General Information

Villa Elba is a non profit company owned by the town of Kokkola. It is one of the 10 Finnish National Youth Centres supported and observed by the Ministry of Education. We are specialized in youth work and our function is to develop the methods used in the field of youth work, to act as a centre for developing the skills of the youth, and enable young people’s mobility: domestically and abroad. The centres are run under the Finnish Youth Act. Youth CentreVilla Elba has 20 full-time employees and about 10 young volunteers, trainees and other staff annually. In the centre we have 20.000 young visitors annually. Finland's nationwide network of Youth Centres is entrusted with the non-profit civic responsibility of promoting a good life for children and young people. Finnish Youth Centres specialize in providing a safe and nurturing operating environment for young people to experience, learn, and have adventures that encourage personal growth. Our knowledge of young people and developmental expertise supports youth participation and aids in their growth and development towards active citizenship. This knowledge is not only founded on years of experience working with young people, but also successful cooperation with municipalities, school and various organizations, in addition to our special status as a partner to the Ministry of Education in the administration of government youth policy. Youth Centre Villa Elba is Member of several national and international networks; Anna Lindh Foundation Finland, Platform Network of Youth mobility, Ryckenwind Network, Platform of European Quality labelled Youth Centres, European Network of Youth Centres, Reves Network. Youth Centre Villa Elba has got Council of Europe`s Quality Label for European Youth Centres for 2014-2018. The standard that the Council of Europe Quality Label for Youth Centres represents is informed by a quality concept that has been established over many years through the practice of the European Youth Centres in Strasbourg and Budapest. This quality concept covers all aspects of the policy, programme, infrastructure, management and administration of the centre. It can be best expressed and understood through the five specific areas of what the European Youth Centres of the Council of Europe do and of how they do it