TEEN BULLY EXPERIMENT
A challenge for 5th to 9th graders.
Watch the Teen bully experiment -hidden camera and challenge yourself.
A challenge for 5th to 9th graders.
Watch the Teen bully experiment -hidden camera and challenge yourself.
Gutsy School is an award-winning model, recognized with Finland’s largest innovation prize and the EU Best Practice status, that equips young people with the tools to create positive change in society.
In the model, entire age groups of primary or lower secondary school students develop solutions to challenges in their own city. By working together for the benefit of others, young people also strengthen their own wellbeing.
Videos are created about the community solutions carried out by the young people. They are shared at premiere events and on social media to inspire people across the country.
Gutsy School was developed to address one of the most urgent challenges of our time: how to prevent youth exclusion and social polarization. Only 61% of young people feel hopeful about their future (Finnish Youth Research Society 2024), and one in four young people struggles with mental health challenges (Kela 2021).
The Gutsy School model is not built around problems, but around young people’s strengths and potential. According to a survey by the Family Federation of Finland (2020), 80% of young people would like to help others but do not know how. Gutsy School is based on a well-established finding from research: when people act for the benefit of others, their own wellbeing is strengthened.
Through their projects, young people have taught digital skills to former prisoners, created a service concept for people with memory disorders, strengthened neighbour relations, and developed an anti-bullying campaign that has been adopted nationwide. Nearly 10,000 young people and teachers from Finland and Estonia have already participated. Together, they have created 1,000 different video-documented solutions to challenges within their own communities. Through these projects, young people meet dozens of different people face-to-face in their communities, bring people together, and build trust and connections between different groups.
Through the Gutsy School model, young people develop future skills that support their wellbeing and ability to thrive while also contributing to social cohesion and peaceful communities. These skills include teamwork, problem-solving, communication skills, and empathy. Young people’s courage to try new things, their strong sense of justice, and their hopefulness are strengths that deserve to be visible and actively used for the benefit of society as a whole.
Every young person deserves the experience of being able to say: I changed the world for the better.
Gutsy Go gives a tangible experience of participation. The impact is measured in collaboration with Finnish Medical Society Duodecim and Finnish Youth Research Society.
Current statistics indicate that the number of youth that are cynical doubles in the years after the 8th grade. Their life expectancy is about 15 years lower regardless of education. Duodecim has noted the impact Gutsy Go has on young people’s increase of optimism and decrease in cynicism.
“Our interest in being part of Gutsy Go reflects the prospect of guiding the lives of thousands of people in the right direction through their own actions. The intervention helps young people realise the good in themselves, their ability to achieve positive outcomes, and personal strengths that even their classmates respect and admire.”
Dr Pekka Mustonen, CEO of Duodecim Medical Publications Ltd.
Source: Finnish Youth Research Society
Aram Aflatuni
Executive Director
aram@gutsygo.fi
Johanna Mäkitalo
Executive Producer
johanna@gutsygo.fi
Hanna-Mari Aflatuni
Head of Training
hanna-mari@gutsygo.fi
