The video features Riikka Jalonen, the executive director of the Peace Education Institute. She talks about the need of Safer Learning Environments.
Video details:
Language: Finnish
Subtitles: Finnish and English
Duration: 5 minutes 44 seconds
Producer: Peace Education Institute (Rauhankasvatusinstituutti), 2025.
The screen shows a purple background. On screen, the title Why Do We Need Safer Learning Environments? appears. Soft instrumental music plays in the background.
The video starts. Riikka Jalonen is outdoors. Behind her there is a building and a green landscape. She is wearing a denim jacket.
In the top right corner, the Peace Education Institute’s logo (RKI) appears in white letters.
At the bottom of the screen, text identifies her:
Riikka Jalonen, Executive director In Peace Education Institute
Riikka Jalonen speaks:
When we create learning paths, or spaces for shared thinking, shared learning, and exploring things together, if that space is not meaningful, socially safe, and psychologically safe for people, or if it’s not even physically possible for them to come, then people simply cannot be fully present as their whole, authentic selves.
If our professionals or our young people have to hide parts of themselves, it consumes a huge amount of energy. But when there is a space where you can be yourself and feel seen and heard as a whole human being, with all the identities, characteristics, and backgrounds we each carry, then we are able to give so much more of ourselves.
The same instrumental music plays as in the beginning of the video and the screen fades to purple.
A new title appears: Are we truly inclusive in international youth work?
In both international and national activities, we still see that not everyone feels welcome. The saying “everyone is welcome here and this is a safe space for all” simply doesn’t always hold true. And then we lose so many young people, young professionals, and even experienced professionals from these processes, and their professional growth becomes impossible even though international activities could enable it.
The opportunity to reflect together, to learn, to share experiences, to exchange working methods, all of that is lost. What I’ve heard from young professionals who have participated in our international activities is that being part of a process, an event, or a long-term training where they were met as their full, authentic selves with all parts of their identity, not through some minority label but as whole human beings and professionals, not as “experiential experts”, has been deeply meaningful.
Music plays and the screen fades to purple.
A new title appears: There is a methodology to achieve inclusivity
I hope that what people take away from our international working methods and our way of doing international trainings and events is the sense that this is completely possible and it’s not that difficult. Inclusion happens by creating meaningful encounters. We think things through in advance, we prepare, and we use checklists. That’s one thing I hope people learn, and something I’ve heard professionals say after attending our events: that having ready-made checklists for what to remember is important. At first, they’re on paper, and eventually they become second nature, and you don’t even need to write them down anymore. But it’s good that they’re written: what to pay attention to, what kinds of different identities and backgrounds might be present in the space, and what that means for planning and pedagogical choices, and for everything from accommodation and meals to mobility and other things.
And that we articulate this clearly! It’s absolutely okay to say out loud that we are a diverse group, without needing to specify what all those identities are right now. Just that there are many of us. Some identities are visible, some invisible. And then we meet each other with respect.
Music plays and the screen fades to purple.
A new title appears: The value of being an international youth worker
We live in an interdependent and open world. And especially for people with a Finnish passport, the world is very open. We have the privilege of being able to cross borders, and we have programmes that support that. We have funding for all of it.
It’s a shame not to use it, because it makes so many things possible. No one is perfect, and no one is born an international actor. It’s something you learn. At first it’s a bit intimidating, but once you get into it, it becomes very engaging and inspiring.
And it enriches our local work immensely, because our young people are international. They have either crossed borders many times already, or their social media and environment are global. Even while living a local life, the things that influence young people’s lives are global.
Music plays and the screen transitions to a purple and orange background.
A large purple letter “R” from the Peace Education Institute’s logo appears. The R is decorated with a bird’s head motif.
The remaining letters K and I slide into view, followed by the year 2025.
Black screen portraying the flag of the European Union and the text Co-funded byt the European Union.
Music fades out.
