Decision-making and grants

Decision-making 

The Adult Education Centre is part of the City of Helsinki’s Education Division. The Helsinki City Council and Helsinki’s Education Committee direct the Centre’s operations. The Committee is responsible for ensuring that the Centre’s activities remain within the budget and meet the objectives set by the City Council and the City Board. The Committee’s Finnish-language subcommittee approves the Centre’s curriculum and annually considers its programme of studies. 

Protocol decisions taken by the City of Helsinki officials are published as an online compilation. The officials decide on matters within their own divisions. 

Minutes and lists of decisions: 

Aid for Liberal Adult Education 

The City of Helsinki’s Education Committee grants aid for adult education within the scope of the Act on Liberal Adult Education, which is mainly aimed at adult Helsinki residents. Private educational institutions or registered associations that cooperate with the Finnish-language Adult Education Centre in promoting and implementing adult education may apply for grants within the scope of the Act on Liberal Adult Education. In addition, grants may be awarded to student associations at the Adult Education Centre.  

The grant funding for liberal adult education is based on the City of Helsinki’s commitment to also support non-municipal providers of liberal adult education in Helsinki. The purpose of the grant is to increase the availability of liberal adult education in Helsinki and cooperation between different educational institutions and associations.  

The grants are awarded like general grants: for activities based on a specific theme or themes, which must be geared towards Helsinki residents. The size of the grant depends on the scale of the operations, their innovativeness, costs, whether they target particular groups, and whether they are carried out in cooperation or as a collaborative project with the Finnish-language Adult Education Centre.  

Grants for activities in 2025 

Helsinki’s Education Committee will grant aid for liberal adult education in 2024 within the scope of the Act on Liberal Adult Education, which is mainly aimed at adult Helsinki residents. 

The application period is from 2 April to 4 pm on 10 October 2024 Late applications will not be considered. The Education Committee will decide on the distribution of grants at the beginning of 2025. The grant period is 2025. A total of 80,000 euros has been reserved for grants.  

The theme of the grant is supporting integration and activating the senior population.

Grants can be applied for online at the City of Helsinki’s online services at asiointi.hel.fi . Select liberal adult education for the type of grant in the application. Applications cannot be submitted by email. 

For more information on operations, please contact Ville Ylikahri, Head of Liberal Adult Education, ville.ylikahri@hel.fi , tel. +358 9 310 88501 

For more information about the online application, please contact Hanna Keränen, Accounting Planner, hanna.keranen@hel.fi , tel. +358 9 310 86338

Grants for activities in 2024 

Grants for 2024 were awarded on 13 February 2024. You can view the agenda here: the Education Committee’s meeting agenda.

Zachris Castren Foundation  

The foundation supports and promotes civic education by awarding grants to students of Helsinki’s Finnish-language Adult Education Centre for continuing studies, hobbies and cultural activities outside the Centre. 

Grants are awarded within the scope of the foundation’s budget for studies conducted during the year of the grant application. 

The call for applications is in April. You can find the application forms and instructions on the website www.zcsaatio.fi and at the Adult Education Centre’s offices.