Greetings from the First Week of the Camp
Fifteen young volunteers from across the Europe are working at a two-week World Heritage Volunteer camp that began in Suomenlinna at the beginning of August. The camp, organized by UNESCO, the European Solidarity Corps, and the Alliance Youth Exchange, brought young people to the World Heritage Site with the aim of giving them first-hand experience of world heritage preservation and international cooperation. The Governing Body of Suomenlinna is hosting the camp, supervising the work and providing tools.
Among those participating in the camp are 23-year-old Gonçalo from Portugal, 18-year-old Sarah from France, and 22-year-old Sonja from Finland, who is also the camp leader.
Sarah, Sonja and Gonçalo enjoying the summer breeze in Suomenlinna
Gonçalo says that the camp’s goals and location were the main reasons he decided to apply. “I wanted to travel and see the world and liked the idea of voluntarily working to preserve cultural heritage. Before Suomenlinna, I participated similar camp in Visby, Sweden. All in all, I heard about the camps from European Solidarity Corps and decided to apply.”
Sarah, who has done volunteer work in France and North Macedonia says she wanted to do something useful during her summer vacation. “I like history, so the Suomenlinna World Heritage Site was perfect for me. The camp is also a great place to improve language skills and strengthen European identity,” Sarah reflects.
Sonja, who has worked at several volunteer camps around the Europe, describes the special feeling associated with the Suomenlinna camp. “I spent my childhood in Katajannokka, and we often went on adventures in Suomenlinna. Thus, running a camp that preserves world heritage, especially here, is a task of honor.”
The volunteers help the Governing Body of Suomenlinna with tasks such as building maintenance.
The volunteers painted an old building using traditional methods and traditional self-made paint
Many hands make light work!
“So far, we have painted an old building dating back to the Russian era using traditional methods.” Gonçalo explains.
“And traditional paint, which we made ourselves from rye flour!” adds Sarah, referring to the traditional red and yellow ochre paints used in the painting.
One of the corners of the building under renovation shows the difference before and after the traditional painting
According to Sonja there will be more activities, including restoring cannons at Kustaanmiekka and landscaping.
In addition to working, the volunteers spend their free time together, getting to know Helsinki and Finland. The best thing about the camp so far has been getting to know the other volunteers, learning new things, and doing things together.
“Spare time and work have been rewarding, and it doesn’t feel like work, at least not yet. It has been interesting to notice the cultural differences and similarities between the volunteers from different countries,” Sarah sums up.
Gonçalo describes being in a sauna during a pouring rain as a highlight. “It was beautiful to experience the Finnish sauna culture. Get warm in the sauna and jump into the cool seawater during the rain.”
Sonja says she enjoys telling curious volunteers about Finnish culture and history. “It was great to visit the Ateneum Art Museum and ask the volunteers on their questions about Finnish art history.”
Text and photos: Jaakko Koljonen