Search

Promotion of physical activity The Ministry of Education and Culture endeavours to create conditions for a physically active lifestyle for the whole population. The aim is to enable the Finnish population to be physically active to a degree that s...

Legislation: sport This page lists key acts and decrees that govern sport and physical activity. The statutes can be found in the Finlex database in Finnish and Swedish. Act on the Promotion of Sports and Physical Activity (390/2015) The purpose o...

National Youth Work and Youth Policy Programme The National Youth Work and Youth Policy Programme is a horizontal programme, which the Government adopts every four years with the aim of promoting a good environment for young people to grow up and ...

Sport policy: policies and development Sport policy is designed to promote sport and physical activity and, through them, the wellbeing of the population, as well as competitive and performance sports and related civic activity. The Ministry of Ed...

EU and international cooperation The Ministry of Education and Culture participates in various international organisations in sport-related cooperation between different countries, as well as in the preparation of sport-related matters in the Euro...

Culture, physical activity and youth work facilitate integration Cultural services, public libraries, activities for young people and sports activities make it easier to integrate into the society. Participation in such activities provides an easy...

Sport and fitness science The Ministry of Education and Culture annually allocates appropriations and discretionary government grants for sport-related research and communications. Discretionary government grants for sport and fitness science rese...

EU and international cooperation The Ministry of Education and Culture participates in various international organisations in sport-related cooperation between different countries, as well as in the preparation of sport-related matters in the Euro...

Financing of sport The task of sports administration and services is to promote sports and physical activity. The Ministry of Education and Culture is responsible for the general direction, coordination and development of sports policy and for ens...

Local authority cultural activity Local authorities (municipalities) are responsible for organising cultural activities that support local cultural life and those involved in it. It is the local authority that decides on the content of public cult...

8.5.2026 | The EU ministers responsible for education, youth, culture and sport will meet in Brussels on 11–12 May. Education ministers are expected to adopt a general approach on the next Erasmus+ programme and outline the role of artificial intelligence in education. Other items on the agenda include the EU Youth Dialogue, the new AgoraEU programme, and mental health in sport.

Southern Africa – Pretoria This Team Finland Knowledge region covers all the member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Rwanda. Work is most active in South Africa, a global key player in science and geopolitics and the...

EU and international cooperation in arts and culture The Ministry of Education and Culture is responsible for international cultural policy and participates in its development and implementation in international organisations and the European Unio...

EU and international cooperation in arts and culture The Ministry of Education and Culture is responsible for international cultural policy and participates in its development and implementation in international organisations and the European Unio...

fi Etusivu Vastuualueet Ajankohtaista Hankkeet ja säädösvalmistelu Avustukset Julkaisut Ministeriö Yhteystiedot sv Framsida Ansvarsområden Aktuellt Projekt och lagberedning Understöd Publikationer Ministeriet Kontaktinformation en Frontpage Areas ...

Pupil and student welfare Pupils in pre-primary, primary and lower secondary school as well as students in upper secondary school have the right to pupil and student welfare services (also known as student welfare). It consists of student welfare ...

Youth work Through youth work and youth policy, the central government and the municipalities work to improve young people’s living conditions and encourage the young to engage in civic activities. The Ministry of Education and Culture prepares is...

Education is one of the cornerstones of the Finnish welfare society. We pride ourselves on an educational system that offers equal opportunities for education for all.

25.3.2026 | The final report of the expert group appointed by the Ministry of Education and Culture examines the decline in young people’s confidence in the future. The group presents 36 recommendations to improve the situation. The final report was submitted to the Minister of Youth, Sport and Physical Activity Mika Poutala on Wednesday, 25 March 2026.

The core objective of the project is to build digital services to support individuals in making educational and career choices and maintaining and developing their competence throughout their careers and lives, as well as to promote a better match between work, competence, and demand and supply of education.