Statistics Reflect the Diversity of Our Network’s Work
The Association of Children’s Culture in Finland is a nationwide network of professionally operating children’s culture centers and organizations. Its members provide local and regional cultural services across Finland. Last year, the network had activities in 70% of Finland’s municipalities, with over 1.8 million interactions with children through various events and programs.
All 36 member organisations of the Association collect annual statistics on their activities. Since the statistical reform in 2022, the network has compiled high-quality, standardized, and comparable data to provide a clear overview of the work being done. This information supports not only the Association and its members but also funders, researchers, the media, and Statistics Finland.
Data on the activities of children’s culture centers is available in Statistics Finland’s publications (in Finnish) starting from 2015, the year the Association was founded.
A Diverse Membership Produces a Wealth of Information
The Association of Children’s Culture in Finland brings together a wide range of members, including national cultural operators, municipal and city cultural services, networks of municipalities, and independent organisations. You can find the full list of members on the “Children’s Arts and Culture Network” page, where each organization is introduced with a short description.
The network is highly diverse—it includes children’s and youth cultural services from Finland’s largest cities, as well as mobile cultural operators without a fixed public venue. Members work in both urban and rural areas, collaborating with schools, early childhood education, maternity and child health clinics, and reception centers, ensuring equal access to arts and culture for all children and young people.
The Year 2024 in Numbers
The below Statistics Are Based on Data from 34 Member Centers in 2024. Two member organizations did not submit their statistics, and the figures do not include children’s culture operators that are not members of the Association of Children’s Culture in Finland.
Encounters represent the total number of participants by age group and event type. The statistics were provided by 34 out of 36 member organizations.
Activities for every child
Every child reached through artistic activities is important. In 2024, the member organisations of the Association of Children’s Culture in Finland engaged with children and young people 1.8 million times. The network’s activities reached 70% of all municipalities in Finland.
The children’s culture network provides services in multiple languages. In 2024, activities were offered in 15 different languages, including Finnish and Swedish, as well as Ukrainian, Estonian, Dari, Igbo, Arabic, and Chinese. Additionally, nonverbal activities were available, allowing participation regardless of language background.
Children’s culture services are designed for children, families, and professionals working with them. In 2024, members organized workshops, clubs, open cultural center activities, events, festivals, performances, exhibitions, and training sessions. Altogether, 24,175 children’s arts and culture activities took place across Finland.
Total events in 2024 categorised by type of activity.
Total events in 2024 categorised by type of activity.
Total encounters in 2024 by age group. Statistics were provided by 34 out of 36 member organisations.
International and high-quality activities.
The Association of Children’s Culture in Finland promotes international collaboration, supporting both joint projects and professional networking within the field. International projects often focus on developing new working methods, growing expertise, and sharing best practices. In 2024, international cooperation, including projects and events, was carried out with 24 different countries across Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
A total of 16 member organisations provided activities as part of the Finnish Model for Leisure Activities, and 26 organisations organised activities for Cultural Education Plans. In addition to producing children’s arts and culture activities, the Association’s members also train professionals across various fields. In 2024, 26 member organisations held 246 training sessions, with a total of 10,249 participants.
Statistics were provided by 34 out of 36 member organisations.
| Member | Delivered activities (live and online activities) | Number of customer contacts, children | Total number of customer contacts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annantalo Arts Centre, City of Helsinki | 2 653 | 230 813 | 297 355 |
| Children’s cultural centre Lastu Arkkitehtuuri- ja ympäristökulttuurikoulu Lastu ry | 498 | 8 008 | 13 468 |
| South Karelia children’s cultural centre Metku, City of Lappeenranta | 297 | 20 461 | 26 603 |
| Joensuun lastenkulttuurikeskus – Pohjois-Karjalan lastenkulttuuriverkosto, City of Joensuu | 789 | 25 569 | 28 816 |
| Kemin lastenkulttuurikeskus, City of Kemi | 81 | 7 518 | 4 746 |
| Kiertävä lastenkulttuurikeskus Kattila | 569 | 11 620 | 13 548 |
| Konserttikeskus – Concert Centre Finland Konserttikeskus ry | 889 | 119 045 | 119 045 |
| Kotka Children’s cultural centre, City of Kotka | 149 | 44 705 | 76 571 |
| Koulukino – School Cinema Association Koulukino | 74 | 62 248 | 63 425 |
| Cultural centre for children and youth Kulttuuriaitta, City of Jyväskylä | 1 751 | 93 851 | 113 410 |
| Cultural centre ARX, City of Hämeenlinna | 1 174 | 89 481 | 129 214 |
| PiiPoo – Centre for Art and Culture Kulttuurikeskus PiiPoon kannatusyhdistys ry | 964 | 131 269 | 195 593 |
| Lapland children’s cultural network, City of Enontekiö | 38 | 789 | 1 768 |
| Cultural centre for children and youth Villa Arttu – Art Centre for Children and Young People Foundation | 91 | 314 892 | 559 499 |
| Children’s Cultural Centre Aurora, City of Espoo | 610 | 14 921 | 22 478 |
| Children’s cultural centre Efekti, City of Lahti | 653 | 28 985 | 35 161 |
| Lastenkulttuurikeskus Kruunupää, Pori children’s cultural centre, City of Pori | 666 | 32 552 | 86 231 |
| Children’s cultural centre Louhimo, City of Seinäjoki | 717 | 29 387 | 37 865 |
| Lastenkulttuurikeskus Lykky, Kaustisen kunta | 191 | 12 368 | 14 210 |
| Children’s Culture Centre Färi, City of Turku | 1 116 | 53 171 | 65 864 |
| Lasten kulttuurikeskus Vekkula, Vekkuliteatteri ry | 252 | 9 138 | 13 969 |
| Children’s culture network Verso, City of Varkaus | 923 | 45 808 | 61 511 |
| Lilla Villan | 235 | 9 766 | 16 564 |
| Luckan Helsingfors | 926 | 31 719 | 33 349 |
| Luckan Raseborg | 72 | 6 924 | 7 556 |
| Puppet theatre Sampo | 261 | – | 25 854 |
| Cultural Centre Valve City of Oulu | 406 | 68 019 | 94 474 |
| Pohjanmaan lastenkulttuuriverkosto BARK | 241 | 44 228 | 46 657 |
| Sagalund museum and children’s culture centre | 190 | 4 928 | 6 676 |
| Tampere city cultural services: Children’s cultural centre Rulla, Art Arc cultural education programme | 3 360 | 80 089 | 123 107 |
| Dance Theatre Hurjaruuth, Helsinki | 684 | 27 851 | 48 904 |
| Teatteri-Traktori | 93 | 22 000 | 24 510 |
| Culture Cooperative Uulu | 861 | 66 766 | 126 199 |
| City of Vantaa cultural services | 1962 | 70 955 | 93 287 |
| Total | 24 175 | 1 817 072 | 2 630 259 |
Statistics were provided by 34 out of 36 member organisations.
Illustrations by Kaisa Eskola.
