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We organise LSP-sessions that help young people reflect on personal and group challenges, develop ideas and build meaningful dialogue in a creative and inclusive environment. Especially for young people from vulnerable or underrepresented groups, including: refugees and migrants, young people with disabilities and facing social exclusion,  unemployed youth-

Our sessions support youth groups, organisations and educators who want to strengthen participation, teamwork and strategic thinking.

Why This Matters

Young people today face many challenges related to self-awareness and identity, communication and conflict resolution, decision-making about their future, career orientation, participation in group processes

Youth organisations themselves may also struggle with unclear group dynamics, passive participation, difficulties in planning activities and defining shared goals.

Our Approach

Our facilitators have completed international training coursies in the Lego® Serious Play® methodology and conduct structured LSP sessions with youth groups in Finland.

LSP uses hands-on building and storytelling to help participants express ideas, reflect on experiences and explore solutions together.

Sessions typically involve 3–24 participants aged 11–29 and create a safe space where every participant can contribute and be heard.

Topics for LSP Sessions

We organise sessions upon request for youth groups, organisations and educational institutions.

Example themes include:

• 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

Sessions can also be adapted to specific needs of youth groups or organisations.

Our Results

In collaboration with international partners, we developed 20 ready-to-use LSP session scenarios, published in an open handbook at the end of 2025.

The handbook is available in:

• English

• Ukrainian

• Russian

It provides practical guidance for youth workers who want to apply the LSP method in their work.

During 2025, members of our organisation facilitated 12 LSP-sessions in youth organisations across Finland, including: Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo, Kotka, and Lappeenranta.

Our partners

This initiative is developed together with partner organisations from:

• Finland

• Poland

• Lithuania

• Estonia

We organise training and workshops for youth workers, educators and community professionals who work with young people, including migrants, refugees and minority groups.

Our programme focuses on developing practical competences in using the Lego® Serious Play® (LSP) methodology as a creative and inclusive tool for youth work.

Through these trainings, participants learn how to facilitate LSP sessions that support dialogue, participation and problem-solving in youth groups.

Why This Matters

Youth workers and educators working with culturally and linguistically diverse groups often lack practical, inclusive methods that allow all participants to contribute equally.

In many situations, language barriers or different cultural backgrounds can make communication and participation difficult.

There is therefore a strong need for non-digital, hands-on methodologies that enable participants to express their ideas, experiences and perspectives regardless of language level.

The LSP-method offers exactly such an approach, creating a safe and creative environment where everyone can participate and be heard.

Our Approach

To support the development of inclusive youth work practices, we organise trainings and workshops that introduce youth workers to the LSP methodology and its application in educational and youth settings.

Participants learn how to:

• facilitate inclusive group discussions

• encourage participation from all members of a group

• support reflection and creative problem-solving

• use visual and hands-on tools to overcome communication barriers.

Our training programmes combine international experience, practical exercises and ready-to-use facilitation tools.

Our Results

In collaboration with international partners, we developed and published an open handbook on Inclusive and Creative Learning using the LEGO® Serious Play® methodology.

The handbook is available in:

• English

• Ukrainian

• Russian

It provides practical guidance and ready-to-use tools for youth workers who want to apply LSP in their own practice.

During 2025, members of our organisation participated in international training programmes and began training youth workers in Finland to apply LSP sessions in their work with young people.

We organised training for:

• 16 youth workers in March 2025

• 11 youth workers and educators in October 2025

In 2026, we are preparing additional workshops for:

• youth workers in the Kymenlaakso region

• youth workers from Russian-speaking organisations in Finland

• summer camp instructors and youth facilitators.

Our Partners

This initiative is developed in cooperation with partner organisations:

• SVK-liitto ry (Helsinki)

• Kolibri ry (Kotka)

Together, we work to strengthen the quality, inclusiveness and innovation of youth work practices in Finland.

This initiative connects young people and seniors through storytelling, cultural heritage and creative media.

Our project “Finno-Ugric Voices” aims to create an online intergenerational community of people interested in Finno-Ugric cultures.

Through our podcast initiative, young people, adults and seniors can:

• share and record traditional fairy tales and stories

• learn the basics of podcast production and voice narration

• explore Finno-Ugric cultural heritage

• build dialogue between generations and cultures.

Participants can contribute to the podcast by recording fairy tales and stories in different languages and learning how to produce audio content.

