The Finnish Union for Rural Education is a national educational organisation and the maintainer of an Education Centre. The central role that all democratic societies give to organisational and voluntary work is considered the basis of the Union's functions.
The Union for Rural Education supports lifelong learning, the developing of intellectual resources, a creative approach to change, and culture and recreation.
Culture in all its diversity is the core area of expertise at the Union for Rural Education. The range of activities is wide: from fairy-tale writing to environmental care.
The Union maintains an Education Centre (MSL-opintokeskus), which is an Adult Education Centre. The Centre organizes education in small-groups, lectures, courses and distant education. The Union for Rural Education produces learning material and other material in its own series of publications.
The most important member organizations of the Union for Rural Education are the Central Union for Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners (MTK), the Finnish Centre Party (Suomen Keskusta) with its affiliates and the Union of Pensioners (Eläkeliitto). The Union for Rural Education organizes most of its activities in close co-operation with its member and partner organizations.
The central projects of the Union for Rural Education are:
- Forest Culture Intellectual Resources in Rural Areas
- Brainstorm on City Policies
- Village Environment Planning
- Democracy Training
