Oulu has won the gold award in the Eurocities Awards 2026 for its Sustainable Future Learning Stream, a framework for sustainability education. The prize was presented at the Eurocities Annual Conference in Utrecht on 9 June 2026. The competition looks for solutions that have proven effective and can be replicated in other cities, which makes the model relevant beyond Finland.

The award

The Learning Stream competed in the City Initiative category under the Urban Climate Actions theme. It was selected from five finalists; alongside Oulu, these were Paris, Istanbul, Rotterdam and Manchester. Mayor of Oulu Ari Alatossava and developer teachers Jussi Tomberg and Sanna Mäkelä received the award from Sharon Dijksma, Mayor of Utrecht. Alatossava said the success is based on cooperation across sectors, involving education, environmental and youth services and other stakeholders.

How the model works

The Sustainable Future Learning Stream was launched in 2019 to create a coherent framework for sustainability education across educational levels and learning environments. It follows a lifelong learning model from early childhood education to adulthood. Its goal is to make sustainable living a natural part of everyday life and to address sustainability themes consistently throughout the educational journey. Oulu uses practical approaches:

  • STEAM education
  • nature-based pedagogy
  • a student food council
  • a citizen science project monitoring local lakes and waterways

In the citizen science project, children and teachers collect water samples and submit the results to the city’s environmental database. This helps authorities monitor water quality almost in real time.

Transfer to other cities

The model has been developed with seven partner municipalities, each of which has adapted it to local needs. According to Jussi Tomberg, Sustainable Future Development Teacher, challenges related to sustainable lifestyles are largely similar across Europe, which makes the model easily transferable. The initiative has been presented in several European cooperation networks and at international education and urban development events. The city expects the award to create new opportunities to share its practices with cities across Europe.

Eurocities is Europe’s largest network of cities, with more than 200 major cities from 38 countries, representing over 150 million Europeans. It celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2026. Oulu has been a member since 1998.