Reaching Finland’s immigrant communities

Avartti – the Finnish Award, has around 1000 participants and receives financial support from a number of sources including the Ministry of Education and the Nokia Corporation. This financial support has enabled us to focus our efforts on key projects including targeting young immigrants, an initiative which has continued to go from strength to strength.

We started working with young people who had not been born in Finland in Jyväskylä in 2001 and currently have 100 participants from immigrant communities. In 2003, ten boys hit the headlines when they achieved their Bronze Award. Originally from Afghanistan, they were some of the first refugees to arrive in Jyväskylä. With positive media coverage and the increasing involvement of our country’s President, Tarja Halonen, interest in the Programme has grown and in March 2008, we received public recognition for our efforts when we were acknowledged by the Finnish Red Cross for our work with young refugees and immigrants.

Targeting the right audience

Reaching such a specific set of young people is not without its challenges, especially as young newcomers to the country tend to be a very tightly knit group. Like many people, they use the Internet to communicate with their friends, especially those living in other cities. By exploiting this online network, we have been able to extend our activities to other parts of Finland. Young immigrants who are undertaking the Award introduce the Programme to their friends, share their experiences and tell them about its challenges and rewards. The only pitfall of this method is that for it to be successful, we have to have key contacts within these communities who not only have a good online network of friends but are also trusted by their peers.

Another way that we target this community is through holding weekend camps. Planned and carried out by participants, these events aim to draw in new people and raise awareness of the opportunities that the Programme offers. As well as introducing the Award, the camp enables participants to undertake different outdoor activities, exchange experiences and sample traditional Finnish food.

Building trust

Groups of enthusiastic young people and good networks alone, however, are not enough and in order for us to fully establish ourselves within this community we have to gain the trust and support of participants’ families. This can be difficult as most of the parents don’t speak or understand Finnish so we use interpreters to help maintain clear and open communication.

We work hard to build relationships with families and as well as inviting them to participate in Award ceremonies, we organise local celebrations. Gradually parents learn to trust our Award leaders, the safety of Award activities and, more importantly, they develop an interest in the possibilities that the Programme offers.

A new way of life

Moving to a new country and adapting to a way of life which often seems alien can be difficult. These young people have a strong cultural inheritance and have to reconcile this with the customs and traditions of their new home country, which isn’t easy. The Award aims to help young people from immigrant communities adjust, and supports their integration into Finnish society by encouraging them to find new hobbies, participate in local youth activities, make Finnish friends and become familiar with Finnish culture.

Overcoming mutual prejudices has been one of our biggest challenges and the key to achieving this has been honest and open communication – learning to understand the differences between the different cultures and religions but also to respect them. At first, communicating with our participants without a common language was a challenge, but overall, we’ve had a positive response. Many of the young people involved in this project have shown real enthusiasm and one of the most popular items in the Skills Section is learning Finnish.

A programme for all

The adaptable format of the Award Programme has been a key factor in getting young refugees and immigrants to commit as it is relevant to any young person, anywhere in the world and we want to continue to give young immigrants the opportunity to join the Programme. The Award is open to everyone, participation doesn’t require comprehensive knowledge of Finnish and it isn’t tied to a specific religion or culture.

In the future, we aim to have 10,000 young participants including at least 1000 from immigrant communities. With the financial backing of organisations such as Nokia, who recently gave us extra funding for this initiative, we are sure to succeed and the Award will continue to touch another set of young peoples’ lives.

Quoted from Award World No 59, October 2008