Finnish Youth Centre Association

Finnish Youth Centre Association is an organisation, which supervises the interests of the Centres and attends to their marketing and development. Its central goal is to develop the operational preconditions of the national Youth Centres. For that purpose, it submits motions to authorities and interest groups, organises training to the personnel of the Centres, notifies of the development and the development needs of youth activities, formulates common development plans for the Centres and coordinates the collective marketing of the Centres. Each Youth Centre in Finland is a member of the Association. Year 2008 was the fifteenth financial year for the Association; and it has operated as a registered association since 2000.

The funding of the Finnish Youth Centre Association is two-fold: the majority of the funding comes from the allowance from the Finnish Ministry of Education, which totalled €110 000 in 2008. In addition, the actual Centres are involved in the financing: they pay an annual membership and marketing fee to the central association. These fees totalled €15 700 in year 2008. In addition to these, the Finnish Youth Centre Association can apply for additional funding for separate projects.

The Board constitutes the uppermost decision-making body of the Association. The Board consists of representatives from the different Youth Centres. The most important decisions are made in board meetings and in annual meetings of the members. The Finnish Ministry of Education controls the activities of the Association in connection with annual meetings held for management by results. In regard to these meetings, the Ministry of Education sets targets and framework for the Association's activities in the following year.

The office of the Association is located in the premises of Hostel Suomenlinna. The office is in charge of supervising the activities of the Association and the Hostel, of marketing and developing the services of the Finnish Youth Centre Association and of promoting cooperation between different youth organisations.

The Association employs two part-time employees, an International Affairs Coordinator and an Executive Director, responsible for the development and administration of the Association and for domestic marketing.