The ‘Youth work action of the year’ award is given for an act, activity or project carried out during the previous year that has had a meaningful and particularly positive impact on the lives, conditions or living environment of young people in Helsinki. The recipient can be a Helsinki-based association, group or private individual.
Based on nominations submitted in spring 2026, the Youth Sub-committee of the Culture and Leisure Committee decided to award the first-ever ‘Youth work action of the year’ award to Children of the Station, which will receive EUR 5,000 in recognition of their valuable work. The award was presented to the association by Deputy Mayor Paavo Arhinmäki.
“Children of the Station have been doing valuable work with young people year after year and decade after decade. Although many things have changed since my own youth, the fact that young people need safe adults and engagement has not. Ever since their founding, Children of the Station have gone where young people are and, through their work, shown that young people are still not a lost cause. It is important to recognise this work.”
According to the Youth Sub-committee’s justification, Children of the Station are a trusted and well-known operator in the field of youth work. As part of their work aimed at breaking the cycle of crime and substance abuse, they engage with young people both in groups and on an individual basis, with the aim of preventing problems associated with past offences and substance abuse from becoming more serious. The trained experts by experience of Children of the Station work in pairs with youth workers. The association also carries out valuable collaboration with the City of Helsinki in the field of outreach youth work, for example during end-of-the-school-year celebrations and other large youth gatherings.
The staff of Children of the Station, founded in 1990, are delighted that their long-standing and successful work has been recognised, say Eliisa Ahlstedt, head of outreach work in the Helsinki region and manager of the Walkers Café, and Ronja Turkka, head of crime prevention:
“We are particularly heartened that our staff’s dedicated efforts to break the cycle of youth crime, as well as their long-term outreach work, are being recognised at such a high level. It is great to see that our long-standing and hands-on cooperation for the benefit of young people is bearing fruit. We will use the prize money together with young people and to develop our teams. We hope that decision-makers will make wise decisions so that our joint, demanding work for the benefit of young people can continue in the future as well.”
Residents of Helsinki had the opportunity to influence the recipient of the award, which was presented for the first time, by submitting their nominations for the most impactful youth work action of the past year between 27 April and 11 May 2026. A total of 100 nominations were submitted, nominating 19 different organisations. The recipient of the award was selected on the basis of the nominations by the Youth Sub-committee of the City of Helsinki’s Culture and Leisure Committee at its meeting on 15 September 2026.
The award ceremony was held on Wednesday 7 October 2026 in Falkman’s studio at Helsinki City Museum.