ReTHINK Finland
Established 1920 as Forssa worker`s institute
Values and leading principles
General adult education, humanism, personal fulfillment and social integration and cohesion are the main values and operating principles in Wahren-opisto. It offers learning opportunities guided by professional staff. The participants represent the whole society as men and women, working people and the unemployed, old and young, academically trained and workers without a degree all study in the same group.
The learning process stresses the adult learner's own responsibility, goals and role as a self-directed learner. All the more, the teachers of the adult education centres act as counselors or tutors for the learners, utilizing their own life experience, professional skills and group and teamwork methods. There is a growing interest in integrating the information and communication technologies into the learning programs.
Rethink it - Learning partnership
We live in globally connected societies, where ‘nation’ is loosing relevance, but nationalism are uprising in different ways. Due to international cooperation, the national state has no longer the last / highest authority.
"Rethink it" in Finland
"Rethink it" was the first Grundtvig learning partnership of Wahren-opisto. There were two groups of rethinkers:
-The older persons making their life stories (13 persons) in Tyykihovi. They met once a week studing Finnish history under Sweden and Russia and then after independence 1917. The group was ready to take "Europe" as their quests. Now they are europeans in Finland.
-The the other group "travelling"group studying what does Europe look like now - by coincidense also 13 persons - one belonging to the both groups. For them to study european life at this moment was possibility to understand better what is going on. Also for the stuff of Wahren-opisto learning partnership was eyeopening experience.
First autumn november 2008 Hervig Nulens visited in many groups of Wahren-opisto: English conversation class (which partipated later as assistanst to communicate with the life story group in Tyykihovi.) He visited also artgroups where learners were seaching for pictures of Finland. He visited an exhibition of Arteducators in Riihimäki
February 2009 we got group of Berliners and group from Belgium. Theme was history of Finland and Forssa. Nature in winter was for all to experience. To prepair first transnational meeting was good co-operative task.
June 2010 was the last meeting and it happened in Finland. Between these two meetings there happened a lot in Finland and in Europe. "True finns" increased their volume among finns. Wahren-opisto was called Forssan aikuisopisto when the project started. Eu got president and the financial crisis of Greek made people more eu-critical. It is good to be critical because it will renew old forms when understood in right way. There is a lot of hope and things are quite well - but we have to keep our eye on it.
"Mobility makers "- the traveling group of finnish "rethinkers"
- the mother of Mirja Majevski
- she has been travelling trough Europe by car in 60`s
(Sanni Asikainen and Sami Manerus as EXTRA persons with in Hasselt - young ones)
The life stories from Tyykihovi - "Otteita elämästä"
Understanding the sense of nationhood in Finland through history by studying personal life stories is the basic idea of doing the life stories.
In Finland we are quite proud of Finnish origin. It is easy to understand, if you look at our history. The Second World War was a success from our perspective - we maintained our independence. The experts are those who has lived through the wartime.
Sheltered housing for the elderly (Tyykihovi) is the place to find the experience, which explains the strong sense of nationhood. There are people who have experienced the course of history of Finland in their own lives.
The group has gone through the history of Finland: Sweden's reign (1809) and the reign of Russia (1917). Adele Åberg is born 1915 so she is the starting point. She was 80 when Finland joined EU. Tanja Härmä is the youngest - born in 1970. Tanja has been collecting pictures and stories from groupmembers of Tyykihovi. Tanja has collected photos and stories from members of the group. Through these stories we can better understand today's Finland.
Through "Rethink it" learning partnership, we hope to better understand our part of the European Union also. What does it mean to be a member of European Union.
