A damp and cold breeze flooded in from the staircase when we opened the corrugated iron door. The door and its surroundings were covered in graffiti. The steep, concrete stairs continued deep underground. The moisture that had condensed on the stone surfaces dripped down our necks in icy drops. One of the members of the American group of leaders looked at me suspiciously:
Where are you taking us?
In September 2024, I hosted a group of twenty leaders from Charlotte, North Carolina, in Helsinki. The local Gambrell Foundation had funded their second expedition to Helsinki, the capital of the happiest country in the world. The goal was to increase local decision-makers’ understanding of the fundamental beliefs and institutions resulting in the cohesion and happiness of the Finnish society. I had curated a program, where we visited Finnish homes, forests, saunas, offices, and recreational spaces.
During our visit the previous year, the presentation by the City of Helsinki initially caused some confusion. When the city representatives, my former colleagues, said that the city’s goal was for every child to have a hobby, there was a murmur among the Americans. Finally, one of them raised her hand and asked what exactly Helsinki was aiming for. She continued by asking if the goal was, for example, to reduce violence or improve learning outcomes. My former colleague seemed confused. After a moment of (very typical Finnish) silence, he continued:
“The goal is quite simple. We want children and young people to be well and happy.”
He also added that according to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, children and teens have a subjective right “to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities”
At dinner, many of the Americans were excited to think what a similar goal would mean in their reality. Over the next year, with the support of The Gambrell Foundation, I interviewed local decision-makers about what setting a hobby goal could mean in the United States (you can read the report here). A local leader in philanthropy said in an interview:
“This idea is somehow really appealing to everyone . With a goal like this, I can go to our board and say that we care about their children, too, while also being able to direct more money to neighborhoods where the need is greater.”
Sheltered Hobbies
We descended the stairs with the Americans to the Kontula skatepark, which had been built into a civil protection shelter next to a metro station. (see the space on this video)
The stone surfaces amplified the clatter of the skateboards and made conversation impossible. At the same time, the joy of the young people skating was transmitted across the language barrier. The Americans snapped pictures as we toured the skatepark, the woodcraft space behind it, and the youth center upstairs with its music studio and dance hall.
Over coffee, the local teens talked, their eyes shining, about the impact of playing metal music and the successes they had in martial arts and the friendships they had made. As we boarded the bus, one of the American leaders said:
“This is what it looks like when society believes in young people.”
Hobbies have been a part of my life since I was ten years old. Scouting trips in the Vihti forests increased my self-confidence. The art school encouraged me to express myself through painting and photography. At scout camps, I was responsible for providing food at the age of 17. When I was under twenty, I trained younger people for future responsibilities. The models of encouragement and recognition learned through volunteer work shaped the way I lead. My deepest friendships were built in hobbies rather than in school. As an adult, I worked for years for the City of Helsinki responsible for grants to organizations, basic art education, youth centers, free hobbies, and sports facilities available to organizations.
I moved to the United States at the beginning of 2022. It was only with a bit of distance that I realized how radical, simple, and beautiful the Finnish idea of childhood, hobbies, and free time is.
It is completely exceptional that municipalities have a statutory duty to support recreational activities, that organizations are supported with operational grants and not just through project fundign, and that authorities regularly produce information about what children and young people are doing now and what they would like to try.
Some time ago, in Los Angeles, organizational activists were taken aback when I told them that a large number of youth workers in Helsinki have university degrees in youth work and that in Finland youth work is a recognized field of research that can even be debated.
Is the Finnish system perfect?
Of course not. Too many young people stop sports in their teens because the activities do not sufficiently take into account teenagers’ needs for their own time and friends. Many sports hobbies, in particular, depend on parents to drive teens to training and annual investments of thousands of euros in equipment and travel. A survey of schoolchildren produced by the Ministry of Education and Culture shows that the current offer does not sufficiently meet children’s wishes for more non-competitive and creative activities.
It’s easy to list more challenges, or to be blunt, problems. Seen from California, it seems that in Finland it is extremely difficult for companies and foundations to donate money or time to support hobbies. It also evident that no government in decades has prioritized strengthening civil society or increasing and facilitating volunteer activities. The political goals often stay lofty and generic, like “we advance the comprehensive development of this and that”.
Have A Little Hope?
When I look at Finland, what worries me most, however, is that the Finnish discussion and political leadership on hobbies falls short on proportionality and hopefulness. Many things are really amazing. It is incredible that the current model, largely based on civil society and supported by the public authorities, has achieved a situation where over 90 percent of teenagers report having a weekly hobby. It is incredible how in an era of tight public budgets, Finnish libraries are wonderful places for children to enjoy reading and be creative. It is incredible, while adult education faces budget cuts, that as an adult you can study Bulgarian or Italian wines at a publicly funded adult education center without exorbitant costs. It is incredible, and somehow beautiful, that the goal of hobbies unites decision-makers across party and social class boundaries.
I am worried that the growing inequality and diversity in Finnish cities, sluggish economic growth, high unemployment and the general public finance crisis makes politicians, foundations and hobby providers lose hope on the power of universalism. That is, that we can do things for everyone. When the warning lights of public finance are flashing red, it is easy to be tempted to make sure that support is only directed at those who need it most. That there is no waste.
If you ask me, the recipe of Finland’s success has been a shared understanding that a society is stronger when children and parents from different social classes and walks of life regularly meet in neutral or positive ways. No funder can predict which encounter with a teammate or their parent can turn a life on a different path. It is not the role of public funders to predict winners but to feed the free civil society and provide accessible and inspiring experiences on a broad range.
It is clear that reaching those who are left out of current models requires reworking of the entire system. It is clear that Finland needs honest discussion and more information about who is left out of current recreational activities. But although the current model has flaws and gaps, we should not lose the idea of universal hobbies. It is the happiness insurance of society.
The text was originally published as part of the We Foundation’s 10th anniversary publication. It has been slightly adapted for the English version. Read in Finnish here.
Charlotte, the City of Hobbies!
This week, as a result of the expeditions to Finland and our work with local partners, we launched an exciting innovation project on how Charlotte could be the leading city in America for hobbies. During the next year, we will be
asking teens across the county what they would want to do in their free time
hiring a group of high schoolers to help us understand that data
funding bigger and smaller hobby initiatives informed by the insights from youth
creating better public spaces for hobbies
Read more at www.cityofhobbies.org. This work is carried out in collaboration with
Article: Do not just consult youth. Start building with them
I have spent most of my career on youth. In this article for Bloomberg Philanthropies, I describe the three core principles I have learned:
Share real problems.
Experiment together.
Listen deeply.
So glad to hear that this is in Charlotte. Hobbies build community, but they are also a way to combat "bowling alone" (Putnam) and build the civic reflex. Having the opportunity to do something you enjoy with people who are different than you makes it hard to perceive those people as your enemy. It combats our increasingly closed-off attitudes towards others. Thanks for sharing this.