About us

The Finnish Youth Research Society is a non-profit organization founded in 1987, for the purpose of promoting multidisciplinary youth research in Finland. The aim of the Youth Research Society is to develop youth research and to provide information and expertise on matters relating to young people – studies, perspectives, interpretations and political stands.

Research activities were launched in 1999 with the creation of the Finnish Youth Research Network within the society. The independent research activities of the Finnish Youth Research Society as a scientific association are in many ways unique in the Finnish research field, where research is carried out mainly in universities, higher education institutions and sectoral research institutes under the auspices of various ministries.

The Finnish Youth Research Society has had a research professor since 2009.

Research

A significant part of the research carried out by the Finnish Youth Research Society draws on social science, educational science and/or humanities. Our key research topics include youth work and policy, youth cultures and leisure, and youth well-being. While some research is permanent, most research is carried out in research projects of varying extent and duration, of which there are around 10-20 per year. Our best-known research instruments are the annual Youth Barometer and the biennial Children and Youth Leisure Survey.

Under the auspices of the Finnish Youth Research society operates the Ethics Committee of Youth and Childhood Studies which acts as an expert body on specific aspects of research on children and young people.

Scientific publishing and societal activity

The Finnish Youth Research Society is not only a research organisation, but also a scientific publisher and a social actor. We publish both publications resulting from our own research projects and external manuscripts. The Finnish Youth Research Society publishes its own series of publications (books and reports) and a peer-reviewed scientific journal Nuorisotutkimus (Youth Research). Our best-known publications are the collaborative Youth Barometer and the Study of Children’s and Young People’s Leisure Activities. About 8-10 titles are published each year.

Most of our publications are in Finnish, but some titles are also available in English or in other languages. Non-Finnish publications can be found on the page Publications of the Finnish Youth Research Society. All our publications can be found on our Finnish website.

The impact of our work is enhanced by our active and multidisciplinary cooperation with universities, research institutes and scientific societies, as well as with youth and youth policy actors and NGOs.

Conferences and seminars

Our main event of the year is the Annual Conference of Youth Studies which is the leading multidisciplinary conference for youth studies in Finland. The conference has been held annually since 2002. Open research seminars are also a regular feature of our activities.

We are also one of the Finnish organisers of the Nordic Youth Research Symposium NYRIS.

Funding and personnel

The Finnish Youth Research Society receives its core funding of approximately EUR 1 million from the Ministry of Education and Culture (approximately 70% of the total budget). Our research is also funded by other ministries, the Academy of Finland, the Strategic Research Council, foundations, the European Union, NGO’s and municipalities. Project funding in 2024 will amount to approximately EUR 0.5 million.

The Finnish Youth Research Society employs around 20 people. About 2/3 of the personnel are researchers and 1/3 other experts. The premises are located in Helsinki. The activities are managed by the board of the society and an employed Research Director.