About us

We are the Educational Initiatives Center ry for different groups of people living in Finland, who can use Russian, English or one of Finno-Ugric languages. 

Our mission is to find and develop educational initiatives for the social well-being of the different groups in Finnish society.

Our members are teachers, psychologists, students, job seekers, pensioners, Finno-Ugric activists and other volunteers. Some of us are migrants in Finland, others are Finnish citizens by birth. 

Our goals: 

generating and supporting educational initiatives to improve the skills of immigrants in Finland who already have a pedagogical or other social education and work experience before moving and who can speak English, or Russian, or one of the Finno-Ugric languages (Finnish, Estonian, Karelian, Udmurt, Komi, Mari, etc.);

supporting educational initiatives for better integration of immigrant children and youth in Finland.

The first group for whom we work are migrants in Finland who had a teachers' or other social profession before moving: teachers, educators, social workers, coaches, psychologists, nurses, etc. Many of us were educators in different countries (for example, we had education and work experience in Russian in the USSR or in the republics after its collapse: Udmurtia, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, etc.), and then moved to Finland. Therefore, we know how to go through the paths of professional recognition of foreigners in Finland.

We help educators go through the path of professional adaptation in a new country, mastering pedagogical Finnish and getting a job in the field of education in Finland. 

Join us if you want to become a teacher in Finland or if you are ready to help newly arrived migrants get a job in the field of education!

We also invite Russian-speaking educators and other professionals who want to have professional development and personal growth in Finland as well as get mental support and reflection in Russian to become our members! 

The third group for whom we work are migrants who moved to Finland recently or many years ago and who want to be more integrated into Finnish society, who want to find new friends and activities in the new country.

We invite students, professionals, job seekers, volunteers who want to learn how the latest methods help migrants integrate in Finland or who want to better integrate into Finnish society to become our members!

Dear youth workers and educators, 

We invite you to participate in the workshop “How to Help Young People Solve Their Problems Using LEGO® Serious Play®,” organized in collaboration with Kolibri ry (in Kotka). 

The workshop will be conducted in Finnish and English. 

Participation is free of charge. 

Places are limited. 

To register, please email us at eduincenter@gmail.com and briefly introduce yourself and describe your motivation for attending. 

Tel.: +358 466 358 558

We began using the LEGO® Serious Play® methodology and tools to facilitate communication between migrants and local communities, supporting intercultural adaptation and the integration of migrants into new societies through the project “It’s Time to Talk.”

We now regularly organise LEGO® Serious Play® sessions, delivered upon request, for teenagers and young people in various NGOs across Finland on the following topics:

• “I Am Valuable and Important to Myself and to the World”

• “Creating a Team Where Everyone Matters”

• “Developing a Strategy for a Youth Organisation”

• “Planning the Development of a Public Organisation”

• “Promoting Inclusiveness in a Youth Organisation”

We have also begun developing a project for seniors that explores how the LEGO® Serious Play® methodology can support healthy, active, and meaningful ageing in the context of Society 5.0.

Online mentoring circles for Russian-speaking migrants with backgrounds in education or social work

We regularly organise online mentoring circles aimed at capacity-building for young migrants with backgrounds in education or social work, with a focus on developing their professional competences, employability, and integration into the Finnish labour market.