Study visit in Helsinki- – Local context and cultural policies

1. About the two cities

Espoo Number of inhabitants 267,906

Area in Km² 528.14 km2

Annual budget of the city 2 220 525 693 euros (2016)

Annual budget for culture 48 704 000 euros (2016)

Helsinki Number of inhabitants 626,305

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Area in Km² 715.49 km2

Annual budget of the city For 2016:

Annual budget for culture 108 335 000 euros (2015)

The local/regional context

Helsinki and Espoo are situated in the region of in the South-East of . Helsinki being the capital city of Finland and Espoo its second largest city, the Uusimaa region is by far the most populous region of the country.

The metropolitan area of Helsinki is the economic, cultural and political capital of Finland. With 1,455,677 inhabitants, the metropolitan area of Helsinki is recognised as one of the leading creative cities in the world. It is part of the UNESCO creative cities network since 2014, and was World Design Capital in 2012, in recognition of the use of design as an effective tool for social, cultural, and economic development in the city. In choosing Helsinki, the World Design Capital selection jury highlighted Helsinki's use of 'Embedded Design', which has tied design in the city to innovation.

The Finnish educational system: keyfacts

. In Finland education is free at all levels from pre-primary to higher education. Adult education is the only form of education that may require payment. . Most education is publicly funded. Most institutions providing education are maintained by local authorities or joint municipal boards. Responsibility for educational funding is divided between the State and local authorities. Private institutions also receive public funding. Universities receive funding from the state but they are also expected to raise external funding. 2

. Pre-primary and basic education is part of the municipal basic services that receive statutory government transfers. This transfer is based on the nuber of 6-15 year olds living in the municipality and the special conditions of the municipality. . The national education administration is organised at two levels: education policy is the responsibility of the Ministry of Education and Culture. A national agency, the Finnish National Board of Education is responsible for the implementation of the policy aims. . Local administration of schools is the responsibility of local authorities. Municipalities have also the autonomy to delegate the decision-making power to the schools. Teachers have pedagogical autonomy. . Schools inspections were abolished in the early 1990s. . National evaluation of learning outcomes are done regularly. There are no national tests for pupils in basic education in Finland. One task of the basic education is to develop pupils’ capabilities for self-assessment. . Every child has a subjective right to attend early childhood eduction. Pre-primary education is compulsory for children of the age of six. Learning through play is essential. Basic education starts in the year when a child turns seven and lasts nine years. . The national core curriculum for basic education is determined by the Finnish National Board of Education. The education providers draw up their own curricula within the framework of the national core curriculum. There is room for local or regional specificities. . The syllabus of general upper secondary education is designed to last three years, but students may complete it in two or four years. Instruction is organised in modules not tied to year classes and students can decide on their individual study schedules rather freely. . General upper secondary education ends with a national matriculation examination which comprises four compulsory tests, including mother tongue. . Teaching is an attractive career choice in Finland. The most common pre-service requirement is a Master’s degree: class teachers have Master’s degree in education, subject teachers have Master’s degree in the subject they teach as well as pedagogical studies.

More : Brochure: Finnish Education in a Nutshell (PDF: 28 pages) http://www.oph.fi/download/171176_finnish_education_in_a_nutshell.pdf

Video: Finnish Education - Equal Opportunities for All (mp4: 6 mins 50 secs) http://www.minedu.fi/opencms/export/video/finEDUsmall.mp4 Brochure: Espoo - Top of the Class (PDF: 20 pages) http://www.espoo.fi/download/noname/%7B832FB8A9-00B3-4D00-BB1A-4A0B4FD00E63%7D/63935

Brochure: New national core curriculum for basic education: focus on school culture and integrative approach (PDF: 2 pages) http://www.oph.fi/download/174369_new_national_core_curriculum_for_basic_education_focus_o 3

n_school_culture_and.pdf

Brochure: School Meals in Finland (PDF: 8 pages) http://www.oph.fi/download/47657_school_meals_in_finland.pdf

Specific competencies/governance system

Municipal self-administration has been guaranteed in the Constitution of Finland. The cornerstones of local administration are representative democracy, i.e. municipal elections; direct influence of residents and service users; the right to levy taxes; responsibilities imposed by law as well as the flexibility to organise one’s own operations and administration.

Helsinki

The City of Helsinki’s highest decision making body is the City Council, elected in municipal elections every four years. Helsinki City Council has 85 permanent members and an equal number of deputy members.

The Mayor manage, supervise and develop the City administration in their respective fields of responsibility, ensuring that the objectives defined for the operations are achieved. The current Mayor is Jussi Pajunen.

