Akava, the Confederation of Unions for Professional and Managerial Staff in Finland, is a trade union confederation for those with university, professional or other high-level education. Akava and its affiliates and collective bargaining organisations cooperate to ensure that Akava’s members experience success and well-being in their careers.
The Artists’ Association of Finland is an expert organisation that represents more than 3,000 professional visual artists and contributes to the public discussion concerning the industry. The purpose of the association is to supervise and improve the status and employment of visual artists and the conditions of employment and to promote the social significance of art. Member organisations of the association include key professional organisations of visual artists. The association also runs the online professional publication for visual artists called Taiteilija.
The Finnish Association of Magazine Editors-in-Chief, founded in 1979, is an association of editors-in-chief that seeks to maintain and develop the professional expertise of magazine editors-in-chief. The association arranges interesting events about current topics in cooperation with the state administration as well as representatives of economic and cultural life. The association presents a merited magazine editor with the Julius award every year, and its members receive grants based on applications.
The Association of Finnish Film Directors promotes Finnish film culture and the status of directors as the key operator in film production, and aims to improve the status of film directors in Finland. SELO’s aim is to improve the judicial and financial status of directors, promote the common interests of directors, influence film culture and policies from the creators’ perspective, implement a respectful occupational culture and raise general awareness of the industry.
The Association of Finnish Non-fiction Writers is Finland’s biggest writer organisation. The association is dedicated to promoting Finnish non-fiction and protecting the copyrights and financial interests of non-fiction writers. Members of the association include authors of non-fiction for the general public, text books, manuals, dictionaries, articles, etc.
The Association of Finnish Radio and TV Commentators was founded in 1935 after a training course for commentators. Its members include over 500 experts of digital communication from journalists to photographers and producers. The association also includes a wide range of subcontracting companies in the industry.
Finnfoto represents the entire photographic industry in Finland and its interests. The association promotes the status and appreciation of photography and people in the industry. Finnfoto’s aim is to strengthen and promote the copyrights held by photographers and their integrity by means of communications and participating proactively in discussions and legal drafting concerning copyrights. In addition, the association helps photographers develop their skills to market and sell their photos and services.
Finnish Animation Guild is an association of people employed in the animation industry and people interested in the industry. Its primary function is to represent and unite Finnish animators and bring people interested in the industry together.
The purpose of the Finnish Association for Scholarly Publishing is to supervise the common interests and rights of its members, especially in matters concerning copyrights and other matters related to scholarly publishing. The association seeks to strengthen the status of scholarly publications and promote cooperation between its members. It supports the scientific community’s attempts to perform international cooperation in developing scholarly publishing.
The Finnish Association of Science Editors and Journalists promotes public science communication activities in cooperation with other operators in the industry. The association organises science communication training, issues grants for projects that promote the industry and presents annual awards. The association, founded in 1985, has approximately 1,200 members.
The Finnish Association of Technical Publishers, founded in 1982, is an organisation that promotes the general conditions of publishers in technical industries. It brings together communities of these industries and supervises and promotes the general and common interests of its members in matters that do not concern employment relationships. The aim of association is to promote the use and appreciation of high-quality technical information that can help develop professionalism.
The Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters is an expert organisation in the translation and interpreting industry. SKTL aims to strengthen the professional identity and expertise of translators and interpreters. The association develops ethical principles and good practices in the industry from the perspective of both translators and interpreters as well as their customers. The entire translation and interpreting industry is covered by SKTL. The association provides its members with information, education and a professional community. In addition to its head office, its sub-branches and local branches arrange a wide array of events. The association is focused heavily on the field of culture.
The Finnish Book Publishers Association is an association that promotes the common interests of Finnish book publishers and facilitates cooperation in the industry. The purpose of the association is to support its members by developing the operating conditions in the publishing industry. As a non-profit organisation, it promotes the distribution of literature, reading and freedom of expression.
The Finnish Comics Professionals is an organisation of professionals in the Finnish comics industry. The organisation was founded in 1995 and it promotes the professional and social benefits of comics authors and the recognition of the industry. There are approximately 160 members in the organisation, including writers, illustrators, typists and translators of comics. The Finnish Comics Professionals also issue the annual Pätkä grants, enabled by the copyright remunerations collected from Kopiosto, and the annual Award for Achievements in Comics.
