Equality

We aim for Jyväskylä Festival to be an open space for encounters, equally accessible to everyone. We want every visitor, performer, and staff member to participate safely and freely as their authentic selves, regardless of background or characteristics.

We recognize that achieving this requires constant effort. Creating a safer festival and developing a better culture of practice are long-term processes demanding active and sustained work.

We Promise to:

• Take harassment, discrimination, and inappropriate behavior seriously. We will address any issues.
• Engage in dialogue about the festival’s values and practices with stakeholders.
• Accept feedback as an opportunity for improvement. Anonymous feedback is also welcome.
• Use clear and understandable language in all communications. Information is also available in English on our website.
• Improve and regularly update accessibility information for all venues.

In recent years, we have promoted equality through the following actions:

• Our staff has been trained in safer space principles and harassment prevention. The festival team is committed to continuously evaluating and developing our practices.
• All events during the festival week undergo a risk assessment from the perspectives of safety and personal integrity.
• We network with other event organizers to exchange best practices.
• All staff working during the festival are informed about our equality policies and know how to respond to incidents of harassment.

• During the festival week, an online contact form is available for reporting any harassment or inappropriate behavior experienced or witnessed at Jyväskylä Festival events. The form can be submitted anonymously or with a request for a designated team member to follow up by phone or email.

Access the contact form here

• During Puistojuhlat, a designated harassment contact person will be present at the event area. This person is not an authority, and any suspected criminal activity must be reported to the police.
• All conversations with harassment contact persons are confidential, and no action is taken without consent.
• Restrooms at Puistojuhlat are non-gendered.

We encourage everyone to familiarize themselves with the Safer Space Principles of the UN Association of Finland before the festival. These principles offer practical guidance for fostering a respectful and inclusive festival environment. Read the principles here.

Jyväskylä Festival is committed to developing more sustainable practices and reducing its environmental impact. We strive to minimize our ecological footprint through the following actions:

• We maintain an annually updated environmental plan that guides our ecological decisions.
• We prioritize partnerships with local organizations that share our values.
• We use existing venues instead of building temporary structures.
• We avoid single-use materials and emphasize recycling and reuse.
• All backstage catering is vegetarian. We also require vegetarian options to be available at staff and artist lunch venues.
• We are part of the peer network “Transition to Carbon Neutral Festivals,” aiming toward carbon neutrality.
• We collaborate closely with the University of Jyväskylä’s JYU.WISDOM research community. Our program includes discussions on current environmental issues based on academic research, bridging science with public discourse beyond the academic world.

We welcome feedback and suggestions related to responsibility, equality, and other themes. You can email us at kesa@jyvaskylankesa.fi. We will also open an anonymous feedback form on this page.