Equality for children and young people builds wellbeing for the entire community

The children and young people in Espoo are active and equal individuals, and they all have the potential to learn through interaction with others.

We are building equal learning paths from early childhood education and care through pre-primary education to basic education and all the way to upper secondary education, always in a learner-oriented manner and together with children, young people, their homes and our partners. Our activities focus specifically on strengthening the sense of inclusion and equality of children and young people.

The upper secondary schools in Espoo are multicultural communities that promote equality in cooperation with their students.

At Mattlidens gymnasium, which offers general upper secondary education in Swedish, the student council regularly organises a Queer Club café. The students can have coffee and snacks, play games and have a great time together.

Leppävaaran lukio upper secondary school organised an equality week for the second time in March. The programme for the week was filled with both information and activities. Each day had its own dressing theme. The week started by writing feel-good messages on Padlet. The first-year students in particular were very enthusiastic about this.  Other activities during the week included Open Stage performances, equality term bingo, equality workshop, performance by ComedyFabe, Shawn Huff & Tommy Lindgren talking about the campaign Don't Break the Game, basketball and floorball activities and a henna tattoo workshop. 

“The students felt that important issues were discussed during the week and they were particularly happy with the different guests. At the equality workshop, one student brought up a good point: we should highlight equality throughout the academic year, not just during one week,” says Community Instructor Henna Uusisalmi from Leppävaaran lukio upper secondary school.

Espoonlahden lukio upper secondary school took part in the equality week now for the first time, but they have organised other, related theme weeks and -days in the past. The week was organised as part of a joint quality project for general upper secondary schools in Espoo. Project teachers Emmi Bildjuschkin and Päivi Perenius were the “managers” of this experiment, but the whole student welfare body was involved in the planning and implementation of the week.

The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia is celebrated on 17 May, and that is also why the theme week was organised in the same month, around that day. The theme for the equality week was equality from the wider viewpoint: what does it mean and how can everyone promote it in their everyday lives? During the week, the school organised morning assemblies related to the topic and inclusive break activities or so-called “stands”, where students had the opportunity to go deeper into the themes of equality and meet the school staff (project teachers and members of the student welfare body). “The students were active participants and the feedback from the week was positive”, says Emmi Bildjuschkin.

As part of the implementation of the equality and non-discrimination plan, the teachers at Kuninkaantien lukio upper secondary school participated in an equality and sexual diversity training. The training addressed both respectful concepts and best practises, with a general aim of promoting equality and non-discrimination in the everyday life of the school.

A privilege walk activity was designed for the teachers. A privilege walk is an exercise that can be used to examine different sorts of privilege within society and their impact on one’s own behaviour and the lives of others. The goal is to make privilege visible and to gain an idea of how it feels to have or not have certain types of privilege in one's daily life.

During the academic year 2023–2024, two teachers were part of the equality and non-discrimination working group in Kuninkaantien lukio upper secondary school. In accordance with the previously prepared equality and non-discrimination plan, the group and a few interested students have prepared a draft for the school's safer space guidelines. These guidelines have been discussed among teachers and with students during educational guidance. The appointment of harassment contact persons has also been discussed together.

The Youth Pride Café opened in the autumn of 2021 at Ohjaamotalo in Leppävaara. At the Youth Pride Café, young people can engage in informal activities, such as chatting and playing games, but each session also has a theme. The themes vary, and can include things like making waffles or badges, planting spring flowers, crafting or fixing nails.

The Pride Café is open on Wednesdays from 16:30 to 19:30 at Lintuvaarantie 2. Visitors to the café are primarily LGBTQ+ teens aged 13 to 17. The Pride Café is closed for the summer, but reopens in August. The staff of the Pride Café include youth workers from the Helsinki Pride community and Espoo's Youth Services.

Hanging on the walls here and there are reminders of the school’s values: a pupil project on equality, an aphorism on respect and, on display in a central location at the lower grades’ lobby, a gigantic golden zero inside frames. Lagstads skola has been working hard for a long time to make all pupils feel welcome and equal at the school. By involving pupils and staff, the school strengthens the message that everyone is equally valuable and that everyone must be treated with respect.

“We think that everyone has the right to take up space. This applies to both children and adults. Nobody should feel the need to act smaller than they are – everyone has the right to be seen. Every child and adult has something to offer. Regardless of their background, religion, disability or sexual orientation. These things do not matter. We are all human beings, and we are all wonderful,” says Agneta Torsell, principal of Lagstads skola.

The school is a combined primary and lower secondary school with grades 1–9. The school also offers small group instruction for grades 7–9. The school building also houses a daycare centre and pre-primary school, Lagstads daghem och förskola. Agneta Torsell has a lot to say when it comes to discussing equality. Nevertheless, she must pause and think for a moment before answering the question about how Lagstads skola deals with matters related to equality. However, this is not due to her being at a loss for words, but rather because equality work is an integral part of everyday work.

“When I started as a principal of Lagstads skola, I was given the opportunity to start managing the legacy built by the previous principal. They created a school atmosphere where it is a given that we do not tolerate anyone being subjected to insults or other inappropriate behaviour,” Agneta describes. “I believe that we as adults can do a lot by showing that we consider ourselves to be good just the way we are and that we don’t have to be a certain way to be good enough. We also show that we think the pupils are good just the way they are and do not try to change them,” Torsell explains.

At the beginning of each school year, the school rules are reviewed with the future seventh-graders. Older pupils help explain to new pupils how things are done at the school. The pupils themselves appreciate the approach and the common rules, so they are happy to take on this task.

“The new seventh-graders find it more interesting to listen to older pupils than my lecturing,” Torsell says, laughing. Perhaps it says something about our attitude that the school mascot is a plush toy rescued from a waste bin. The toy, named Ior, is allowed to go everywhere with the pupils and it can also talk and discuss things with the children in a different way than a principal ever could.

Lagstads skola wants to emphasise that everyone is equal. The school often celebrates various theme days, whenever there are any on the calendar. The idea is to try to address and discuss a wide range of issues and show that everyone is important. The themes may include different religions, disabilities or sexual orientation. It is important to emphasise that equality and non-discrimination really apply to everyone.

What about the golden zero on display in the lobby? It is a symbol of the school’s zero tolerance for insults. At the beginning of each school year, pupil volunteers visit the first-grade classroom to introduce the concept of zero tolerance and the golden zero. They also give the teacher a golden zero that is the displayed in the classroom. The golden zero reminds the pupils and the staff of the school's values every day. 

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Detailed information about the Pride Café's weekly programme can be found on the café's Instagram account @nuorten_pride_kahvila_espoo