News

The Timeout Foundation and the Hungarian Civil College Foundation (CKA) have launched a two-year partnership to strengthen the use of the Timeout method in Hungary. As part of the partnership, key Timeout materials are now available in Hungarian.

Hannu-Pekka Ikäheimo, Doctor of Social Sciences, has been appointed as the new CEO of the Timeout Foundation. He joins the Foundation from Sitra, where he has served as Programme Director of the Democratic Innovations programme. Ikäheimo will take up his position on 1 January 2027 and will lead the Foundation as it strengthens and broadens its work to advance democratic participation.

How can history help us build a better future? This was one of the questions explored by people from different generations and backgrounds at the EUSTORY Past Forward Festival in Hamburg. The Timeout Foundation joined the festival to bring people together through Timeout Dialogues.

The Timeout Dialogues held as part of the Finnish Government’s new inclusion pilot brought the views of children and young people into state-level preparation work and decision-making. The aim of the pilot is to build a permanent operating model through which the views of children and young people can be taken into account more systematically in the work of ministries.

The DIACOMET project has come to an end, resulting in the publication of several materials and tools focused on communication ethics. The three-year project explored ethical questions in communication within a changing media environment and sought ways to strengthen responsible and dialogic interaction across Europe. As part of the project, a total of 87 Timeout Dialogues were held across the continent.

A new survey will open on Monday 10 November, giving pupils in years 5–9 the chance to share their thoughts on what is important. Their responses will help us as we prepare for the next government term.

The DEMOS – Democracy Dialogues project supports education for democracy through dialogue. Earlier this spring, we organized a facilitator training in Warsaw. In this diablog post, Estonian Joanna Kurvits shares her experiences and insights from the training trip.

A discussion event was held on 12 May to strengthen mutual understanding between elderly residents and the authorities regarding health and social services available in Swedish. A total of 14 participants attended the event, representing areas including Vartiokylä, Pasila, East Helsinki, Kulosaari, Lauttasaari and Kruununhaka. They shared their personal experiences of receiving services in Swedish.

The series of social security dialogues held by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Timeout Foundation brought out a wide variety of views and development suggestions from citizens on the future of social security. The outcomes of the dialogues will be presented at a webinar on 15 May 2025.

Timeout Foundation participated in the EUSTORY Next Generation Summit, held under the theme “Encountering Divides.” This year’s event took place in Riga, with over 100 young participants from more than 20 countries. We participated in the event by hosting a workshop titled Bridging Differences: Understanding Through Dialogue.

The dialogues are part of the national social security reform. Population ageing and declining birth rates are putting pressure on the financing of social security in Finland. Finland’s social security...

In co-operation with the Prishtina Institute for Political Studies (PIPS), Demo Finland organised a two-day workshop for young politicians from Finland and Kosovo in November. The co-operation aimed to strengthen the understanding of common challenges for youth political participation and to reflect on solutions to enhance youth participation and democratic resilience.