In Finland, work promoting reading is a matter of cultural and educational policy. On the initiative of the parliament’s culture committee, the Finnish National Agency for Education in 2021 produced the National Literacy Strategy 2030. The goal of the literacy strategy is the development of multiliteracies, which means reading and producing multimodal texts in different environments and with different tools. The program for literacy at the Finnish National Agency for Education is responsible for the implementation of the strategy, and the goal is a long-term development of the work promoting reading (Utbildningsstyrelsen 2021). The national literacy programme specifies the measures and responsible bodies, supporting and inspiring reading and literacy among all ages through sub-programmes aimed at early childhood education, schools as well as municipalities and local actors. The literacy work in Finland is extensive and must apply to the entire society and include children's and young people's schooling as well as leisure time (Utbildninsstyrelsen 2021).
The sub-programme for early childhood education, "A reading early childhood education", disseminates information on the development of early reading skills and offers materials for collaboration between guardians and libraries as well as tips for educational use for the professions. The sub-programme for the school, "The whole school reads!", supports teachers and the entire school staff in creating a language-aware operating culture that inspires reading in the whole school community by creating structures between the school, the home and the library. The sub-programme for municipalities, "A reading municipality", aims to encourage the municipalities to commit to the work promoting reading, both long-term and systematically within their various areas of operation, such as schools, leisure activities and libraries. The municipalities are encouraged, for example, to implement the programme "A reading school" (Utbildningsstyrelsen 2021).
Some examples of measures are creating structures that support families' literacy and well-being from birth, spreading information about and inspiring early reading in families, encouraging municipalities to cooperate to strengthen the bond between library employees and staff in preschool (young children's pedagogy) and school (education ) and engage children and young people in planning and participating in author visits, book circles and literature campaigns (Utbildningsstyrelsen 2021; Utbildningsstyrelsen 2024).
In Finland, there is also the Finnish Reading Centre, which is funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture and Finnish foundations (approximately EUR 335,000 annually). It works to strengthen skills between public authorities and municipal structures. The Finnish Reading Centre works for everyone's equal right to reading and promotes interest in reading, reading and literacy. They run and participate in campaigns and projects to promote reading, for example, the project "Read for the child", which provides facts about reading and the importance of reading for children to preschools and schools, child health care staff, librarians and parents as support for reading education. The Finnish Reading Centre is also responsible for the "A reading gift to the child" programme that the government finances, EUR 350,000 in 2024, where the country's child health care clinics can order bookcases to distribute to babies free of charge (Finansministeriet 2024; Läscentrum 2024).
In addition, the Finnish Institute for Children’s Literature Institute receives approximately EUR 150 000 annually for its work in promoting and providing information on children's and young people's literature and children's book art, as well as running a specialized library. The Institute, along with some other activities, also receives project funding to maintain the Lukemo portal presenting children's and young people's books (EUR 90,000 for 2022–2024) (Barnboksinstitutet 2024). State funding for libraries also supports literacy work, for example through development aid to promote reading. Development aid is used, for example, to implement the National Literacy Strategy (EUR 610,000 in 2024) and to support the annual activities of the Seinäjako City Library to promote reading among children and young people (EUR 198,000 annually).