The City Council’s responsibilities include the definition of City strategies and other important objectives, the bases of service fees and the bases of the organisation of the City administration. The City Council appoints other City bodies and the highest City officers. It also decides on the main financial matters including the City budget, on the appropriations of different sectors and on the municipal tax rate. http://www.hel.fi/www/helsinki/en

Espoo

The highest decision-making authority in the City of Espoo is held by a Council comprising 75 members. The Council is elected by residents every four years. The Council decides on city matters and is responsible for the city’s economy and operations.

The Council appoints the City Board, which is responsible for the practical running of municipal administration and finances. The City Board is the head of city administration and prepares the matters handled by the Council. It also supervises the city’s interests and represents the city. In 2010, the Council appointed Jukka Mäkelä as Mayor of the City of Espoo. He serves under the City Board and manages the city administration and economy as well as other operations. http://www.espoo.fi/en-US

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Key cultural indicators/facts

As capital of Finland, Helsinki boasts several cultural assets, such as a collection of museums and a vibrant musical scene. Its architectural ensemble is also of touristic interest, while a unique Design District has made a name for itself around the world.

As the second largest city in Finland, Espoo owns some of the most recognised centres and companies related to the knowledge economy, such as Aalto University, Nokia, the video game developers Remedy and Rovio, and the Espoo Museum of Modern Art. Espoo’s development is a microcosm of Finland: strong population growth, an increasingly affluent society and modern development as part of a growing, connected and international metropolitan area.

Local cultural priorities

Development strategy Helsinki 2013-2016

Helsinki City Council has outlined a development strategy for the years 2013-16. The main areas of the strategy are the well-being of residents, the attractiveness of the town, urban development and the balance between economic development and sustainability. The vision is that Helsinki is a “community for all its residents and a capital with good services, open decision-making processes and flourishing science, art and creativity”.

Culture has a place across all fields and is instrumental to tourism, leisure activities, and entrepreneurship, in addition to cultural services. The cultural policy of Helsinki has the overarching aim to increase the residents’ wellbeing and foster their sense of citizenship, as well as the vitality of the city, by means of art and culture.

The dynamism and vibrancy of Helsinki, as outlined in the Strategy Programme, refers not only to international recognition, attractiveness and business friendly attitude, but also to the development of Helsinki’s distinctive urban culture. Culture provides enjoyment, quality of life, jobs and opportunities for participation, but it is also one of the sources of the city’s attractiveness.

Keeping sight of the objective to provide a rich cultural offer across all of its territory, Helsinki strives to reach out to its suburbs. In fact, in the articulation of cultural policies, the “Helsinki model” pursues cooperation between cultural institutions and the suburban region.

The strategy can be read here: http://hel.fi/static/taske/julkaisut/2013/Strategy_Programme_2013-2016.pdf

City of Helsinki Urban Facts has issued thematic statistics on arts and culture approximately at five- years intervals. You can find the present comprehensive Arts and Culture publication from: Arts and Culture https://issuu.com/tietokeskus/docs/arts_and_culture_in_helsinki_issuu Espoo’s strategy 2013-2017 – Espoo Story

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Espoo’s strategy is contained in the document Espoo Story (2013-17). The strategy underlines to what extent culture can benefit residents: first, as a top-quality events programme; second, as a tool to foster open-mindedness and creativity- by putting forward challenging and original ideas. Espoo aims to become a world-renowned innovation environment for expertise, science, art and economics. In this sense one of the cross-administrative development programmes focuses on the concepts of youth vitality and participation. Cross-sectorial collaboration in the metropolitan area has been the basis of many successful projects and the structural development of the youth and culture sectors.

The Espoo Story guides the city's operations better and more clearly in accordance with common goals. The Vision of Espoo is a networked Espoo comprising five city centres pioneering a responsible and humane city that is a good place to live, learn, work and do business in and where residents can have their say in matters.

Culture strategy Espoo 2030

CultureEspoo 2030 views culture and art as an integral part of the future of Espoo and states that they should have a more visible role in city planning, construction, learning, social services and health care. Its core belief is that culture can transcend the barriers in society both socially and economically. According to the strategy, culture is the basis of a creative and successful Espoo.

The concepts of culture, diversity and accessibility are especially significant for the CultureEspoo 2030 policies. Espoo wants to use cultural services to promote equality and strengthen the sense of community, participation and well-being.

CultureEspoo 2030 is based on understanding the megatrends that will change our society in the coming decades and the development stages that cities go through, such as diminishing natural resources, population change, digitalisation etc.

Objectives of the Espoo 2030 strategy:

- Culture promotes accessibility and safety - Culture helps regenerate competence - Culture is part of resident-oriented urban redevelopment - Culture safeguards peace in society and builds community spirit - Culture encourages unexpectedness and risk-taking

How to achieve these objectives ?

