Kari Sajavaara Recognition Award to the Kielibuusti project for socially influential work related to languages

The Finnish Network for Language Education Policies and the Center for Applied Language Studies have awarded the Professor Kari Sajavaara Recognition Award to the Kielibuusti project, in which Aalto University has been heavily involved since its inception in 2021. 

The project aims to improve opportunities for learning domestic languages, and one of its key ideas is that language learning is not only the responsibility of immigrants themselves, but also a matter for the whole community.  

The award-winning project is particularly well known for its kielibuusti.fi website, which brings together all the material related to learning and supporting domestic languages for different user groups. The website serves learners and teachers of Finnish and Swedish, for example, but also study counselors and international work communities. 

Kielibuusti is a joint project between Aalto University and the University of Helsinki, funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture, which has been granted funding for the years 2025–2028. The previous project period from 2021 to 2024 also included the universities of applied sciences Haaga-Helia, Laurea, and Metropolia. 

Kielibuusti offers significant help with a current challenge   
 
The Finnish Network for Language Education Policies and the Center for Applied Language Studies, which awarded the prize, considered Kielibuusti to be a significant player in the current debate on the opportunities for immigrants to learn and study the domestic languages. 

Kielibuusti was praised for making its materials available to a wide range of communities and for basing them on recent research. All materials are freely available on the kielibuusti.fi website, where you can also subscribe to the Kielibuusti newsletter.   

The Finnish Network for Language Education Policies, coordinated by the Center for Applied Language Studies at the University of Jyväskylä, is a national research and development network for language education policy that brings together language education stakeholders, raises awareness of the multidimensional nature of language education, and influences decisions concerning language education in Finland. Its activities are funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture. 

The Kari Sajavaara Award is named after a pioneer in Finnish and European language teaching and research into language policy in higher education. The Finnish Network for Language Education Policies and the Center for Applied Language Studies, organize an annual memorial lecture in honor of Professor Kari Sajavaara (1938–2006).   

The 2026 Kari Sajavaara Recognition Award was presented and announced at the 16th Kari Sajavaara Memorial Lecture held at the University of Jyväskylä on Friday, January 23, 2026.