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Museums and cultural heritage In central government, it is the Ministry of Education and Culture's task to oversee cultural heritage policy and legislation. The Ministry provides direction to the museum sector through funding and performance guida...

Export of cultural objects An export licence is always required when bringing objects which are part of Finland's cultural heritage out of the country. The Act on Restrictions to the Export of Cultural Objects (11.11.2016/933) protect and preserve...

A short history of Finnish financial aid for students 2025 From 1 August 2025 onwards, students can get a housing supplement for students. This means that general housing allowance will no longer be paid to students. The change will not apply to s...

25.2.2026 | Varkaus – a living industrial cultural heritage – was awarded the Cultural Heritage Label by the European Commission. The label is designated to sites located in the European Union that strongly embody the history, culture and integration of Europe.

Higher education institutions, science agencies, research institutes and other public research organisations The Finnish higher education system consists of universities and universities of applied sciences. A total of 13 universities and 22 unive...

State Indemnities for Art Exhibition State guarantees help promote the organisation of major exhibitions so that museums do not need to incur the cost of insurance. The state indemnity system also applies to historical and other cultural exhibitio...

Prohibition to seize exhibition items The purpose of the prohibition against seizure is to promote the organisation of important exhibitions in such a way that the return of items can be guaranteed. Upon application, the Ministry of Education and ...

United Kingdom – London The specialist follows higher education and science policy in the UK, foster opportunities for cooperation, promote Finland’s visibility, and assist Finnish higher education institutions, research institutes and other innov...

11.3.2026 | Minister of Science and Culture Mari-Leena Talvitie has signed a joint statement from the ministers responsible for culture from 22 European countries, sent to the organisers of the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. Allowing the Russian Federation’s participation is unacceptable, and the ministers call on the Venice Biennale to reconsider its decision.

Legislation The Finnish state is neutral with regard to religions and churches. However, there are close institutional and legislative links between the State and the Church. The Ministry of Education and Culture administers matters relating to th...

13.6.2025 | The recipients of the 2025 State Award for Public Information have two things in common: they give a voice to those often left unheard and they challenge the status quo. Their work invites us to look at the world with curiosity, empathy and a critical eye.

22.9.2025 | The Ministry of Education and Culture’s proportion of the 2026 budget proposal is EUR 8.9 billion, which is some EUR 4.4 million more than in the 2025 Budget. Despite continued pressure on general government finances, the proposal maintains investment in education, research and competence.

Moral copyright Moral rights prohibit derogatory use of a work created by another person. Moral rights include, for instance, the right to claim authorship, and the right to the integrity of the work. These rights remain with the author even when ...

18.6.2025 | Senate Properties will begin a major renovation of the National Archives’ main building at Rauhankatu 17 in spring 2026. At the same time, the building will be adapted into a shared workspace for the National Archives, the Institute for the Languages of Finland, the Finnish National Agency for Education, the Accessibility Library Celia, and the Research Council of Finland. These agencies will move into the premises in autumn 2028.

11.9.2025 | JKMM Architects selected to design landmark waterfront building at the conclusion of an international, open and anonymous competition launched in April 2024. The international design competition received 624 proposals from around the world.

3.5.2024 | On 3 May, the Ministry of Education and Culture published the 2024 Bildung Review, which compiles statistical and other information on the administrative branch of the Ministry, its development and situation in international comparison. The themes for 2024 are regionality, life cycle and the fields of education and culture. The objective of the annually published review is to create an overall picture of the extensive administrative branch as a whole.

25.2.2026 | Competency Path © 2 0 2 6 C o m p e te n c y P a th Contents 1. Introduction and background 2. My Competency Path 3. Guidance practitioner section 4. Information service 1. Introduction and background 25/02/2026 3 What is Competency Path? A free o...

23.9.2024 | The Ministry of Education and Culture’s proportion of the 2025 budget proposal is EUR 8.45 billion, which is some EUR 411 million more than in the 2024 Budget. The proposal implements the Programme of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's Government, which aims to invest, even in a difficult economic situation, in raising the level of education and training and improving the conditions for conducting science, research and development.

1.10.2024 | The Ministry of Education and Culture proposes Varkaus ‘a living industrial cultural heritage’ as Finland's nomination for the European Heritage Label.

28.1.2025 | More than 112,000 primary and lower secondary schoolchildren from 1,300 schools took part in the Ministry of Education and Culture’s national student survey. According to the survey, 85% of schoolchildren have a hobby they enjoy. 19% of lower secondary school students lack a hobby, even though lower secondary school students showed a great deal of interest in different leisure activities. They indicated an interest in trying out 11 leisure activities.