- Adapting the organisation by making residents’ voices heard and working in networks and partnerships, also inside the administration - Making the urban environment harmonious for residents and sharing space in a diverse and creative way - Strengthening the expert role of the Espoo City Museum and adapting and transforming the library - Measuring the impact of culture with a series of brand new indicators 6

2. About the study visit

Main themes Culture for social inclusion, social innovation and intercultural dialogue

Sub themes • Cultural education • Culture for young people and children

Projects and policies to be presented / places to be visited

Culture Curriculums and KULTUS.FI as a tool for implementing them. Culture curriculums are tools for equal and inclusive art and culture education for schools. Through the comprehensive schools, it is possible to reach all Kultus children regardless of their background. Culture curriculums are plans that comprehensive schools in Helsinki make on how they will use art and cultural services as learning environments during their school year. City of Helsinki Cultural Office has together with the Education Department built up a program and a website to promote making and implementing cultural curriculums and the use of arts and culture in education. Math can be learned through dancing and biology through painting, for example. Kultus.fi is a unique service that the City of Helsinki Cultural Office has produced to connect cultural services and schools. The event calendar of www.kultus.fi is a tool for teachers to find the right cultural services to fit their curriculum and plans. It is a search engine that connects culture institutions or other cultural service producers with schools. There are about 100 cultural operators (theaters, museums, dance companies, culture houses etc.) that currently put their programs and services for schools on the website and also categorize them. Link http://kultus.fi/

Operation Pulse! was launched in western Helsinki in 2009. The objective of the practice is to encourage the local actors in the district to work together for the benefit of the youngsters across administrative boundaries. The core is to Operation encourage young people to influence the services and activities provided in Pulse! their own neighborhood. The key words are participation and accessibility, all activities are free of charge. Operation Pulse! is a model of collaboration and participation targeted to youngsters between 12 to 18 years of age. Through the initiative, the young people are able to influence and make themselves heard. All activities are based on dialogue and discussion with the youngsters. The young people can find free activities in their own neighbourhoods, try new things and skills and 7

most importantly feel that they are important members of the society. Their self-esteem and belief of the future are strengthened trough active participation. One key partner in the Operation Pulse! model are the schools. Trough schools, all the youngsters can be reached. Many different events and happenings are organized during the school days. Link http://lansipulssi.munstadi.fi/

The arts and sports pathway program KULPS provides learning opportunities for comprehensive school students (grades 1-9) at local cultural organizations and sport venues. The aim of the program is to offer equal opportunity and KULPS! access for all children in Espoo to engage in local arts and sports activities. KULPS also increases awareness and appreciation of cultural and sports services in Espoo. KULPS is part of free-of-charge basic education. The content for the program is designed to support the Finnish National curriculum. KULPS visits support the teachers in extensive learning and multiform teaching. KULPS visits are systematic and cost-effective. KULPS program started in 2008, approximately 70,000 visits take place each year, over 60 service providers participate in producing the services.

Link http://espoo.fi/en-US/Culture_and_sport/Culture/Culture_for_everyone/KULPS

Haltia is a new type of visitor centre, bringing all of Finland’s nature under one roof and closer to the visitor through both the building’s facilities and its Haltia stunning exhibitions. Nature from all over Finland can be experienced in the The Finnish Helsinki region. In Haltia, you are surrounded by the spectacular views of Nature Nuuksio and Lake Pitkäjärvi as well as excellent hiking grounds. The Haltia exhibitions offer you an authentic experience of nature from all of Finland. Centre Link http://www.haltia.com/haltia-the-finnish-nature-centre/

Libraries in In Finland the guiding principle in public libraries is to offer free access to Finland cultural and information sources for everyone irrespective of their place of residence and financial standing. No fee is charged for either borrowing or the use of library collections at the library. The infrastructure of Finnish public libraries is among the most extensive and most used in the world. Public libraries are run by municipalities who also determine the extent of services and allocate funds to libraries at their discretion. Local authorities receive statutory state aid for operating a library based on a unit price per inhabitant, which is calculated from real library expenditure in all municipalities every four years. The Helsinki Metropolitan Area Libraries consisting of the city libraries of Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen, and Vantaa have joined their services in the 8

HelMet network. HelMet service consists of information on more than three million items that are available to everybody living in the metropolitan area. HelMet cooperation provides us with results that we could not achieve on our own. Entresse Library was opened in 2009, and large number of its clientele is immigrants and new Finns. The library invests in the services for the young and the immigrants, and observes the desires of the local residents in the development of its services. In Entresse Library a customer can find experiences, information, a community, friends and a way to get into the Finnish society and working life, regardless of their background.

