Taksvärkki campaign 2022–2023
Taksvärkki Day is an opportunity to make a change!
Every young person has the right to participate and make an impact. Human rights apply to everyone. That’s why everyone has to be involved in influencing and deciding on things. Active citizenship guarantees peace.
The “Who cares?” -campaign focuses on young people making an impact. We want to encourage young people to experiment and find unique ways to influence things that are important to them.
Promoting global justice is important for young people. For example, the 2021 Youth Barometer shows that a significant majority of young people consider all the goals of sustainable development to be very important, such as guaranteeing peace, preserving biodiversity and reducing inequality.
Still, not all young people have the same opportunities to get their voice heard. According to the Finnish School Health Survey (THL, 2021), only 10.8% of 8th and 9th graders and 10.5% of high school 1st and 2nd graders feel that they could influence things in their school environment. The situation is similar for young people around the world.
An adult-oriented culture, inequality, weak opportunities for digital participation and limiting civic influence are examples of problems that young people face in Taksvärkki’s program countries. In Taksvärkki, the conditions for young people to participate in the development of their own communities are promoted.
The proceeds from the Taksvärkki fundraising are used to support youth advocacy work in Guatemala, Kenya, Malawi, Nepal, Zambia and Sierra Leone.
Youth groups defend the equal rights of young people and the appreciation of diversity. Young people work together with adults and decision-makers. This is how change is achieved.
The challenges are global and shared. Together we can solve them. By participating in the Taksvärkki Workday, you help solve them.
Taksvärkki works from youth to youth
By spending one day at work and donating their pay to Taksvärkki (ODW Finland) ’s campaign, Finnish youth fund a long-term development cooperation projects. Taksvärkki’s local partner organizations are in charge of the practical implementation of the projects.
Young people have what it takes to change the world. That is why they are the protagonists, not merely beneficiaries in Taksvärkki’s development cooperation projects. The annual Taksvärkki campaign is young people’s own development cooperation, from youth to youth.
Taksvärkki is your chance to make a difference!
Your Taksvärkki workday can be any day during the school year. During the Taksvärkki Workday, the students in order to earn a pay. The pay is then donated to the Taksvärkki fundraising. The Taksvärkki Workday can be realized as a traditional one-day work for each student or, for example, as a joint event of the entire school.
In Finland, the Taksvärkki campaign has a strong development education component. Our volunteer Global Educators visit elementary and secondary schools in different parts of Finland and hold workshops on equality, discrimination, active youth, and children’s rights. These workshops are complemented by high-quality learning materials and study packages for teachers. The goal is to raise a sense of global responsibility in Finnish youth and to build links between youth.
Do you need help or tips organizing a Taksvärkki Day? Please contact us: ilmoittautuminen@taksvarkki.fi
The proceeds from the Taksvärkki fundraising are used to support young people making an impact, for example through these means:
15 €
Two peer educators can organize training for 70 young people in Zambia. The subjects of the trainings are the disability rights and sexual and reproductive health.
60 €
Young Kenyans get to implement environmental initiatives to curb climate change.
160 €
The young people organize a discussion session for community leaders and local authorities about issues that concern them in their municipality in Guatemala.
Taksvärkki fundraising day
One part of the Taksvärkki campaign is the Taksvärkki fundraising campaign. It is based on a day’s work, or ”Taksvärkki”.
Different collection methods:
- The student or pupil participates in the Taksvärkki Workday and donates their pay to Taksvärkki.
- The school organizes a Taksvärkki event, such as a concert or sale, the proceeds of which are directed to the campaign.
- Student councils can participate by donating part of the proceeds of its café or kiosk to the campaign.
Where can you find Taksvärkki jobs?
On a Taksvärkki Workday, you can work in a company or household, for example. Taksvärkki work can be done almost anywhere, for example in a shop, office, café, home, local radio station, theater or parliament as an assistant. The whole school or class can also do contract work for a municipality or company together.
The Taksvärkki Workday also makes workplaces familiar
On a Taksvärkki Workday, students can learn about working life in a field they are interested in. At the same time, they can gain useful experience and network for future summer jobs.
Taksvärkki Newsletter
Taksvärkki’s monthly newsletter gives perspectives on different cultures and the realities of developing countries. It gives useful tools and materials to be used in global education in schools and other educational institutions as well as the latest news related to the campaign.
The patroness of the Taksvärkki campaign is President Tarja Halonen.
Our achievements in 2021
13 980
children and youth in Guatemala, Kenya, Malawi, Nepal, Sierra Leone and Zambia participated in Taksvärkki’s development cooperation programme.
4140
active youth participated in implementing the Taksvärkki’s development cooperation programme.
3500
adult duty-bearers participated in promoting and supporting the rights of youth.
“When young people are seen talking and participating in different contexts and places, we stand out from other young people. This is how they will also notice and say “Hey, they are participating like that, I also want to participate and do the same thing they are doing.”
Lesly, 16, Guatemala