Laurea Finland COER - Theory and Praxis

2. Introducing the mini-cases

Two case studies in Finland include the Youth services Vantaa and MarjaVerkko NGO:

1) Youth services of the City of Vantaa is a service provided by the municipality (funded by the state) and offered to all young people in Vantaa. Youth services' main concept is to work together with children, the young and residents, and thus promote social inclusion and participation in Vantaa. The young themselves, as well as adults, constitute an important resource in youth work in advancing the wellbeing of the young and in supporting their growth and development. The mission of Youth Services is to improve young Vantaa residents’ living conditions and provide them with preconditions for civic activities. They support the growth, healthy lifestyles and good manners of the young. They develop an open, high quality and safe growth environment with the tools provided by youth policy and ensure that the young in Vantaa have diverse services as well as learning and hobby facilities as part of the metropolitan area. Youth Services’ activities are developed in interaction with other actors, the young, families, schools and organisations.


2) MarjaVerkko NGO  is a cooperative network of local associations, clubs and businesses in Kivistö (Vantaa, Finland). MarjaVerkko is operating as a registered association. The network's main objective is to create and maintain social interaction and dialogue between different stakeholders, while achieving concrete results. The foundation for all of MarvaVerkko’s activity is cooperation among residents and public players. It is a discussion forum and an active force in developing and organising local services.

You can also look at other national mini cases to help you to reflect on your own environment.

Please look at the example of an artefact by clicking on the following link: Italian Artefact which will take you to the Italian Artefact in Section 3 of the Understanding Context COER. Think about who are the practitioners in your environment you could use our word tool with in your own appreciative inquiry process.