List of all the participants "Life Stories"
Adele Åberg born 1.2.1915 
Tarmo Jalava 
Hilkka Johansson
Hannu Filppu 
Kaarina Laakso 
Lahja Ceder
Aili Koskinen 
Eila Nero
Jussi Soini
Leo Kananen
Mirjam Kananen
Eine Kivi
Seija Mattsson
Adele Kaarina Aberg
You can download the whole Live Story of Adele Kaarina Aberg here:
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| ADELE KAARINA ÅBERG a.ppt | 3.24 MB |
Aili Koskinen
You can download the whole Live Story of Adele Kaarina Aberg here:
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| AILI MARIA KOSKINEN a.ppt | 4.15 MB |
Hannu Filppu
Read here the Live Story of Hannu Filppu
You can download the whole Live Story of Hannu Filppu here:
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Hannu Jalmari Filppu a.ppt | 2.6 MB |
Helmi Kaarina Laakso
Read here the Live Story of Helmi Kaarina Lehtonen
You can download the whole Live Story of Helmi Kaarina Lehtonen here:
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| HELMI KAARINA LAAKSO a.ppt | 3.33 MB |
Seija Mattsson
Read here the Live Story of Seija Mattsson
You can download the whole Live Story of Adele Kaarina Aberg here:
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Seija Mattsson.ppt | 2.21 MB |
Exhibition in Forssa museum - "Retime it!" 17.6.-24.6.
Forssa Museo in these pictures is waiting for "retiming". It was just the time: Kati Kivimäki just started as a new manager.
Retimers came from Belgium, German, Nigeria, Japan, Turkey and Finland making personal clocks together.
We had three kind of wokshops: making personal clocks for those who has not done it at home, making project clock and the "outsiders". (Meaning those who worked out side: Tjen, Pertti, Aleksanteri and Verneri - they did work also inside.)
Starting with personal - making a group and then joining to the outer world. The exhibition was rich - full of ideas.
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Wahren-Opisto
Values and leading principles
General adult education, humanism, personal fulfillment and social integration and cohesion are the main values and operating principles in Wahren-opisto. It offers learning opportunities guided by professional staff. The participants represent the whole society as men and women, working people and the unemployed, old and young, academically trained and workers without a degree all study in the same group.
The learning process stresses the adult learner's own responsibility, goals and role as a self-directed learner. All the more, the teachers of the adult education centres act as counselors or tutors for the learners, utilizing their own life experience, professional skills and group and teamwork methods. There is a growing interest in integrating the information and communication technologies into the learning programs.
struction
Exhibition of 13 life stories is in Forssa Museo 1.6.-24.6.2010
Tanja Härmä colleted 13 life stories from persons aged 60-95 living in Forssa. She also made the exhibition in Forssa Museo.
The group of Wahren-opisto is one of the seniorgroups making the idea of lifelong learning real. This group is theasic group of "RETHINKERS". The group meets once a week for 1,5 h and discussing about the life of the past but as much about what is going on now. Finnish history has been studied from the very begining. History becames real only by human beings - one life is the basic. So we started to investigate our lives. Tanja came with january 2009 and made a wonderfull job collecting pictures and memories and transforming them in such a format it is possible to go on.
To remember is one of the basic things to be able to learn. We as european citizens should not forget our past with wars not so far away - only one lifetime ago. Adele Åberg (born 1915) has lived revolutionary times of Russia, became a citizen of young Finland 1917 seen the second world war 1939-1944 and now living full and interesting times with the posibilities of world wide communication.
Student organisation
Wahren-opisto has about 2300 students and about 100 members of Student organisation. Summer cottage near Pyhäjärvi is the main activity.
Päivi Salonen is the chairman of the student organisation taking care of everything.
The sauna burnt 18.6. but not so badly - it was luck there were many people around. The firearm came soon and sauna will be prepaired soon.
Wahren-opisto is an Adult education center
Values and leading principles
General adult education, humanism, personal fulfillment and social integration and cohesion are the main values and operating principles in Wahren-opisto. It offers learning opportunities guided by professional staff. The participants represent the whole society as men and women, working people and the unemployed, old and young, academically trained and workers without a degree all study in the same group.
The learning process stresses the adult learner's own responsibility, goals and role as a self-directed learner. All the more, the teachers of the adult education centres act as counselors or tutors for the learners, utilizing their own life experience, professional skills and group and teamwork methods. There is a growing interest in integrating the information and communication technologies into the learning programs.