Prologue – Pilvi Kuitu
You know that feeling when you want to be part of a group, project, study, hobby or something else that is important and meaningful to you? Think about how you get excited and dare to make an effort to get involved and eventually achieve your goal. And best of all, getting involved is just as important and valuable to you as you thought it would be. You get to fulfil yourself and be a visible part of the community that matters to you. You experience a sense of ownership and inclusion.
But sometimes the doors don’t open for you, someone else is chosen to go, and you are left out. The resulting feeling is often at least momentarily crippling, depressing, disappointing and a test of self-esteem. Why am I not good enough the way I am? In what way was that other person better than me? Was I bad or did I do something wrong? Often, however, the way up from the bottom is fairly quick. New opportunities and belief in your own abilities rear their heads. I’m fine just the way I am. I’ll get it right next time. I’ll practise my skills a bit and then I’ll be more ready and do better. I’ll get selected, participate, and be included.
But this is not the case for everyone. There are hundreds of thousands of people in Finland whose door to participation and inclusion is closed for one reason or another. Often, barriers to participation are thought to stem from some individual characteristic. It can be easy to think that there is something wrong with a person who does not fit into the mould of services or the environment. “Unfortunately, you cannot now participate in our activities because you are partially sighted, use a wheelchair, cannot stand in line long enough, make too much noise, are too slow, are poor or speak the wrong language.” The reality is that exclusion is caused by the way services and activities are designed and delivered. At the heart of the issue is the question of who the service is designed for in the first place, and whose needs are taken into account in its implementation.
A large number of us, for various reasons, find ourselves again and again excluded, often throughout our lives, and experience being the wrong kind of person. How is this possible and how can it be changed? What can we, you or I, individually and collectively, do to break down these structures and attitudes of inequality and discriminatory practices?
In this blog, Pilvi Kuitu and Aura Linnapuomi wonder and seek answers to these questions together with postdoctoral researcher IIna Järvinen. Iina has been researching cultural rights, how they are implemented in Finland, and what kinds of things hinder the implementation of these rights. In her doctoral thesis, Iina has focused on one aspect of cultural rights, in particular, the right to self-development, and researched its realisation for people living in poverty(1). This right includes the right of everyone to participate in leisure activities, cultural life and self-development. In other words, the right to culture, leisure, experiences and learning, the right to a good life.
The right to participation and inclusion – legal basis
The right to a good life belongs to all of us. Well-being is the result of an individual’s health, personal choices, abilities, capacities, opportunities and external or imposed factors (2).
According to the theory of capabilities developed by philosopher Martha Nusbaum, the key capabilities of an individual include:
- ability to imagine and think
- the ability to use your senses and imagination
- the ability to attach oneself to external things and people
- the ability to feel, i.e. to love, grieve, experience longing, gratitude and justified anger
- the ability to form a conception of the good and to engage in critical reflection
- the ability to live with others and to engage in social interaction.
The emergence of experiences of the role of an actor and participation is directly related to the individual’s ability and opportunity to choose the contents of his or her life that he or she values, and to the opportunities to interact with others and to participate in the creation and experience of meaning. (3,4) This is something we all have the right to and should have the opportunity to do.
The right to accessible services is based on international human rights conventions and Finnish law. They require and guide all actors using public power and resources to ensure equal access to their services. Discrimination is prohibited by law and this also applies to those organising and providing leisure, cultural and sporting services (5, 6, 7).
We ask Iina why these laws are not already in place.” Laws, regulations and international agreements are largely recommendatory and there is no categorical enforcement,” says Iina. “And there is no penalty for breaking them, but at most a reprimand from, say, the Parliamentary Ombudsman if you make a complaint.”
We also see that the legal provisions are often very general. For example, “promotion of accessibility and equality”, without specifics, leaves room for a very free interpretation.
The accessibility discourse is full of similar high-level concepts and interpretations. However, many of the barriers to participation are very concrete, identifiable and definable. Could things be expressed in a more concrete and guiding way, making it much easier for actors to act in the right direction?
Good accessibility is about concrete actions, many of which are easy to implement. Removing barriers often only requires understanding, skills and knowledge. For example, making websites accessible, choosing only accessible venues, using clear language, including pricing based on ability to pay, and inclusive design are all easy to do.
Means for accessibility and self-development at different levels
What are the means for realising the right to self-development in Finland, and who is responsible for them? Below are Iina’s three picks:
- Accessibility is everyone’s responsibility. According to Iina, the state, municipalities and regions have a duty not only to implement the right to self-development but also to respect the right and not to violate it. Businesses and 3rd sector services must also at least respect and not infringe on the right to self-development.
- Decisions must be based on information. Respect for rights requires knowledge and information, and implementation requires commitment and rigour at all levels of activity. Responsibility lies with the people who make the decisions and lead the action, and with those who plan, implement and monitor the it. The impact of decisions and policies must be assessed and the consequences must be known at all levels.
- Services and benefits must be adequate. In financial terms, Iina believes that social security should be at a level that allows for the development and recreation that is part of normal life. This requires resources, at the level of society, organisations and individuals. We also need appropriate and flexible use of resources.
We note that the current government’s measures – cuts in social benefits and a 12% cut in funding for liberal education, for example – are a significant setback to self-development, and their impact on individuals and society should be assessed without delay. Iina has recently written an article on the responsibility of public authorities in the field of liberal education (8). Iina notes that from the point of view of self-development, children, for example, are a special group. Children’s cultural rights are part of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (9), and their implementation should be a constant focus of attention.
A more accessible hobby – how?
The Finnish Model for Accessible Leisure Activities project has created accessibility recommendations aimed at recreation organisers and operators. The recommendations set out principles that promote accessibility for all. We have tried to emphasise concrete and clear measures in the recommendations. The recommendations will also be accompanied by online training to help operators remove concrete barriers to participation.
