Åland Week to celebrate province’s anniversary in schools

The week beginning on 21 March will be Åland Week in schools. Nearly 20 partners have been involved in putting together the programme for the week, which is coordinated by the Prime Minister’s Office and will feature events in various parts of Finland. Åland Week is a celebration of the 100th anniversary of Åland's autonomy.

The programme for the week will make the Province of Åland better known to schoolchildren and students in a variety of ways through a selection of important topics. In the same week, we will also celebrate Nordic Day and UN World Water Day.

Each day of the week will have its own theme: 

• Monday: Åland’s history and autonomy
• Tuesday: The Baltic Sea, the environment and nature, UN Water Day
• Wednesday: The Nordic countries, languages and Nordic cooperation, Nordic Day
• Thursday: The culture of Åland
• Friday: Food from Åland

Minister of Education Li Andersson and Åland’s Minister of Education and Culture Annika Hambrudd are the patrons of the week. On Nordic Day, Wednesday 23 March, the ministers will have a discussion with students in year 9 at the Nordic Culture Point in Helsinki.

On the same day in Rovaniemi, Minister for Nordic Cooperation and Equality Thomas Blomqvist will give a video greeting at a Nordic Day event organised together with the Regional Council of Lapland, the Finnish Norden Association and the teacher training school of the University of Lapland. On Tuesday, Minister Hambrudd will visit Lappeen koulu school in Lappeenranta.

Åland Week will kick off with a livestreamed event in Mariehamn featuring Governor of Åland Peter Lindbäck, among others. The closing event of the week, held at Merenkurkun koulu language immersion school in Vaasa, will also be broadcast live. Minister of Justice Anna-Maja Henriksson, who is the minister responsible for Åland affairs, will take part in the event. During the day, chef Viktor Eriksson from Åland will prepare food with schoolchildren.

Many partners involved in organising the week

A variety of operators and organisations are contributing to the programme or have produced material about Åland for schools. The partners involved in the programme for Åland Week include the National Archives of Finland, the Finnish National Agency for Education and the Hanaholmen Svenska nu network, Nordic Culture Point, the Keep the Archipelago Tidy Association, Language Ambassadors, the National Museum of Finland, the Cultural History Museum of Åland, Visit Åland, the Parliament of Finland, Arbis adult educational centre and Mariehamn Literature Days.

The digital material for Åland Week is freely available and the livestream is open to the public. The programme and materials have been designed for use by schools.

Celebrations for the 100th anniversary of Åland’s autonomy began in June 2021 and will culminate on Åland’s Autonomy Day on 9 June 2022. The Prime Minister’s Office is participating in the celebrations by organising events in cooperation with the Province of Åland and other operators.

Inquiries: Noora Löfström, Project Coordinator, 100 years of Åland’s autonomy, tel. +358 29 516 0155, Prime Minister’s Office and Tiina-Kaisa Laakso-Liukkonen, Chief Specialist, tel. +358 29 516 0220, Prime Minister’s Office