President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö made a state visit to Sweden with his spouse Mrs Jenni Haukio on 17–18 May 2022. During the visit, Mrs Haukio visited an activity centre for Ukrainian children together with Queen Silvia. Inspired by this visit and Mrs Haukio’s encouragement, the Swedish charitable organisation Beredskapslyftet announced that it would also start camp activities for Ukrainian children in Finland.
Together with the National Museum of Finland, Beredskapslyftet will organise two three-week summer camps in July and August, in which Ukrainian children aged 6 to 10 living in Finland have been invited to participate.
“The summer camp activities promote the wellbeing of Ukrainian families and children in a situation where they need all the support we can give them. The National Museum and Beredskapslyftet with its partners are doing valuable work in bringing the activities based on the Swedish model also to Finland”, says Mrs Haukio.
The purpose of the summer camp activities is to offer Ukrainian children a safe environment in which they can enjoy the summer, learn new things, familiarise themselves with Finnish culture and the Helsinki area as well as build routines and social interaction into their daily lives. The activities are funded by donations from the Finnish and Swedish business community. Beredskapslyftet has organised similar summer camps in Stockholm together with the Nordic Museum and the Museum of Technology.
More information on the camp activities:
- Beredskapslyftet’s press release 30 June 2022
- National Museum’s press release 30 June 2022 (in Finnish)
-
Jenni Haukio and Queen Silvia visited an activity centre for Ukrainian children in connection with a state visit to Sweden on 18 May 2022. Photo: Henrik Garlöv/Kungl. Hovstaterna