Why This Matters

For many years, members of the board of the Educational Initiatives Center have been working on promoting tolerance and intercultural understanding among children and young people in Finland through elements of Finno-Ugric culture.

Cultural storytelling creates a powerful space where people from different generations and backgrounds can connect, learn from each other and preserve cultural heritage.

At the same time, podcasting offers young people and seniors an opportunity to develop creative media skills, express their voices and participate in meaningful cultural dialogue.

Our Approach

We build partnerships with cultural and educational organisations working with Finno-Ugric heritage and intercultural dialogue.

Over the years, we have collaborated with organisations such as:

• Ugrin Paikka (Finno-Ugric Point) cultural and educational centre in Sippola (Kouvola)

• M. A. Castrén Society in Helsinki

• Suomi–Venäjä Seura (Finland–Russia Society) in Lappeenranta, Kouvola, Helsinki and Tampere.

These organisations have organised important cultural initiatives such as the Finno-Ugric Peoples’ Days in Finland, SugriFest, and other intercultural events.

Our new initiative builds on this experience and expands it into the digital space through podcasting and storytelling.

Our Results

In 2025, members of our organisation — including Svetlana Yanvarskaya — created and published several audio fairy tales and stories for young audiences on digital book platforms such as LitRes and MyBook.

These first recordings demonstrate the potential of storytelling and audio media to connect generations and promote cultural heritage.

Our Partners

This initiative builds on long-term cooperation with cultural and educational organisations working with Finno-Ugric cultures and intercultural dialogue.

Join the Initiative

We invite young people and seniors to join our project and learn how to:

• narrate and record Finno-Ugric fairy tales and stories

• participate in podcast creation

• develop voice and storytelling skills.

Participants can record stories in Finno-Ugric languages, including:

• Finnish

• Hungarian

• Estonian

• Udmurt

• Komi

• Mari

• Erzya

and others.

Stories can also be recorded in international communication languages, such as English or Russian.

Together, we aim to create a living audio collection of Finno-Ugric stories and voices from different generations.

Our programmes create opportunities to exchange experience, explore innovative educational practices and build international professional networks.

We organise educational trips, study visits and training programmes in Finland for educators, youth workers and students from different countries.

Participants visit Finnish schools, youth centres, libraries and other learning environments to observe educational practices, meet professionals and discuss approaches to education, youth work and community development.

These visits provide practical insights into the Finnish education and youth work systems and create opportunities for professional dialogue and collaboration.

Why This Matters

International study visits allow educators and youth professionals to learn directly from real-life practices, exchange ideas and reflect on how innovative approaches can be adapted to their own contexts.

Finland is internationally recognised for its education system, youth services and library networks, which focus on inclusion, creativity and lifelong learning.

By connecting professionals from different countries, study visits help strengthen professional development, intercultural dialogue and international cooperation in the fields of education and youth work.

Our Approach

Our programmes combine institutional visits, professional discussions and observation of educational practices.

Participants have the opportunity to:

• visit schools, youth centres and libraries

• meet educators, youth workers and administrators

• observe lessons and youth activities

• exchange professional experiences

• discuss innovative approaches to education and youth work.

Each programme is tailored to the interests and professional needs of the visiting group.

Our Results

Our first post-COVID educational visit was organised in March 2023 in cooperation with our partners for a group of outstanding teachers from Kazakhstan. The participants were winners of a professional teachers’ competition in the city of Astana.

During their visit, the participants observed lessons and educational practices in schools in:

• Helsinki

• Vantaa

• Kerava

• Tampere

• Jyväskylä.

In December 2024, another group of educators from Kazakhstan — including school principals, teachers and administrative staff — visited four schools and two educational institutions in:

• Espoo

• Vantaa

• Helsinki

• Kerava.

In March 2025, a group of library professionals from Kazakhstan visited several libraries in the Helsinki capital region to explore Finnish library services and practices.

We are currently preparing a new educational visit programme for school principals and teachers from Uzbekistan, focusing on visits to Finnish schools and youth facilities.

Our educational visits are organised in cooperation with international partners, including:

• ITC Pro Development Center (Estonia) 

• Samgau LLP (Kazakhstan).

Join Our Study Visits

We invite youth workers, educators and other professionals to participate in educational visits to youth facilities, schools and other learning environments in Finland.

These visits offer valuable opportunities to learn from Finnish practices, exchange experiences and develop new ideas for professional work and institutional development.