New approach to cultural volunteering is organized art and culture activity to promote local knowledge of local heritage in city of Jyväskylä, which has an honor of being birthplace of Finnish education for all long before Finland received her independency. Teachers education and university campus area will provide thousands of stories from 1863 to present. On these historical locations volunteers have walked around and are now spreading their experiences for visitors worldwide. These three art and culture companions tell their personal views and discoveries after they have learned campus history by attending basic course and are nowadays spreading their knowledge to all. Companions are connected to European education and feel their affiliation strongly. Specially in these exceptional days it is even more important to know your heritage and its best to learn from each other, by walking together, like art and culture companions who have studied heritage but are not professionals. Cultural Orienteering day is one of their favorite days to enjoy and participate presenting their dear historical site to all. Volunteering in cultural heritage gives joy and wellbeing for both, volunteers and people accompanied.

STORIES OF ART AND CULTURE COMPANIONS

CULTURAL AWAKENING

When I moved to Jyväskylä to study at the University 15 years ago, I didn´t realize how historical and unique the university campus was. I had heard about Alvar Aalto and Uno Cygnaeus, but I didn´t know the stories behind them. I saw the beauty of the area during different seasons, because nature was all around the University. I saw the simple beauty of the buildings and interiors but I didn´t understand how important Alvar Aalto’s role in Finnish architecture was. I understood the greatness of the Finnish education system and felt privileged to study at the University without the need for big financial investments. However, I didn´t realize that my new home city was the birthplace of equal education.

Cygnaeus and Aalto traveled a lot around Europe to find inspiration for their own intents. Cygnaeus was given a mission to reform Finnish education and he traveled to Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland to investigate their school systems. When he returned to Finland, he created a primary school system that was available for both genders and to children from every social class. That had a big effect on Finnish society that values education and equality. Cygnaeus also established the first Finnish-speaking Teacher Training College that was founded in 1863. This college became the point of origin of Jyväskylä University - now a learning facility for over 15 000 students.

Alvar Aalto also traveled a lot to get a closer look at new international architecture. All those trips to Denmark, Italy, Greece and Germany had a huge impact on his work. Especially Bauhaus and functionalism were popular in Europe at the time Aalto was studying and working there. Functionality of design in buildings and furniture, simplicity and it´s beauty are important features of Aalto´s work. Jyväskylä University´s main building and his other designs reflect those ideals. A similar spirit can be found also in other buildings in the campus area.

Having gathered life experience and travelling in Europe, I have realized how everything is connected: art, styles, architecture and ideologies, our whole esthetic and spiritual world moves on and similarities can be seen everywhere. Nevertheless, every place and town is a unique combination of international influences and local history. The built environment, nature and people create a specific Jyväskylä atmosphere that can be sensed by citizens and travelers.

Besides the travels and studies, my eyes for the history and stories of the university campus were conclusively opened when I participated in a course that educates volunteers to become art and culture companions. The cultural heritage and stories behind places started slowly to unveil themselves to me. I saw my hometown differently, suddenly this relatively small city in Finland had so much art and culture to offer. Nowadays I walk in the campus and am aware of its history. I also want to share all that I´ve learned and love to hear what people have to say about the place.

I´m proud to introduce the Finnish school system especially to the groups of youngsters and immigrants when acting as a culture companion in the Soihtu exhibition center, which exhibits academic cultural history through art and science. I´m excited to see and hear how they react when I introduce the Finnish school system, explain details of student life or show scale models and pictures from the old campus area. There is so much life and history packed in one place. For me, the campus area is one of the best places in Jyväskylä. It combines my enthusiasm for education and art history, cultural heritage and architecture. This area that once was only one of the many milieus in my new hometown, has become a cultural environment that is so much more than its buildings.

INTERESTING MEETING

Jyväskylä has been my new hometown for almost three years. I have got a lot of new knowledge of the city through art and culture companion training, and it has inspired me to get to know even more. I have tried to walk around the city with an open mind, and I also wish to share my experiences and point out interesting attractions to people I meet. Late last summer I visited Äijälä's house, which is a beautiful old log house with a work community for people in different life situations. The house staff has tight connections to Germany. There I met a German-Finnish woman by the name of Satu who had come to Finland to visit her mother´s hometown Jyväskylä.