The Finnish Composers’ Copyright Society Teosto represents approximately 33,000 Finnish and nearly three million foreign composers, lyricists, arrangers and music publishers in Finland. Teosto aims to provide good conditions for working in a creative industry and making music professionally. In addition to music authors, our partners include companies and communities who use music.
The Finnish Critics’ Association is a national professional association for critics of various forms of art. Its primary objectives are to develop the professional activities of critics and improve professionalism in the industry. The association also promotes its members’ financial, social and judicial status.
The purpose of The Finnish Illustration Association is to promote the status of the Finnish illustration industry. The association maintains the Galleria Kuvitus gallery, publishes the Kuvittaja magazine, issues grants and presents awards, organises events and professional training and helps illustrators market their works. Nearly 500 Finnish illustrators are represented by the Finnish Illustration Association.
Finnish Music Creators is a non-profit organisation that aims to promote the financial and professional benefits, social recognition and community of professional Finnish composers, lyricists and arrangers. The organisation was founded in 1954 and it currently has approximately 1,000 members.
The Finnish Music Publishers Association is an umbrella organisation that represents the interests of Finnish music publishers. The association has 38 publisher members. It is an ideological non-profit organisation.
The Finnish Musicians’ Union is a trade organisation for professional musicians. The union’s areas of expertise include contracts, copyrights, social security and adopting the perspective of a musician.
The Finnish Newspapers Association is a trade association for newspaper and city newspaper publishers. It is the largest member organisation of the Finnish Media Federation Finnmedia, which represents the common interests of the media industry. The association’s task is to strengthen the social significance and vitality of multichannel-based newspaper media and its position as a leading media for advertisers and readers, as well as its position in people’s daily life. The association publishes the Suomen Lehdistö periodical. The association was founded in 1908.
The Finnish Periodical Publishers’ Association is the standards organisation of Finnish periodical publishers. Its members include periodical publishers and the printed and digital public, professional and organisation magazines as well as customer magazines published by them. The association represents the interests of its members and develops tools for the changing competitive circumstances in the field of media. The association is a member organisation of the Finnish Media Federation.
The Finnish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild was founded by a group of writers in 1921. There are approximately 500 members in the guild who write plays and scripts for films, television and radio. The bilingual guild promotes the professional and financial benefits and copyrights of its members and maintains a library of plays by Finnish authors. The guild negotiates contracts and develops the operational models of the industry in cooperation with theatres, television channels and producers. The Finnish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild collaborates closely with various artistic, copyright and public affairs organisations.
The Finnish Society of Cinematographers is a cultural and professional society that provides its members with further education. The membership of the society is a remarkable distinction – a sign of appreciation and respect by the artistic community. Cinematographers who have shown exceptional artistic skill and have actively worked as Director of Photography may be invited to become members of the society.
The Finnish Union of Authors Writing for Children and Youth is a nationwide community of authors of this genre. Ever since the founding of the union, the most apparent form of its activities has been the development and promotion of children’s and young people’s interest in reading by presenting awards and publishing.
Forum Artis is the national co-operation organ for Finnish artists’ associations. Its aims are to advance the interests of its member societies; to promote the co-operation within the various branches of art; and to foster the social and professional interests of its membership.
The Freelance Media Workers’ Association was founded in 1968 by freelancers who either did not hold a permanent employment relationship with Yleisradio, Finland’s national public broadcasting company, or worked as entrepreneurs. Current members of FOT include freelancers and entrepreneurs who provide their services to various media outlets as journalists, photojournalists or graphic designers. FOT is a part of the Service Union United. Freelance graphic artists form an independent sub-branch within FOT.
Association of Visual Communication Designers in Finland Grafia is a community of over one thousand professionals. Grafia, founded in 1933, seeks to promote the recognition of Finnish visual communication and the judicial, professional and financial interests of its members.
Gramex, founded in 1967, is a copyright society of performing artists and music producers. The list of copyright owners represented by Gramex includes musicians, conductors and record companies. In addition to its over 50,000 copyright owner client agreements, Gramex also represents countless copyright owners abroad via its foreign sister organisations. Gramex collects remunerations by granting licences to use and record phonograms and to use music videos.
