in content lists or on the content page.According to a recently completed study, Finnish young people’s future dreams and their blueprint for life can be found close by – among family and friends. Young people do not have a strong interest in changing the world. Important values include reliability and industriousness. Their identities are characterised by pride in their Finnish roots and open-mindedness as world travellers. Internationality is a natural part of life. Young people consider Finland to be “a nice but a slightly dull place”.
The Images of the Future of Young Finnish People study was carried out in August-October 2007 involving more than 400 young people from different parts of Finland. The objective of the study was to identify the future world young people will inhabit. What will everyday life be like in the future and what values will exist?
According to the study, the future outlook of young people is surprisingly conventional. Their responses reflect the strong need for commitment and strong social relationships. They are not eager to make major changes. Any unexpected changes will arise through external forces. The greatest threats for young people are unemployment and serious illnesses. War and the threat of Russia, in particular, were reflected in the responses of boys. However, young people are not afraid of terrorism.
In the two-stage study young people were requested to submit online stories using the theme “My world in 2020”. In the second stage, young people further developed three basic stories created in the first stage. The project was carried out by Fountain Park Oy and funded by Sitra and Tekes. The results have been used in the content guidelines for the Tekes strategy published in March and Sitra’s foresight operations.
– The content in our strategy was based on people and the challenges and possibilities arising from their well-being. It is important for us to recognise how ideas change and what young people in particular think about the future, says Eija Ahola, Research Director at Tekes.
– Fortunately, the values of young people still reflect caring for other people and love even in the midst of the current economy and haste and bustle of life, says Niklas Huotari, Chairman of the Union of Finnish Upper Secondary School Students, about the results.
– It is good to see that young people are relatively free from cynicism. The results remind us that things are relatively good for the majority of our young people,” says Jukka Oksa, Director of Education Services in the Municipality of Urjala.
– It was surprising that the image of young people provided by the report is fairly traditional and it was difficult to find any rebellion against or challenges toward the current society, says Pekka Luoma, Principal of the Koillis-Helsinki Upper Secondary School.
– In 1994 schools didn’t have any aids, school social workers or psychologists and students weren’t taught in small, flexible or special groups. Students weren’t provided with personal study plans and they weren’t diagnosed as having ADHD and other conditions that could affect learning. I wonder what young people of that time would have forecast for today in a similar study? says Maarit Rossi, Principal of the Kirkkoharju School.
– We adults should be aware of both our own responsibilities and those of society. We should provide young people with qualifications for entrepreneurship and instil in them a belief in their own ability to determine their outcome in life. Tomorrow is made today, says Rossi.
Further information
Eija Ahola, Tekes, tel. +358 10 521 5806, e-mail firstname.lastname@tekes.fi
Timo Hämäläinen, Sitra, tel. +358 9 6189 9256, e-mail firstname.lastname@sitra.fi
Method: Eija Seppänen, Fountain Park Oy, tel. +358 40 508 3645, e-mail firstname.lastname@fountainpark.com