Suomenlinna World Heritage Volunteers – Hands on Heritage 31.7.-15.8.2025
Host organization
The Governing Body of Suomenlinna is a government agency that restores, maintains, administers and presents The Fortress of Suomenlinna, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Governing Body of Suomenlinna is responsible for preserving the monument and associated historical and architectural values for future generations. The World Heritage Convention obliges the Finnish government to see to it that the sites remain in an optimally authentic condition. The Governing Body of Suomenlinna is the organizing party for the Suomenlinna World Heritage Volunteer (WHV) camp as a manager of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Suomenlinna. The WHV camp is the ESC Volunteer Team Project of Suomenlinna in August 2025.
Aims of the project
The project intends to raise awareness among volunteers of the need to protect and promote common World Heritage and European Cultural Heritage. It intends to enhance volunteers’ knowledge and skills in heritage landscaping techniques through trainings and hands-on work on the site. The participants learn the implementation of sustainable development, understand the importance of dialogue with visitors and the significance of organizing events at a World Heritage site.
Furthermore, the participants learn how to work together towards a common goal, and they also have a unique chance to build networks both with other European volunteers and with the World Heritage professionals in Suomenlinna. Suomenlinna ESC Team Activity 2025 empowers young people allowing them to learn skills, basic preservation and conservation techniques and raise their capacity as future decision-makers and global active citizens.
Activities
Suomenlinna involves young people in World Heritage preservation through concrete projects at the site. The program for Team activity 2025 includes volunteers in several different tasks and activities in maintenance work, landscaping work, supportive restoration tasks and sustainable tourism management.
Volunteer's tasks
Volunteers will participate in maintenance, restoration, and landscaping work in the Suomenlinna area and surrounding islands, under the guidance of site management and specialists. The work is primarily physical and takes place outdoors.
The two major projects during the 2025 Team Activity, each lasting 2–3 full working days, will be assisting in the restoration of historical cannons under the supervision of a Building Restorer and painting a shed using traditional paint, guided by a maintenance professional. Additionally, volunteers will take part in shorter landscaping projects, such as removing invasive plants.
As part of the 2025 project, participants will also deepen their understanding of the Baltic Sea’s history and current state by visiting an exhibition, meeting marine archaeologists, and helping clean the shores of Suomenlinna.
Beyond hands-on work, volunteers will receive a detailed orientation on Suomenlinna’s history. They will engage in discussions on World Heritage, authenticity, preservation, and sustainability—both social and ecological. A key event will be a half-day mini-seminar, where each volunteer presents a World Heritage Site from their home country.
There will also be an Open Camp Day as an open invitation to engage the locals in volunteering landscape work at the site.
Accommodation and meals
The organizer will provide the volunteers accommodation in Hostel Suomenlinna dormitories (one for women, one for men). All meals will be provided by the organizer. Lunches will be served ready, and the dinners will be prepared by the volunteers themselves, together in a kitchen provided by the organizer.
Description of the area:
Fortress of Suomenlinna, built gradually from 1748 onwards on a group of islands, is located 15-minute ferry ride off the City of Helsinki, capital of Finland. Helsinki is a modern and cosmopolitan city and home to around 600,000 residents. Since 1973, the fortress buildings have been renovated to serve as apartments as well as workspaces, to house private and public services, and for cultural purposes. Today, Suomenlinna is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Finland and constitutes a district of Helsinki with 800 inhabitants. Fortress of Suomenlinna is one of Finland’s seven UNESCO Worlds Heritage Sites.
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More information
Project is supported by the European Solidarity Corps and open for 18-30 year old citizens and permanent residents of EU countries and Ukraine.
Participation is free of charge, as well as board and lodging. Volunteers need to stay the full duration of the project in order to get pocket money and travel grant (maximum sum calculated based on the Erasmus+ distance calculator).
We are looking for 13 volunteers who will be chosen based on the application below. Fill in the form in English language.
Please note that we are selecting the participants based on their genuine motivation, and applications that use AI will be discarded.
The applicants need to attach to the application form one page motivation letter presenting themselves, explaining why they would like to join the project, if they have any previous experience in WHV volunteering and what could be their contribution to the project.
Application deadline is 14th of May, 2025.