Advocacy and promotion of interests
We advocate for the strengthening of conditions for physical activity, sports, and exercise, alongside the entire sports and physical activity community and our other partners.
The sports and physical activity community influences decision-making at all levels, including municipal, regional, national, and EU levels.
Our goal is to concretely address the challenge of physical inactivity across various government sectors and to make the promotion of sports and physical activity a strong nationally shared objective.
Hot topics in advocacy
Join us for monthly advocacy clinics where we discuss current topics related to sports policy and advocacy within the sports community.
The next advocacy clinic will be held on Thursday, August 22nd, from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM. The topic will be an overview of advocacy work for the fall: influencing funding & local and regional election goals.
Clinics are open to everyone, and no prior registration is required.
Forums and networks for advocacy
Advocacy clinics address current topics in sports policy and advocacy within the sports community. The aim is to strengthen common goals and understanding of sports policy. Advocacy clinics are held approximately once a month via remote connection using Teams. The clinics are open to everyone, no prior registration is required. Welcome aboard!
- Thursday August 22nd, from 3 pm to 4 pm: Overview of autumn advocacy work: influencing funding & municipal and regional election goals. Join the advocacy clinic in August (via Teams).
- Thursday, October 3rd, from 3 pm to 4 pm: State funding for sports and physical activity in 2025 (decisions from the budget negotiations). Join the advocacy clinic in early October (via Teams).
- Thursday, October 31st, from 3 pm to 4 pm: Municipal and regional election campaign for the sports community. Join the advocacy clinic at the end of October (via Teams).
- Thursday, November 28th, from 3 pm to 4 pm: Topic to be announced later. Join the advocacy clinic in November (via Teams).
You can submit suggestions for clinic topics and guest speakers.
For more information: Toni Ahva
The mission of the advocacy theme group is to utilize collective intelligence and community-driven advocacy with various stakeholders promoting physical activity. The group’s work focuses on advocacy during municipal and parliamentary elections, as well as monitoring and dialogue in advocacy work. Other advocacy actions are taken if willing participants and facilitators are found within the network. The theme group meets approximately 4 times a year.
Join by filling out the registration form.
More information: Kaisa Larjomaa
The aim of the Sports Club Influence Group, coordinated by the Finnish Olympic Committee, is to promote the vitality of sports clubs and to amplify their voice in societal discussions. The group consists of approximately 20 representatives from various types of sports clubs across the country.
Sports club activities constitute Finland’s largest grassroots movement: there are over 9,000 sports clubs in Finland, with 1.8 million individuals participating in various roles. These clubs engage nearly half a million volunteers annually, who collectively contribute up to 50 million hours of volunteer work, valued at approximately 700 million euros.
More information: Jaana Tulla ja Toni Ahva
The EU Sport Project Liaison Network disseminates information about EU funding opportunities and other EU sports policy matters. Members of the network receive regular email newsletters containing updates on EU-related topics (approximately 10 newsletters per year).
For more information and to join, please contact: Timo Hämäläinen
Methods of advocacy
The sports and exercise community influences society by:
- Maintaining communication with political decision-makers and officials
- Amplifying the voice of the sports community and strengthening readiness for collective advocacy
- Organizing election campaigns
- Collaborating with other organizations, businesses, and the media
- Issuing statements
- Providing comments
- Hosting events and gatherings
- Utilizing various communication methods
The Olympic Committee is registered in the Transparency Register, where we report on advocacy activities directed towards Parliament and ministries. Additionally, we openly publish our advocacy objectives and statements.
Coming soon: Municipal and regional elections 2025
The next municipal and regional elections will be held on April 13, 2025. Municipalities are the second-largest funder of sports and physical activity after households. Promoting an active lifestyle in welfare regions is a key solution to enhancing well-being and health. We will publish useful and diverse information to support municipal and regional advocacy closer to the elections.
