Over 600,000 people in Finland struggle with functional literacy. Yet, the national media seems relatively cool about it. This might be because the concern for literacy is blended into the wider debate about marginalised youth.

The 2012 PIAAC Survey of Adult Skills revealed that some 70 million Europeans have problems with functional literacy. This is an often-cited figure and part of the canon of the European policy debate on literacy.

A slightly less-cited fact is that the Nordic region, often hailed as a shining example of universal literacy, struggles with illiteracy too. The PIAAC study showed that in Finland, the country where I live and work, over 600,000 people aged 16 to 65 struggle with functional literacy. The figure is 370,000 for people of working age.

No media outcry for illiteracy?

For a nation of little over 5 million people, the figure is scandalously high. Yet, as a media professional, I was always baffled that in Finland there never was a proper media outrage over this fact, or at least an outcry that would be proportionate to this high number of people with functional illiteracy.

I am not being completely fair here. There has been some mainstream media coverage of this literacy problem, with calls for action to upskill the illiterate. The adult education community and literacy organisations have been particularly vocal. Still, most media have tackled this theme in a schizoid fashion, reminding us that Finland is still a global leader in literacy, although a good number of Finns are falling behind.

Literacy blends into marginalisation topics

Looking more closely at literacy-related media coverage and recent trending media topics, a more nuanced picture is starting to emerge. My surprise about the media silence over the years has been partly unfounded. The concern for illiteracy in Finland seems to have been channelled and blended into other media topics. The biggest of these is the topic of marginalised youths.

There has been a massive national debate over marginalisation of young people in Finland in the past few years, still ongoing. This debate is linked to the concern over NEET youths (youths not in employment, education or training), and mainstream media has covered the problems widely. The state has got active: in 2013 it instituted a “Youth Guarantee” programme to try and guarantee NEETs either employment or training. NGOs have awoken too: a good example is the We Foundation (founded by the owners of Finnish game studio Supercell) that boldly aims at eradicating marginalisation from Finland by 2050 through various projects.

Illiteracy and marginalisation go hand in hand

How does the marginalisation debate link to literacy, then? Seamlessly.

Literacy problems, often caused by learning difficulties, are a major driver of marginalisation. In fact, the marginalised and people with illiteracy are often, by and large, the same people. This was recently pointed out by Mikko Heinikoski, head of education for the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions. In his blog for EPALE he noted that there are 600,000 people in Finland with only a basic school qualification. This equals the amount of people with functional illiteracy, because we are largely talking about the same group of people. Naturally, the illiterate population includes many elderly people as well, but NEETs and low-skilled youth fill up the ranks significantly. 

Does this mean, then, that by keeping marginalisation on the agenda, the media are simultaneously fighting for literacy? To an extent, yes. But only if media outlets portray illiteracy explicitly as a major cause of marginalisation, and call for concrete action to eradicate functional illiteracy. A bit of outrage is always welcome.