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