Modern civic competences include the continuous updating of knowledge and skills. For this purpose, people must be given access to information about a range of educational opportunities.
The media offer a wide variety of information about educational opportunities. However, it is difficult to obtain information that meets individual needs and to assess its reliability and comparability.
The starting point for the Opintoluotsi development project was to lower the threshold for those who wish to seek information about educational options. The purpose was to create a comprehensive, balanced information resource which is open to everyone with access to the Internet by consolidating the information supplied in the websites and course catalogues of educational institutions. The project objectives were as follows:
- To promote access to education for all
- To help people to choose the educational option suitable for them
- To encourage people to make comparisons and choices
The principle underlying the service is that everyone is entitled to decide on his or her studies. Studying is an individual matter, and people are entitled to make their own decisions at any time in their life and for any purpose. Thus the project also strove to reach people who do not usually think of education as a tool for change and who are not used to using the Internet as a source for information.