The Defence Guild’s Federation of Finland

The Defence Guild’s Federation of Finland was founded in 1963. The Defence Guild’s Federation of Finland is a nationwide umbrella organization for voluntary defence work for guilds and various defence associations, regardless of civilian or military degree. The Defence Guild’s Federation of Finland creates, maintains, and develops operating conditions and offers various services for the member associations. The federation’s task is to support and promote the population’s defensive spirit, spread knowledge about the defence and participate in and develop voluntary defence training.

The number of guilds is 80 and the number of members is over 11,000. Three of the member associations are nationwide arms associations. The guilds are the troop guilds, the weapons guilds, tradition associations, regional defence guilds,
the security course guilds and the guilds for the provincial troops. The member guilds have 60 local associations around Finland. Nine guild districts, which cover the entire country, are members of the union.

The Defence Guild’s Federation of Finland has from the beginning been that all citizens who are interested in voluntary defence work can become members, regardless of military grade, gender, or age. The federation is one of the largest defence organizations in Finland. The actual guild activities take place in the federation’s member associations.