🏆 Press Release by the Excellence Awards

The Excellence Awards are proud to announce the recipients of the Company of the Year Awards Scandinavia 2026, recognizing outstanding organizations that are driving innovation, sustainable growth, and long-term value creation across the Nordic region.

These awards celebrate companies that demonstrate excellence not only through commercial success but also through their commitment to responsible leadership, innovation, adaptability, and positive impact within their industries and communities.

💡Leading Through Innovation and Trust

Scandinavia has long been recognized as one of the world’s most forward-thinking business regions. Across Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Iceland, organizations continue to set global standards in innovation, sustainability, digital transformation, and responsible business practices.

📈 Today, businesses face an increasingly complex environment shaped by technological disruption, artificial intelligence, shifting market expectations, and growing demands for environmental and social responsibility.

☘️ In this environment, business excellence requires more than growth alone. It requires organizations to balance innovation with accountability, technology with human values, and ambition with long-term thinking.

🎯 The Company of the Year Awards Scandinavia 2026 recognizes companies that successfully navigate these challenges while continuing to create meaningful value for customers, employees, stakeholders, and society.

The most successful organizations are no longer defined solely by what they produce. They are defined by how they innovate, adapt, and lead.

💬 “Scandinavian businesses continue to demonstrate that innovation and responsibility are not opposing forces — they are powerful drivers of long-term success when combined effectively.” — Dr Yasemin Yazan, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Excellence Awards

Read the full press release here.

👉 What next?

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I look forward to meeting you.

Milla van der Burgh

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Teachers are creative, so coming up with fun and playful activities is not the issue.

👉 The issue is: Can teachers justify the chosen activity pedagogically? Why is that activity useful for the children? What do the children learn from this?

Start from the National Curriculum Framework

The starting point in most countries is the National Education Policy and National Curriculum Framework, which defines the desired teaching and learning approach and important terms that are the basis of quality educational activities:

📖 CURRICULUM = The main guide for teachers. The curriculum defines the essential contents for teaching so that every child has opportunities for diverse learning experiences. Teachers should use all the areas in their teaching equally. Curriculum = learning areas + learning objectives.

☘️ LEARNING AREAS = Guide teachers when planning and implementing activities together with the children. Choose the learning area you want to focus on during the specific activity or project.

🎯 LEARNING OBJECTIVES = The starting point for creating activities. Choose the learning objectives you want to go for in this specific activity or project. 1-3 learning objectives per activity are enough.

🥰 CHILD-CENTERED ACTIVITIES = Children are the starting point and the ultimate reason for creating activities. The activities should be based on children's interests, capabilities, needs, and/or developmental stages.

Know your curriculum & identify the learning goals - case Helsinki

The City of Helsinki has created a complete curriculum for its teachers, Helsinki's curriculum for early childhood education and care 2024. The document is based on Finland's National Curriculum and explains Finland's overall approach in practical terms.

As the days grow longer and the sun barely sets or does not set at all in the North, people across Finland prepare for one of the most beloved celebrations of the year: Midsummer.

Known as Juhannus in Finnish, Midsummer marks the longest day of the year and the beginning of the brightest period of the Finnish summer.

This year, Finns will gather with family and friends on Friday, June 19th, to celebrate the season of light.

A Tradition Rooted in History

The roots of Midsummer go back hundreds of years. Long before modern Finland existed, people celebrated the summer solstice as a time of abundance, growth, and hope for a good harvest. Bonfires were lit to bring good fortune and to keep away bad spirits.

Over time, these ancient traditions blended with Christian celebrations dedicated to St. John the Baptist, giving the holiday its Finnish name, Juhannus.

A Little Midsummer Magic

Midsummer is also filled with fun folklore and old traditions. One of the most famous is a custom practiced by young girls hoping to glimpse their future.

Teaching young children to understand and manage their emotions is just as important as teaching numbers or the alphabet. Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is the foundation for a child’s success in school and life. It helps children build confidence, empathy, self-regulation, and positive relationships—all essential life skills.

At Kindiedays, we believe in learning through play. This guide will help you bring world-class SEL practices into your early years program using playful methods.

🌈 What is Social Emotional Learning (SEL)?

Children who possess healthy socio-emotional skills are more likely to succeed in school, at work, and in life.

According to Pathways, Socio-emotional skills help children to:

• Make friends and keep friendships
• Understand how others feel
• Gain confidence
• Resolve conflicts
• Manage stress and anxiety
• Learn social norms
• Make appropriate decisions
• Resist negative social pressure
• Learn strengths and weaknesses
• Gain awareness of what others are feeling

Strong emotional skills in early childhood are linked to better academic performance, stronger mental health, and more meaningful relationships later in life.

In the early years, SEL is best taught through play, routine, and warm relationships, not lectures or worksheets.

Download a brochure by Pathways about the development of Socio-Emotional skills

🎲 5 Games to Teach Emotions in Preschool

Here are five hands-on, low-prep games that make SEL fun and meaningful for young children.

When the new term starts, mornings can be tough. Starting at a new preschool or daycare with unfamiliar teachers and peers can be scary for many children. When parents drop off their children at preschool, everything is not always that quick and simple. Saying goodbye can make children feel sad and upset. Tears are falling, and the child is clinging to the caregiver's leg - how to get out of this situation without more distress and panic??

Here are some tips on managing separation anxiety and how educators can help children feel safer and more secure.

What is separation anxiety?