All about equality – a place for every young person to be themselves
Equality is one of the foundations of Espoo’s unified study path. That is why Youth Services also actively works to promote equality. We want every young person to feel safe, accepted and included. We aim to create safe spaces where diversity is seen as a strength and where everyone can be themselves, without fear of discrimination. Our work is varied and concretely visible in both daily youth work and events.
One of the Youth Services’ events was the cooperation with the Pride café in Espoo with influencer Joona Hellman. Joona came to the Pride café on 23 April 2025 and met dozens of young people during the evening. His presence meant a lot to the young people, who sent a lot of positive feedback on the cooperation. One of the purposes of this cooperation was to inform young people in Espoo about the café, and Joona helped us reach over 19,000 people through social media. You can find the opening hours of the Pride café on the Youth Services section of the City's website. The café is a safe and relaxed meeting place for young people in sexual and gender minorities. You can spend time at the café, talk to other young people and the instructors, and receive peer support.
“Working with the City of Espoo’s Youth Services was really rewarding. It was important and meaningful to me to visit the Pride café and meet young people. It is always an honour to meet young people and talk to them about topics that makes them feel alone or otherwise difficult – like identity, mental health or being yourself,” says Hellman.
“What I mean to also do is be an example and verbalise the feelings that many people do not dare to say out loud. I want to tell every minority youth that they don't have to change to fit in – the world changes when you dare be yourself. And I'm here to show you that it's possible.”
It’s camp ahoy!
In the summer, Youth Services also organises LGBTQ+ summer camps, which are especially aimed at minority youth. At these camps, young people can enjoy summer and camp life in a safe environment. The camps have a varied programme that has taken the young people’s wishes into account. The camp ends with Helsinki Pride.
Skilled and trained personnel
Our equality work also reflects on the continuous training of youth centre personnel on diversity and non-discrimination themes. The aim is to ensure that each youth worker meets young people with respect and provides the needed support. This also means that we listen to the young people and use their feedback to develop our services.
Youth Services has an important role in building a more equal society. By providing safe spaces, varied activities and expert support, Youth Services helps young people grow. Our work in continuing and will develop in a direction where more and more young people feel genuinely welcome just as they are. Equality work is much more than talk – it is action.