Once again, over 50,000 Finns will receive this year a special greetings card

Perhaps Finland’s most anticipated postcard will be delivered to the homes of tens of thousands of citizens in January 2022, when young people born in 2004 will be congratulated on their 18th birthday. In this joint message from the authorities and public administration organisations, people who are reaching adulthood receive congratulations and a reminder of how their civil rights and obligations are increasing.

Although studies show that, from the European perspective, young people in Finland become independent quite early on, there are still many new and surprising things to deal with when becoming an adult: moving into one’s own home, taking care of one’s own financial matters and using official services. Young people would often like help with these things, and they don’t necessarily know where to find it or ask for it.

For this reason, the different authorities and public administration organisations are now taking the opportunity, for the third time, to use a postcard and social media campaign to remind this entire age group of these important channels. In January 2022, approximately 53,000 young people will receive the greetings card, which is jointly sent by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, the Finnish Tax Administration, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, the Finnish Police, the One-Stop Guidance Centers and Traficom. 

The campaign directs young people and their parents to the Suomi.fi web service, which contains a separate section for 18-year-olds.

‘We have the honour of helping new adults take hold of their new life situation. The campaign has reached young people well in the past, and the greetings card in particular has proved to be an important and anticipated mark of adulthood. If, for some reason, the card has not arrived, we have received contact from both concerned young people and their parents, says Liinu Lehto, Communications and Marketing Director at the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.

One goal of these communications is to support young people in dealing with different topical issues such as borrowing a car or paying tax on summer work. At the same time, another goal is to give tips about some of the support services on offer, whether it be support for mental health or simply getting IDs for using official services. It may also feel difficult at first to use different digital services.

‘As people reach adulthood, they don’t necessarily think about how many things are now becoming their own responsibility. We want to reach all 18 year-olds in Finland and make them think about their own life situation and their possible need for support, explains Titta Korpilauri from the KEHA Centre.

The target group is an important one for the authorities, and they don’t handle these communications only by themselves. During the year, young people themselves also get their voices heard, through cooperation carried out in social media with young influencers. This year these voices will include the 18-year-old twin influencers Viivi and Venla, and Formula 1 driver Luka Nurmi.

Suomi.fi/18year campaign  

• The Suomi.fi/18year website brings together information for adults. This information comes from a variety of different authorities and public administration organisations.
• The website provides information on topics such asrights and obligations, voting rights, obtaining a driving licence, entering the labour market and managing one's own finances.
•  In January 2022, a greetings card will be mailed to all people in the Population Information System who live in Finland and who will turn 18 this year.
• In addition, the campaign will run in the social media channels of both the authorities and various young influencers.
• This popular ‘turning 18’ campaign is now being run for the third time.
• The Digital and Population Data Services Agency is leading this campaign, and it is also the provider of the Suomi.fi Web Service.
• The 2022 campaign also includes the Finnish Tax Administration, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, the Finnish Police, the One-Stop Guidance Centers, and Traficom.
• The greetings card is sent in Finnish, Swedish and English.