Art, sports and volunteering: Turku celebrates everyday heroes on Turku Day
Mayor Piia Elo awarded the Turku Medals to Kouluvaarit ry, the Aikamatka 20360 community artwork, and FC Inter's InterAction program. Cooperation with organizations and communities plays an important role in promoting the wellbeing of Turku residents.
At the Turku Day evening celebration on 21 September, Mayor Piia Elo awarded the Turku Medals to Kouluvaarit ry, the Aikamatka 20360 community artwork, and FC Inter’s InterAction program for their significant contributions to the city and residents of Turku, as well as for strengthening community spirit.
In Turku, new initiatives are born from courage, cooperation, and community. The city is determined to invest in strengthening community bonds, fostering encounters and mutual understanding, and reducing loneliness. These themes are reflected in the work of each award recipient. Cooperation with organizations and communities plays an important role in promoting the wellbeing of Turku residents.
"The strength of Turku lies in its people - in everyone who makes the city more humane and community-oriented. The recipients of the Turku Medals have shown exceptional responsibility toward children and young people in Turku, as well as other age groups, through creative work involving the arts. This reflects Turku at its best: a city that cares for each other, renews itself, and promotes wellbeing," says Mayor Piia Elo.
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Turku Medal recipients united by genuine commitment to the common good
Kouluvaarit ry has been engaged in volunteer work for over 20 years, supporting schools’ educational and teaching activities. The "school grandfathers" assist pupils and teachers, mainly in the lower grades of primary schools. Kouluvaarit are active in about 30 primary schools in Turku, as well as in a few neighboring municipalities.
The Aikamatka 20360 community artwork has brought together residents and communities through art. Led by Pia and Sophia Bartsch, a large-scale artwork was built in 2024 in the former library and youth center of Runosmäki, using recycled materials and the efforts of nearly 300 volunteers. The piece includes installations, wall paintings, sculptures, sound art, and literary works, together forming a comprehensive narrative from the birth of the Earth to the future.
FC Inter’s InterAction program has inspired more than 100,000 children and young people in Turku and nearby municipalities to participate in sports through nearly 300 events during 2023 and 2024. InterAction leverages the positive influence of football to promote wellbeing, equality, and community in the region. The program addresses challenges such as physical inactivity, inequality, and loneliness through low-threshold sports, school cooperation, volunteering, and support activities.
"To build a common future, I look around and I see you. Here are so many people who make Turku the place it is: the leaders of sports clubs, cultural figures and artists, scientists and researchers, teachers and volunteers. You are the ones whose spark of enthusiasm and dedication ignites joy and courage in all of us. Without you, and the thousands like you, Turku would not be the warm, vibrant, and courageously renewing city that we feel. Your impact can be seen in the small but immeasurably important moments of everyday life", said Mayor Piia Elo.