VOLUNTEERING INFRASTRUCTURE

GroupsSocial and health associationsYouth organisations and studentsocietiesPolitical organisationsTrade unionsEconomic and industrialassociationsAdvisor organisationsReligious and ideologicalassociationsPedagogical, scientific and studyorganisationsEcological associationsPensioner and veteran organisationsVillage and local organisationsNational defence andpeace organisationsThese often relate to their members’ interests and offer peer support andprofessional help (i.e. the Finnish Red Cross, associations for people withdisabilities, child welfare organisations, etc).Youth work is a core element of Finnish not-for-profit sector activity.Political parties in Finland have local organisations in villages, municipalitiesand districts. Some also have women’s organisations or federations, as wellas child and youth organisations and educational and cultural associations.Over the past few decades there has been a reduction in interest in tradeunion activities. Nevertheless most occupations are represented by tradeunions and some have trade organisations with locally or regionally basedactivities.Most medium and large enterprises belong to a national confederation andsmaller companies/entrepreneurs have their own interest groups.These have a long history in Finland, especially in rural areas.Different religious groups have associations, but membership is relativelysmall.In Finland, scientific organisations, teachers’ organisations, educational andstudy organisations and the support groups of educational institutions havetheir own organisations.These have appeared relatively recently and cover a wide range of differentareas (i.e. animal welfare, nature conservation, bird watching, etc).Many veteran organisations date back to involvement in the Second WorldWar thus membership numbers are gradually decreasing. In contrast,pensioner organisations are growing rapidly as the population in Finlandages.In recent years these organisations have focused on supporting localdevelopment with state and EU funding.These organisations are typically male dominated and interest in voluntarynational defence has grown over recent years. There has also been anincreased participation of women. (In Finland military service is stillcompulsory and people are interested to continue their involvement on avoluntary basis). Peace organisations, in contrast, currently have relativelylow levels of membership.(Continued on next page)133 Volunteering infrastructure in Europe 9 Finland