We decided to go to different places together and visited for example the interesting campus area of the University of Jyväskylä, with buildings designed by Alvar Aalto. We also went to neighboring municipalities, where Satu was very impressed by the Muurame Church. As we got to know each other better, it turned out that she had intriguing family relations. His mother's grandfather was Alexei Mitro, who was a very important person in Jyväskylä. Alexei Mitro, until 1918 Mitrofanoff, was a Finnish trade counselor, businessman and manufacturer. His ancestors lived in Uhtua, located in White Karelia. Alexei studied in St Petersburg and moved to Jyväskylä in 1903. He founded a wholesale and retail fabric shop as well as a costume factory and a sewing company. He was a major business developer in his hometown. The fabrics to his companies were probably brought from all over Europe and hence he had a big influence in the aesthetic image of the city and its culture life. The early 1900´s was also an important time for Jyväskylä´s urbanization. First high-rise houses were built, streets were paved, and horses gradually gave way to cars.

Satu has returned to Germany, but it was exhilarating to send her a picture from the opening of the renovated Museum of Central Finland. The exhibition poster features a picture of the first car in Jyväskylä and its owner Alexei Mitro. In Germany, Satu is now sharing stories about Alexei and his influence in central Finland. Narratives of cultural heritage keep moving around Europe.

EXPLORING THE CAMPUS OF JYVÄSKYLÄ UNIVERSITY

It took more than 40 years before I got to know the campus of my hometown again through art and culture companion training. I studied at the University of Jyväskylä in the late '70s, but nobody told the new students about the area´s educational history, or how different periods have affected the campus architecture, its art and parks, where material and non-material cultural heritage come together. But now when I walk around the campus, I can almost see how female students of the old teacher training seminar, in their long skirts, hasten to natural science lecture in a red-brick building. The building was designed by architect Constantin Kiseleff in year 1877, getting his neo-Renaissance influences from the excursion he made in Austria.

The past world is also present nowadays when I guide my fellow students to familiar buildings and lecture halls. Same double exposure of time is present also when I guide my son, a graduation gift from me to him. I share my memories of unforgettable teachers and we walk through buildings that carry their own memories of classmates and lessons for both of us, but more than 30 years in between. In 1800´s a typical male student of the teacher training seminar came most likely from the countryside with modest living conditions. In addition to theoretical studies, he also learned sports and crafts. Because seminar was a boarding school, the students also took care of heating and cleaning the dormitories. When my urban son studied in the early 2000´s in the same place to become a teacher, world situation with its ideologies was completely different but perhaps he still was connected to the early colleagues with his deep desire to learn. I believe that there was also a shared desire to grow as a person and to develop community. By their contribution they can make the world a better place, especially for children and young people!

We often think that new ideas and inspirations have been brought from Europe to Finland, but it happens also the other way around. For example, cultural export happens, when I am guiding foreign students in the campus. It gives me the chance to introduce the achievements of Finnish education: equal opportunities for women to study and balancing differences and barriers between social classes and paving the way for equality. Visitors from Europe, but especially from Japan, are seen in campus photographing Aalto buildings. Those who are interested in architecture have been impressed by the unity of the campus area created by Alvar Aalto, an entity with the working title ‘Urbs’ (city). Aalto was influenced by the German functional style Bauhaus but took influences also from Greek antiquity. Those influences can be seen in the use of columns for example in the main building and in Lyhty building. Although some of the names of the buildings come from Latin (Educa, Historica, Fennicum, Athanaeum), buildings have also been named after old place names. The Student House Ilokivi (‘joy stone’) was named after the big boulder that college students used to climb in celebrations.

The campus of Jyväskylä University continues its story as part of the international scientific community. Its students continue the story by exporting their expertise in exchange programs around the world. Everyone who has once walked in campus pathways, studied in its lecture halls or found a resting place from its park benches, is part of the continuum of history. We, the art and culture companions, for our part are today's cultural messengers in our own circle of people and as volunteers. We become partners and enthusiasts for those who do not have the possibility to explore and experience local culture on their own.

ROLE OF ART AND CULTURE COMPANIONS

Besides Jyväskylä´s role as an educational center in Finland, it is also the birthplace of art and culture companions. The activity was founded in Jyväskylä 2006 and reaches now over 20 locations. Art and culture companions are trained volunteers who make culture more obtainable to everyone by accompanying individuals to concerts and events or by guiding people and groups around museums and cultural environment. Culture companion’s role as an ordinary citizen is also to provide knowledge and experience through their own interest in their own neighborhood for those people who may have challenges to access culture themselves. This kind of activity increases participation and accessibility to all citizens. Culture companions are also important actors in creating and distributing shared and living cultural heritage. They are keeping history and stories alive, creating their own exhibitions and organizing events. One of those events is Cultural Orienteering Day that takes place in Jyväskylä every September since year 2009. This thriving event is a combination of art and sport and is organized and implemented by the city of Jyväskylä, its museums, volunteers, unions, organizations and entrepreneurs.

