Sports clubs open doors to working life for 1,250 young people
The grant for the development of club activities — that is, sports club grant — has undergone a significant overhaul ahead of this year. I initiated the reform last year, and now we at the Ministry have been able to distribute the revamped club grant to sports clubs. Going forward, sports club grant will focus on increasing sports activities for children and young people during the summer.
This coming summer, we will use sport club grant to provide summer jobs for as many as 1,250 young people. We have granted support to a total of 434 sports clubs in 122 different municipalities.
Young people involved in the development of the organization
The young people will work as leaders and assistant leaders in sports clubs, at activity camps for younger children, and at day camps. In many projects, the young people’s skills are also utilized in areas such as social media communication.
With this renewed grant for sports clubs, they can further expand and develop summer activities for children and young people. It is important to involve young people in the development of sports clubs’ activities. I believe that by involving young people, we can find solutions to prevent them from dropping out of sports and make participating in sports even more meaningful.
Every child has the right to a meaningful summer
Summer vacation is an important time for children and young people. Since I myself come from a low-income family, I believe it is incredibly important that all children and young people have the opportunity to participate in meaningful summer activities and enjoy memorable summer experiences.
New studies show that summer activities for children and young people have become increasingly segregated. Socioeconomic disparities are evident in a troubling way when it comes to both recreational activities, summer activities, and summer jobs. This differentiation is reflected, for example, in recreational activities and experiences with summer jobs, and further increases the risk of young people becoming marginalized.
In difficult times, it pays to invest in children and young people
The reduction in funding for community organizations resulting from government budget cuts has made it necessary to redefine the focus of that grant. And what could be a more worthwhile focus than children and young people?
I believe everyone stands to gain from this reform: sports clubs will have enthusiastic young people working for them during the summer, young people will have a fantastic opportunity to work at a sports club during the summer, and children will have meaningful summer activities. I hope this reform will enable more and more children and young people to participate in activities they enjoy through club activities.
Mika Poutala, Minister of Sports, Physical Education, and Youth Affairs