cultural activities
14
finnish cultural foundation
annual report 2013–2014
P
lay is good for people, whatever their
age, but it is especially important
for the development of children.
Through play, the child learns vital skills,
such as the ability to imagine, which is
a basic premise for all creativity. Playing
with an adult is particularly valuable for a
child, and contact with other generations
enriches the life of people of all ages.
The three-year campaign All Finland
Plays, run by the Finnish Cultural
Foundation, is a reminder of the fun
inherent in playing. Under the campaign,
Acorn Clubs will be set up all over Finland.
At these clubs, children aged 5–10 will
play, read, create , engage in active pursuits
and get together with pensioners and
other adult volunteers, including their
own parents and grandparents.
Spreading the club message to every
Finnish municipality carries a strong
historical symbolism.
“It was children, in every corner of our
country, who collected the initial capital
for the Foundation,” says
Juhana Lassila
,
Director of Cultural Affairs, the man in
charge of the project at the Foundation.
“In this anniversary-year project it is
therefore especially important to ensure
that people all over Finland, the remote
regions included, have a chance to set up
an Acorn Club that is free and open to all.”
The name Acorn Club derives from
the oak tree and acorns, which are the
traditional emblem of the Finnish Cultural
Foundation. The Foundation is funding the
campaign to the tune of over EUR 3million.
Reliance on voluntary work
The practical implementation of the
campaign, which relies heavily on
voluntary work, is in the hands of two
large civic organisations, the Mannerheim
League for Child Welfare (MLL) and the
Call for voluntary club leaders
The groundwork, inspiring the local
branches of the civic organisations, has
so far gone well, and the existing MLL
and SPR structures have been effectively
utilised to promote the campaign. More
voluntary club leaders would, however, be
welcome. Having enough adults to share
the responsibility means that running an
Acorn Club does not make impossible
demands on anyone.
“All Finland Plays provides a ready
frame for us to share the responsibility
for children and childhood,” says Juhana
Lassila. “I believe we Finns do have the
desire and the time to domore for children
so long as this is made sufficiently easy.
We just need to target the right people,
and more people through them.”
Finnish Red Cross (SPR). Never before
have these two organisations engaged in
such extensive mutual partnership. They
are placing at the campaign’s disposal
their operative networks and cast-iron
experience of voluntary work. Their
participation also lends the campaign
great credibility.
“There’s plenty of voluntary work on
offer. So the MLL and the SPR, which both
have a good reputation and together have
over 180,000 member contacts, are the
best possible partners for us,” says Lassila.
Help from the press
The campaign was announced at the
Finnish Cultural Foundation’s annual gala
on February 27, 2014, but a fewpilot Acorn
Clubs had already been tested in different
parts of Finland. The first step towards
the official Acorn Club launch was the
recruiting of regional project workers or
‘heralds’. Their job is primarily to promote
the establishment of clubs in their own
areas, but also to act as the campaign ‘s
local go-between. The regional press has
shown a gratifying amount of interest in
both the heralds and the Acorn Clubs, and
the heralds all have their own Facebook
accounts, which they keep well up-to-
date. They also write blogs on the joint
All Finland Plays website.
Time for children and play
The aim of the All Finland Plays campaign is to establish a relaxed, cross-generational
meeting place going by the name of a Terhokerho (Acorn Club) in each Finnish
municipality. The campaign also hopes to stimulate broader discussion about the
importance of play, presence and cross-generational encounter.
”All Finland Plays is a reminder of the fun
inherent in playing. Play is good for people,
whatever their age.”
