The forum was organized by the Hämeenlinna city’s integration services and communications department and it saw particiption from the representatives of immigrant associations, Hämeen Setlementti, local newspapers as well as a representative of Saalem-community.
The forum’s primary focus was to discuss how to promote different events and what are the issues that the internationals would like to raise and that are important for them.
The event gave a chance to network; during the break all the participants chatted vividly in the corridor of the City Hall where the Forum took place.
Markku Rimpelä, the Strategy Director for the City of Hämeenlinna, opened the forum by discussing the significant changes in the city’s demographic structure. He highlighted the impact of declining birth rates and immigration trends on the population. Emphasizing Timo Aro’s population forecasts for 2024, Rimpelä noted that Hämeenlinna is projected to maintain its growth trajectory through internationalization, a trend that is consistent with predictions for other medium-sized cities with populations ranging from 40,000 to 100,000 inhabitants.
Editor-in-chief Riikka Happonen shared insights on media operations and the types of story suggestions they are interested in. The media is keen on a variety of subjects and narratives from individuals, without focusing exclusively on stories about immigrants. The interest lies in the people, their backgrounds, and the phenomena that occur, irrespective of their origins or how they came to Hämeenlinna. She also gave the information on how to contact the local newspapers.
Kaisa Paavilainen, the City’s Communication Specialist, spoke about the municipal website hameenlinna.fi and its social media presence. She also presented the HämeEvents-calendar, to which anyone can add an event if needed.
Anna Kolata, the Website Editor for the City of Hämeenlinna, presented the multilingual immigrant-focused website myintegration.fi, which operates in 5 languages (Finnish, English, Arabic, Russian and Somali) and recently also in Sinhala and Ukrainian. The website gives opportunities for the whole international community to participate in the content creating, either by sending news or blog articles to be published.
Rami Al-Hijazi, the ICT-Planner for the City of Hämeenlinna, highlighted the importance of cross-cultural connections. He stressed the need for ‘bridges’ to foster understanding between immigrants and local residents, moving beyond the comfort of familiar communities.
The next Kotofoorumi will be held again in the autumn and open to everyone.
You can read more about the event and the Hämeenlinna for All (Kaikkien Hämeenlinna)- program, on the city website: Kotofoorumissa keskusteltiin miten tulla näkyväksi Hämeenlinnassa – Hämeenlinna (hameenlinna.fi)