The WeeGee Exhibition Centre consists of five museums: EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art, KAMU – Espoo City Museum, the Helinä Rautavaara Museum, the Finnish Toy Museum Hevosenkenkä and the Finnish Museum of Horology. WeeGee also houses the museum shop and the SIS. Deli+Café restaurant. In the backyard is the Futuro house, designed by architect Matti Exhibition Suuronen, which is open to the public from May to August. Centre WeeGee Located in , Espoo, the exhibition centre offers experiences to visitors of all ages. In addition to exhibitions, the museums offer guided tours, workshops and various themed events. Link http://www.weegee.fi/en-US

Gallen-Kallela Museum located in Espoo, Finland was a home and studio for Finnish painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela. Tarvaspää was designed and built by the Gallen- artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865 – 1931), the castle-like Tarvaspää studio and Kallela residence was opened to the public in 1961 as the Gallen-Kallela Museum. Museum The museum’s temporary exhibitions present the art and life of Gallen-Kallela and his contemporaries and present-day works of contemporary art. The museum provides a wide range of activities and events and serves as a centre for information on Akseli Gallen-Kallela. Link http://www.gallen-kallela.fi/en/

Annantalo Annantalo is an arts centre for children and young people in the centre of Helsinki. Annantalo offers art education, exhibitions, dance performances and Arts Centre theatre productions. In addition, Annantalo works together closely with schools. During daytimes the centre is filled with primary school children who attend art classes. Family event days are also organized regularly in the centre.

Annantalo is housed in a former school that was designed by architect Gustaf Nyström and completed in 1886. The City of Helsinki converted the building in 1987 into an art centre for children and young people that is administratively under the City of Helsinki Cultural Office. Annantalo’s aim to is to provide a favourable atmosphere and the right conditions for children and to experience and see art and culture in Helsinki. Link http://www.annantalo.fi/en/home

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Kiasma is a museum of contemporary art under the umbrella of the Finnish National Gallery. Its primary role is to educate the public on contemporary art and to strengthen the status of art in Finland in general. KIASMA A lively cultural centre and meeting place, Kiasma is the place for pleasure and Museum of experience. The name derives from ‘chiasm’, which stands for an intersection, Contemporar particularly the crossing of optic nerves. Kiasma is an accessible, active and y participatory museum. It stimulates discussion on art and thereby on topical social issues. A diverse, changing programme allows the museum to reach Art different audiences. Kiasma is much more than just a museum. Link http://www.kiasma.fi/en/

Kanneltalo is the cultural centre for West Helsinki located in Kannelmäki. Kanneltalo is an active centre that offers a wide range of interesting events for Kanneltalo all local residents. The emphasis of Kanneltalo’s programme is on theatre and Cultural circus, completed by other forms of art. The house is managed by City of Centre Helsinki Cultural Office, which also rents out the concert hall, gallery and lobby space and is responsible for the programme. The Cultural Office also co- ordinates art education projects held at Kanneltalo. In addition to the Cultural Office, Kanneltalo houses branches of the following City departments: Helsinki City Library, the Youth Department and the Adult Education Centre. Each year Kanneltalo serves between 300,000 and 350,000 visitors. Although Kanneltalo, like other regional centres, is especially designed to serve local residents, these days the centre serves visitors from all over Helsinki. Link http://www.kanneltalo.fi/en/home

National The audience outreach department at the Finnish National Opera arranges Opera activities for children and teens and for other audience groups requiring special pedagogical attention. Audience education reaches some 25,000 to 35,000 people every year. activities and The objective is to propose for these groups experiences of opera and ballet on collaboration their terms – often through participation and learning by doing. In addition to with schools productions for children and teens, the Opera cooperate with schools in a variety of arts education projects and by offering schools and other educational institutions opportunities to visit the Opera House. The collaboration with comprehensive schools is an essential part of the Opera’s outreach activities. Although the main point of the productions is to give artistic experiences, they also develop children’s social skills, creativity and cultural competence. Teachers and instructors can discover new methods and opportunities for multi-discipline teaching within their respective curricula. Link http://oopperabaletti.fi/en/

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The core of Helsinki’s Neoclassical centre is Senate Square. The Square is encircled by the Main Building of the University of Helsinki, the Helsinki Cathedral, the Government Palace, and the Lion Block’s merchant houses, Old Town where the capital’s main political and administrative bodies were placed in the late 19th century. Hall – the The oldest of the merchant houses dates to 1763 and belonged to merchant and Bock House magistrate Gustav Johan Bock. The house served as the residence of the Governor-General and as the town hall. Excluding its ground floor offices, the Bock House today serves City’s receptions. Some of the rooms serve City Council meetings and receptions.

The present City Hall is located in the same quarter on the main Market side. The former hotel building designed by C.L.Engel was turned into the City Hall in 1932.

Contacts in Helsinki-Espoo

Sara Kuusi - [email protected] Tiina Kasvi - [email protected] Kaisa Koskela - [email protected]

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