December 06th, 2025

​Independence Day Address – December 6, 2025
Timo Virtanen, General Manager
World Children & Youth Physical Education Academy
Ladies and gentlemen, honored friends,
Today, on Finland’s Independence Day, we gather to honor what is most precious to us: a free, democratic, and sovereign Finland. We pause to remember those who made this possible – on the front lines, in workplaces, in homes, and through generations who believed, in quiet determination, in the future of our nation.
When the Soviet Union attacked Finland in the winter of 1939, our small country faced an overwhelming force whose aim was to crush our independence. But the Finnish people did not break. The Finnish people did not surrender. In the midst of freezing cold, fear, uncertainty, and unimaginable hardship, our nation demonstrated a courage that history can only partly capture.
There was courage in the battles fought by our veterans, courage in the sacrifices of the Lotta Svärd women, and courage in the steadfast will of the entire population to defend the homeland.
There was also courage in everyday life: mothers, fathers, workers, teachers, and farmers who kept society alive when bombs fell and the future was uncertain.
We must also remember the significance of 1918 and the War of Independence, which laid the foundation for Finland’s sovereignty. Its legacy was painful, yet its core was clear: the Finnish people chose the direction of their own nation.
After the wars, Finland faced new challenges. Living under the Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance – the YYA treaty – meant living in the shadow of a geopolitical superpower. It brought pressure, restrictions, and at times fear. Many patriotic Finns, including countless women who had served their country, endured injustice and humiliation during that era.
We must also remember the children and young people affected by the narrow attitudes of the time. In Finland – as in many countries – mid-20th-century policies were influenced by eugenics. Deaf individuals and people with disabilities faced restrictions that modern Finland would never accept. Real change began only after the 1960s.
The same is true for equality in sports. Despite the Finnish Football Association being founded over a century ago, children in special groups were not included in organized football until 1995. Many young people were excluded simply because they were different.
Today I want to highlight a group of heroes often forgotten:
Finland’s true heroes also include those who were marginalized – but who nevertheless loved Finland deeply.
Those who believed, even through silence and hardship, that this country belongs to its people.
Those who refused to be subdued by external pressures or internal prejudices.
Those who built Finland with quiet perseverance, even when their own voices were heard only decades later.
Because of their courage, their work, and their love for this country, we are able to live in a free Finland today.
Our gratitude to the nations that helped FinlandOn this Independence Day, we also express our deepest gratitude to the nations that supported Finland in our most difficult moments.
To those countries that provided diplomatic backing, humanitarian assistance, volunteers, political support, and material aid – your contribution strengthened Finland’s ability to defend its independence against both the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire.
Finland has not forgotten its friends.
Your support lives on in our history.
Finnish sports – a reflection of courage, endurance, and the soul of the nationIndependence was built on courage – and that same courage lives in Finnish sports.
Finnish athletes have reached the highest levels of the world in disciplines that demand stamina, strength, and willpower – qualities that symbolize the Finnish spirit.

• Olympic medals in skiing, athletics, wrestling, and other traditional sports have shown the world that a small but determined nation can achieve greatness.
• Ice hockey world championships have united the nation in a way that few other events can.
• Finland’s Paralympic athletes have demonstrated that physical limitations never define a person’s potential. Their medals and record-breaking performances inspire the entire world.
• Deaf athletes, who have won medals in the Deaflympics, have shown that Finnish sisu is not hindered by obstacles – not even by silence itself.

For many Finns, sports have been a path toward equality, visibility, and hope. It is a powerful reminder that value is never defined by background or limitations – but by will, courage, and dedication.
Finland stands strong today not only because of armies or political decisions, but because of the Finnish spirit – shaped by our northern landscapes, our forests, our lakes, our silence, and our unyielding will never to give up.
Our nature has taught us endurance: long winters, short summers, and a landscape that demands strength. From this endurance grew the soul of our independence.
I thank all of you – veterans, Lotta women, families, workers, teachers, young people, and those whose contributions were recognized only much later.
You built Finland.
You gave us our beloved homeland.
Long live independent Finland.
Long live our nation – today and always.

Dr Anwar Yousefi & The Lion of Finland 17.08.2011 Marefat high school Kabul Afghanistan. EVERYBODY IS IMPORTANT project.