Helsinki celebrates World Children's Week with a diverse programme

Every child and young person has the right to safe growth and development. UNICEF Finland awarded Helsinki with the Child Friendly City recognition in September 2024. In 2024, the World Children's Week is celebrated from Monday 18 November to Sunday 24 November. This year’s theme is every child’s right to learning. 

During the theme week, Helsinki offers various events aimed especially at children, young people and families. Events and activities are available at cultural centres, museums, libraries, playgrounds, youth centres and sports facilities. The majority of the events are free of charge. The theme week can also be seen at daycare centres and comprehensive schools.

Themed days, workshops, concerts and other festive events

Equality is one of the core principles of children’s rights. On World Children’s Day, Wednesday 20 November 16.00–19.00, the Helsinki City Museum is inviting the whole family to the joyful and active ‘We Are All Kinds of Kinds’ event where you can learn about diversity, equality and friendship across cultures. Children can join the non-stop craft workshops, guided play and movement workshops and rhythmic performances, while parents can listen to discussions and speeches. Libraries are also showcasing children’s books on diversity. Entry to the event is free of charge. It is organised in cooperation with the All Our Children association and the Mixed Finns community.

Annantalo Children and Youth Art Centre is the heart of children’s culture in Helsinki, and it will also be full of events and activities during the World Children's Week. On Saturday 23 November, we will have a workshop day based on children’s wishes. Inspired by an idea of three-year-old Tove, Annantalo will turn into the Special Play Place during the event. We will jump on sofas, dive into huts, race in cardboard cars and dance. Entry to the workshop is free of charge.

On Tuesday 19 November and Thursday 21 November, Annantalo will host the Children Playing for Children concert where the young instrumentalists of the Central Helsinki Music Institute will perform for an audience of children in daycare. Entry to the event is free of charge, but please register in advance at annantalo.fi.

On Saturday 23 November, Kanneltalo and Vuotalo will host a centenary celebration of the late Kirsi Kunnas, an author of children’s books. The Kanneltalo programme includes story times, making art inspired by Tumpkin's Wonder Tree, and the performance Tii-Tii-Tiitiäinen by Dance Theatre Glims & Gloms for the whole family. Entry to the event is free of charge. Tickets to the performance are available for €6 at lippu.fi. 

At Vuotalo, we will step into the Magical Forest and experience the interactive poetry concert Kirsin kunnailla ja kannoilla focusing on the works of Kirsi Kunnas, the puppet theatre performance Salaisuuksien sateenvarjo seikkailee (‘The Adventures of the Mysterious Umbrella’) and the poetry performance Minä olen puu (‘I Am a Tree’). Entry to the event is free of charge. Tickets to the poetry concert are available for €6 at lippu.fi. 

On the Children’s Day at Stoa, Saturday 23 November, we will see a premiere of the Päistikka and the Living World concert. In the workshops, we will decorate rockets and record memories on cameras we make ourselves. Stoa also has a utopic fairytale world, the Magical Forest, for the whole week, where leaves shine blue and flowers glow in the dark. The UV installation draws inspiration from children’s imaginary worlds and the stories created by Tove Jansson and Hayao Miyazaki. Entry to the Magical Forest and the Children’s Day is free of charge. Tickets to the concert are available for €6 at lippu.fi.

Stories, crafts, performances and activities

Helsinki libraries celebrate the World Children’s Week with an extensive programme all around the city. We will have story times in the mornings and evenings, visits by the reading grandma and the library grandma, rhyme sessions for babies and small children, various clubs, visits by the reading dog, crafts, puppet theatre and films. 

The theme for the Tapanila Library Family Saturday is ‘outer space’ on 23 November 13.00–15.00. At the event, we will learn about stars, craft our own solar system and travel to space with a story rocket! The event begins with a story time.

The City of Helsinki Sports Services started sponsoring babies born in 2024 as part of the Culture Kids programme. On this World  Children’s Week, these Culture Kids can see the BabyTango performances by OSIRIS Theatre Loiske Ensemble in the playgrounds of Roihuvuori, Isoneva and Rusthollari. You can register as a Culture Kid and sign up for the events at kummilapset.hel.fi/en.

Liikuntahulinat sports sessions for families with children are completely free of charge during World Children's Week. On Saturday 23 November, the event will take place at Maunula Sports Hall 9.00–10.30, and on Sunday 24 November, at Myllypuro Liikuntamylly 9.00–10.45. You can find more information on the Liikuntahulinat sessions at liikunta.hel.fi/liikuntahulinat.

The City’s various divisions will also organise many other activities during the week. On World Children’s Day, Wednesday 20 November, 200 children and young people from Helsinki have been invited to City Hall. At this event titled ‘Voice of Children and Young People’, children and young people get to tell the City management and experts what the Helsinki of their dreams is like. 

Activities for children and young people around the year

Helsinki offers children, young people and families plenty of activities, facilities and events even outside the theme week. For example, the free Perhehulinat family sport sessions offer schoolchildren and their parents spaces to exercise together at their own pace. All of the equipment is freely available to families, and no advance registration is required. You can find the locations and dates of the Perhehulinat sessions at liikunta.hel.fi/perhehulinat. Playgrounds and family houses organise various activities every week for schoolchildren and families with babies and children. 

Young people are offered various activities every week of the year at over 50 youth centres and youth places in Helsinki. Young people are also able to brainstorm and realise their own activities. You can find the youth centre closest to you and its events at nuorten.hel.fi/en/things-to-do-and-places/our-places. 

Information about children’s events and youth events in Helsinki is available at tapahtumat.hel.fi/en. Take a look at the broad selection of activities free of charge at harrastukset.hel.fi/en!