Recipes for Systemic Change - Helsinki Design Lab

for enrolment. Confirmation training camp is widely known to be a deepbonding experience among teenagers, regardless of religious devotion orintent to pursue an active relationship with the church in the future.MatriculationThe matriculation examination is the culmination point at the completionof the general upper secondary school curriculum. The examinationis administered in four parts over a six-hour time period and is offeredtwice per calendar year. Students elect four different academic subjects inadvance, one of which must include a test of one’s “mother tongue.” A passingmark, especially with honours, guarantees the student a place at university.A failing grade in any one test subject is an automatic failure for theentire exam.Matriculation is a second cultural rite of passage among Finnish youth,on par with a high school graduation elsewhere around the world. It is partof a long tradition inherited from Sweden and predates the Finland’s ownindependence by sixty-five years. The examination has been updated tofit the contemporary curriculum and is no longer a general education testrequiring mastery of Latin. Matriculation is steeped is still steeped in oldcustoms, from the Latin grades awarded to the symbolic white student capgiven to each successful young scholar. On Vappu, the May 1st holiday thatsignals the beginning of summer each year, the parks and avenues acrossFinland are filled with graduates proudly sporting their white caps at picnicsand in public, a status symbol worn atop one’s head for all to see.167