We hope that the recommendations will also be useful for municipalities and the state, as the state and municipalities have a duty to set precise guidelines for removing barriers and taking diversity into account as a condition for funding! Now that the Basic Education in the Arts Act is being reformed during this government term, it will be a golden opportunity to take accessibility issues into account in a new way, also at the legislative level. The recommendations of the Accessible Hobbies provide an excellent basis for the reform of the law.
The Finnish Model for Leisure Activities project has sought to identify and address barriers when the model was being built. In fact, it was born from the idea of accessibility. The idea is that every child, regardless of where they live or any other circumstance or characteristic, should have the opportunity to pursue and develop their hobbies and enjoy a good life. For example, in autumn 2023, the model enabled around 140,000 children and young people to participate in leisure activities, which is about 27% of the total number of children in grades 1 to 9. So the model does not reach everyone. Some are excluded by choice and some against their will.
The Finnish Model for Leisure Activities is a welcome service, Iina says, yet questions what the need for the model says about our social security system, which should be sufficient to safeguard the right to self-development. In the Finnish Model for Leisure Activities, economic and geographical accessibility is addressed by providing free services after school hours, as a rule on school premises. Is the model intended to address the shortcomings of the system, Iina wonders.
We are concerned with the question of the social accessibility of the Finnish Model for Leisure Activities and how and who determines and decides the content of the offer. Do children and young people feel ownership of what is on offer? The aim and purpose is to provide every child with a meaningful hobby, but how many factors influence which hobby groups children have access to in practice? Who decides whether, in our municipality in particular, the model offers access to parkour, horse riding, football, band playing, climbing, cooking, visual arts, circus, or something else entirely? What if you need special support to participate? Is everyone welcome to join in? Even if a school survey asks children what they want, the impact of resources or the availability of activities with different content may be much more important than the children’s wishes.
Lastly – Pilvi Kuitu
You can’t have everything – or can you? Step by step towards real accessibility
Accessibility and equality are based on fundamental rights. Knowing and respecting them is essential. However, I believe it is at least as important to define and recognise the value base on which you organise or deliver your services.
Saavutettavuuden kivijalka muurataan isoissa linjoissa, joissa määritellään mikä meille on tärkeää, millaista toimintakulttuuria arvostetaan sekä mitä mitataan ja seurataan. Kuka kuuluu mukaan ja kuka ei? Näiden linjausten päälle me rakennamme oman toimintakulttuurimme ja palvelumme. Näiden laatua ohjaavat rahoituksen ehdot ja määrä sekä suunnitteluvaiheessa tehdyt valinnat, muut resurssit, toimintatavat ja toimintaa ohjaava arvopohja. Jokainen tekijä tässä ketjussa aina poliittisista päättäjistä, palveluiden tilaajiin, tuottajiin ja yksittäisiin työntekijöihin on osaltaan vastuussa saavutettavuuden toteutumisesta.
The foundation of accessibility is built on big guidelines that define what is important to us, what kind of culture is valued, and what is measured and monitored. Who is included and who is not? We build our own culture and services on top of these guidelines. Their quality is driven by the conditions and amount of funding, as well as the choices made at the planning stage, other resources, policies and the value base that guides our actions. Everyone in the chain, from policy makers, providers and individual workers, has a role to play in making accessibility a reality.
It is quite clear that not even the best services can meet every need of every person, every life situation. However, we must use all our skills and energy to work towards a situation where recreation is genuinely for everyone, and not to reinforce the cycle of inequality and exclusion. This will be achieved by developing activities and thinking, and by finding the time, money and courage to do things differently.
Authors
Pilvi Kuitu, Executive Director of PiiPoo Cultural Centre and PhD researcher
Kuitu has been involved in the development of the Finnish Model for Leisure Activities from its very beginning.
Aura Linnapuomi, Specialist in Culture for All-service
Linnapuomi specialises in accessibility in the cultural sector.
Kuitu and Linnapuomi act as developers and experts in a project of the Association of Finnish Children’s Cultural Centers. They both have more than 15 years of experience in addressing accessibility issues in the cultural field.
The original article has been translated from Finnish.
Sources
- Järvinen, Iina 2023. Itsensä kehittäminen köyhyydessä: https://trepo.tuni.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/149859/978-952-03-2963-1.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y
- Isola A-M ym. Mitä osallisuus on? Osallisuuden viitekehystä rakentamassa Työpaperi. THL. 2017. URN_ISBN_978-952-302-917-0.pdf
- Nussbaum M. Creating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University . 2011. ISBN 978-0674072350
- Sen A. The standard of living. Cambridge University Press. 1987
- Suomen perustuslaki 731/1999
- Yhdenvertaisuuslaki 1325/2014
- YK:n Yleissopimus vammaisten henkilöiden oikeuksista: https://www.finlex.fi/fi/sopimukset/sopsteksti/2016/20160027/20160027_2
- Järvinen, I. (2024). Riittävää ja kohtuullista? Julkisen vallan vastuu vapaassa sivistystyössä. Teoksessa I. Järvinen, J. Pätäri & B. Wallén (toim.) Sivistykselliset oikeudet ja vapaa sivistystyö. Helsinki: Vapaa Sivistystyö ry. Saatavilla: [https://www.vapausjavastuu.fi/sivistykselliset-oikeudet-jarvinen ]. [Verkkojulkaisusarja.]
- YK:n Lasten oikeuksien sopimus: https://www.unicef.fi/tyomme/lapsen-oikeudet/lapsen-oikeuksien-sopimus/lapsen-oikeuksien-sopimuksen-koko-teksti/