Every year about 14 attractions form an orienteering route and people can participate by choosing their own points of interest and navigating across the city through cultural checkpoints. During the day, every checkpoint offers free entry and special activities or shows. Every place invents also checkpoint question that activate people to explore the place more closely. People can participate in a lottery for cultural prizes by finding answers to those questions. This event has an important role in making the city better known for its old and new citizens. Cultural orienteering day brings important historical and cultural places closer to people and gives them an opportunity to create their own stories in those places. Art and culture companions have played a significant role in spreading local cultural heritage for orienteers navigating the city every autumn now for 10 years since 2009 by guiding and developing the happening. That’s why their stories are immensely valuable.

The stories written by art and culture companions Pipsa Niemi, Hannele Suvitie and Anna-Kaisa Jaala were translated by Pipsa Niemi and proofread by Sirpa Korhonen, who all are fairly new companions.

https://www.jyvaskyla.fi/kulttuuri/kulttuuripalvelut/luotsitoiminta/art-and-culture-companions

https://www.jyu.fi/tdk/museo/history.html

http://soihtu.jyu.fi/nayttely/ymparisto/m

https://www.jyvaskyla.fi/kulttuuri/suunnistus/rastit

https://www.facebook.com/jyvaskylankulttuurisuunnistus/

https://www.facebook.com/kulttuuriluotsitjkl/

European Dimensions

Art and culture companions are group of volunteers who are for anyone to be asked accompany for all culture and art events, museums, theaters, concerts, libraries and so on. They have different backgrounds and interests, some of them are well educated, but previous education is not needed. We believe in learning form peers and professionals by your own interest and schedule, so lifelong learning, adult education, is natural here. It is also one of present programs of Jyväskylä University. History of teachers training from early days shows how different it is nowadays. It is collected at Campus Museum Soihtu which provides great chances to introduce and learn local heritage. Soihtu is also a great place to collect memories on household lessons at school, which is going to be a small exhibition at museum curated by volunteers. Annual Cultural orienteering day usually provides guided tours at campus area.

Great old pedagogist travelled Europe and brought the methods and ideologies, which they adapted to start civilizing Finnish citizens. And it was to be available to all children in every corner of the country. Notable is too that Cygnaeus, father of education, included teachers training right away handicraft, music, sports and art. With help of other Finnish minded educators, Jyväskylä became a center of education, called Finnish Athens. The stories of campus area and teacher’s dorm living are still going strong and full of nostalgy. Equality and women’s rights were developed here, and journalism in Finnish language has strong roots here in Jyväskylä. Teachers and students impact is shown in infrastructure, architecture (Alvar Aalto), cultural events (Choir festivals), and literature (book publishing and printing houses).

Fairly small city in middle of Finland has a great impact in Finnish history in late 1900 century, which may be forgotten too often. That is why the art and culture companions are needed continuously for accompanying people of all backgrounds or developing new methods to make the stories alive. Once companions have experienced the atmosphere themselves, they are eager to introduce it others, like immigrants, refugees, students, elderly, handicapped, disabled or anyone who needs accompany without distinguishing. Individuals and groups are both welcome and nowadays companions master several European languages, English, German, Russian, Italian, French, even sign language. And we have different ethnic backgrounds in our group, like Russian, Belgian and German. The activity is for everyone over 18 years old.

Shared histories in Europe are shown in the story by bringing the education methods to Finnish education, with strong democracy to all children, poor and rich. Equal participation to culture is not yet possible for all individually, so accompanying is a good way of support human rights to be able for everyone. When its organized by Cultural Services of City of Jyväskylä, it has control of safety and quality. Accidental meetings may get connected to local history, like surprise of the companion who was accompanying a visitor to reopened museum where they found great great grandfather and his automobile in 1918, first in Jyväskylä. This meeting was very important in micro level and was the beginning of the stories collected here for EHD. European connection is even more important to be supported these days, when borders are closed and it might restrict exchange programs and travelling. Local people need to be aware that we all belong to European nation and we need to learn from our history, in many ways. Companions take care of the heritage and help others find their European and local stories too see the connection both ways.