.

The "borrowing" lasts 20mins-1 hour and is facilitated by the "librarian". The "reader" then completes an evaluation form.

More complete information on this model at living-library.org

GAIA - Assembly of the Nations

This is a role playing game based around the themes of human rights, diversity, democracy, decision making, the environment, peace, equality and development.

The game features a parallel planet Earth (Gaia) which must be prevented from total destruction by the Assembly of Nations (the players) who must find common and agreeable solutions to the problems that the planet faces.

Full manual and game cards available at www.keks.fi/gaiaenglish (ENGLSIH VERSION)

YOUNG CULTURE

This festival project is housed within Alliansi and was developed from the young people's Art Festival established in 1970.

It comprises of two national festivals as well as 20-30 regional festivals across Finland which provide opportunities for young people to showcase their talent and receive feedback from professional artists.

In 2008 there were more than 18000 participants nationally and as a result of the festivals some young people were able to take up the opportunity to travel as far as China and Trinidad and Tobago.

The aim for 2010 is to establish this cultural youth work as a part of every city's basic youth work.

A great line: "Young people should be seen and heard"

CONCLUSIONS

I must say I was extremely impressed with the strength and depth of Alliansi with regard to national, regional and international youth work.

For me, the model of the living library is something that will definitely be happening in Wales.

There seems to be a real serious intent in terms of both youth work professionals and the government here to promote, celebrate and encourage youth participation and engagement.

Many thanx to all there who have given such inspiration.

Going to Finland...

THE MOG BLOG continues...

So, yesterday, myself and 2 colleagues from Wales left Cardiff at 2am heading for Helsinki.

Wait...I think that was Sunday night? No Monday morning...

Heading for a study visit in Helsinki with other Youth INFO workers from Belgium, Slovenia and Finland.

So, i'll be using the next couple of posts to record what we've been up to, where we've been, what we've seen and so on.

I've just figured out how this broadband connection works so i think i'm a day late. Maybe that's better 'cos I don't necessarily need to go into the details of last night. Suffice to say we had few beers.

Of course only a few as remember we are in Finland (he he).

...and then there were other people...obviously i had left at this point and was very much at the hotel sleeping....in the light....and that's not my glass in front of the camera...