Toimintatonni

What happens in the library when children and young people get to decide?

Collection of ideas - online form(external link, opens in a new window)

The Toimintatonni initiative gives children and young people the opportunity to have a say in what happens in their library. Every year, children and young people visiting the libraries of Entresse, Iso Omena, Lippulaiva, Sello and Tapiola get to decide how a sum of approximately EUR 1,000 is used in each library.

Each year, the library selects a theme for how this sum, called Toimintatonni, will be used and chooses an age group that gets to come up with ideas and decide how the money is spent. The money can be used for events or various purchases based on the children’s wishes. Decisions on the ideas to be implemented are made during the winter, and the selected ideas are carried out in the spring.

Toimintatonni is part of Espoo City Library’s participatory budgeting and democracy education activities. When children and young people can make decisions about matters that affect their environment, it encourages them to take an active role in the future as well. At the same time, children develop their negotiation, critical-thinking and decision-making skills. 

Toimintatonni 2026

The theme of Toimintatonni in 2026 is encouraging reading. We are therefore asking children for ideas about how libraries could inspire them to read more.

This year, children in grades 1-6 in primary school will decide how Toimintatonni is used.

Schedule

  • December 2025 – collection of ideas

    Children in grades 1-6 in primary school can propose events and purchases that fit the theme and that they would like to see in their local library. 

    Ideas can be submitted from 1 to 31 December, either at the library or through an online form(external link, opens in a new window)

  • January 2026 – assessment of ideas

    Library staff review the ideas submitted in the first stage and select those that can realistically be carried out within the scope of Toimintatonni. Ideas that are feasible move on to the next stage.

  • February 2026 – selection of ideas to be implemented

    Children vote for the ideas that will be implemented in the libraries. 

    Voting takes place via an online form from 2 to 28 February 2026. Library staff will also encourage children to vote while visiting the library. Link will be added when the submission period starts.

  • Spring 2026 – implementation

    The ideas selected through voting are implemented in the libraries.