Members of the Guild of Finnish Editors include editors, senior editors, managing editors and other journalists in similar positions at daily newspapers, digital media outlets, news and photo agencies and magazines that contain journalistic content about current news. The guild represents the professional expertise of its members by arranging various events and travels and issuing grants. The guild also takes part in the discussion about topical matters concerning the industry with a particular focus on promoting freedom of expression.
The Society of Finnish Composers is a non-profit organisation, and its members are composers in the field of classical music. The purpose of the Society is to provide a community for its members located around the country, to safeguard and promote the artistic, professional and financial interests of composers, and to contribute to the creative musical arts in Finland.
The Society of Swedish Authors in Finland safeguards its members’ moral, general and shared economic interests and their rights as authors. The society was founded in 1919 and now has almost 200 members. FSF represents its members in agreement negotiations with the Ministry of Education and Culture, publishers and other parties and gives proposals and statements in matters related to the industry, cultural policy and literature. FSF arranges school visits, readings, trips for members and seminars and participate in other literary projects. A Finland-Swedish author who has published at least two original works of literary value in Swedish may be chosen as a regular member. Persons who in other ways have made significant contributions to Finland-Swedish literature may also be accepted as regular members.
The Swedish speaking Actors Union of Finland is a lobby group of Swedish speaking actors in Finland. The union was founded in 1917 and it has 240 Swedish speaking professional actor members. The FSS represents the interests of its members and provides them with a community.
Members of the Theatre, Film and Television Designers’ union include professional costume and stage designers who work in theatres and film and television productions. The union is a member organisation of the Trade Union for Theatre and Media Finland (Teatteri- ja mediatyöntekijöiden liitto, Teme) and it has 270 members.
Trade Union for Theatre and Media Finland is the largest trade union in the Finnish art and culture industry. Teme consists of seven independent member organisations and 4,800 professionals and students. Its members include employees and artists, designers and performers, students and professionals in the fields of film and TV production, theatre, dance and circus. Half of the union’s members hold permanent full-time jobs and the other half consists of freelancers and self-employed people. Teme is a cultural organisation and a trade union that is involved in negotiations concerning eight collective agreements.
The Union of Dance and Circus Artists Finland is a trade union and cultural organisation of dancers, choreographers, dance teachers and circus artists. It is a member organisation of the Trade Union for Theatre and Media Finland, and it has 1,050 members. The union is actively involved in planning the funding and resources of the dance and circus industry and cultural policies. The union also publishes the Liitos magazine.
The Union of Film and Media Employees Finland is a trade union of the audiovisual industry and a cultural organisation that represents film and television employees very extensively. SET is a member organisation of the Trade Union for Theatre and Media Finland (Teatteri- ja mediatyöntekijöiden liitto), and it has 820 members. SET contributes to film culture, for example, by publishing the periodical on film culture Lehtiset.
The Union of Finnish Actors is a nationwide professional and artistic organisation with nearly 2,000 members. The union aims to promote the social status and income of its members, improve the status of theatre, dance and cinema and safeguard the copyrights held by its members. The main priorities of the union also includes politics concerning art, culture and education.
Union of Finnish Radio and TV Journalists is a trade union of people working in radio and television and at production and programme provider companies and teachers in the industry. There are approximately 5,000 members. Union is a part of the Union of Journalists in Finland.
The Union of Finnish Writers is a non-profit and professional organisation that represents fiction authors writing in Finnish. The union aims to improve the professional status of writers and promote Finnish literature. The union was founded in 1897 and it currently has approximately 800 members.
The purpose of the Union of Journalists in Finland is to improve the financial and professional status of its members and their working conditions regardless of the form of their employment. The union’s lobbying activities are focused on collective agreements, complemented by promoting the interests of its members on an individual level.
The Union of Theatre Directors and Dramaturges Finland is a collegial community and lobbying group for theatre directors and dramaturges. It is actively involved in planning the funding, resources and content of theatre, and it is a strong advocate of professionalism. The union is a member organisation of the Trade Union for Theatre and Media Finland, and it has 360 members.
The objective of the Visual Artists’ Copyright Society Kuvasto is to look after the rights of visual artists under copyright legislation and promote the conditions for using visual art.