The UN Association of Finland:

• educates about global responsibility and possibilities of influence
• provides information about the UN and its actions
• influences Finnish UN policies

Upon founding the Association, the main task was sharing information about the United Nations. In relation to sharing information about the UN as such, the aim was to provide Finnish people with better abilities to understand the world.

In the early years, political organisations were ruled out of membership. Towards the end of the 1960's, situation in the society changed, and the membership of political organisations became possible in the Association. Emphasis on advocacy work grew stronger.

The activities of the Association were seen as two-fold. On one hand, it was important to share information of the UN and its actions, and on the other hand, advocacy work both in Finland and abroad became of essence. Additionally, the task of providing better possibilities to both civil society, both NGO's and individual citizens, to take part and have influence on the UN became central.

All these goals are remain relevant in the advocacy work of the Association. The channels and means of advocacy work are various. It's a thin line between sharing information, providing training and doing advocacy work.

Our advocacy work aims at 1) supporting the principles and actions of the UN and 2) strengthening civil society participation in the UN both nationally and internationally.

When we talk about Finnish UN policy, we mean primarily UN policies made in Finland and by Finland: influencing the structures of the UN, political stands and of course the implementation of chosen stands.

We cooperate with other actors. These include e.g. all UN agencies working in Finland and Finnish organisations working under certain UN agencies either structurally or thematically, such as the UNICEF Finland, Family Federation, UNIFEM Finland and Finnish Refugee Council.

Some networks function in close cooperation with the Association, e.g. networks related to civilian crisis management, women and the UN and civil society participation.