Oulu Culture Centre for Children and Youth

Oulu Culture Centre for Children and Youth was established under the auspices of Cultural Centre Valve in 2003. Today, up to 55,000 children, young people and adults participate in our activities every year. 

The centre acts as a nationwide developer of the children’s culture sector in film and literary arts education, as well as planning cultural education and art education. It creates art-based methods to support basic education and early childhood education and care and provides further training for teachers and educators. 

Locally, the centre offers art education and cultural events for children, young people and families, especially in film and literary arts. 

Film 

As part of the Culture Centre for Children and Youth, Valve Film School organises film and animation clubs, courses, workshops and trainings for children, young people and adults. The aim is to raise awareness among schools and teachers about film education and its contents, as well as the possibilities of combining moving image with teaching. We organise the Oskari competition for films made by children and young people and coordinate the National Film Week for Schools (info in Finnish). More information about film clubs and courses can be found here (courses are taught mainly in Finnish).

Literary arts 

Oulu Culture Centre for Children and Youth is a versatile developer and expert in literary arts education. In our literary arts groups, everyone can be inspired by language, books and writing. We want to be part of raising new generations for whom reading and writing is a natural way to be, enjoy, understand and influence. We prepare educational materials and train adults working with children. Every year, we organise the national Enchanted Words (info in Finnish) literature and literary arts festival for children and young people and produce experiential literary exhibitions that tour the country. 

Illustrious cooperation 

The staff of the Oulu Culture Centre for Children and Youth act as experts in national networks and as partners in a wide range of international projects. The centre is a member of the Association of Finnish Children’s Cultural Centers. We are responsible for the regional coordination of the Art Testers project in the provinces of North Ostrobothnia and Kainuu. The centre also coordinates the Children’s Culture City Oulu concept. 

The centre is managed by the children’s culture manager, and it employs two permanent teachers in charge of literary arts, and a producer, media teacher and director specialised in film education, as well as several fixed-term part-time teachers and project staff. 

In the activities of the Culture Centre for Children and Youth, the child is encouraged to express creative self-expression and to present their own ideas, especially through film and literary arts. Our art education ideology is based on experiential and life-enhancing learning. We experience and look for new ways of doing things.