Blog written by Salimah Samji Over the past few years, we have been growing our PDIA engagements in cities. In late 2023 we were approached by Meri Virta and Piia Pelimanni, participants who had completed a PDIA training we conducted for the Bloomberg-Harvard City Leadership Initiative, to offer a custom online action learning program for…Continue Reading PDIA in the City of Helsinki
Guest blog by Tarja Silventoinen, Terhi Tuominiemi-Lilja, Mirjam Malik, Katri Kairimo, Katriina Aaltio 12 weeks ago, we met each other as a team at Helsinki City Hall. We joined the team to represent the urban environment, education and training, culture and leisure, and social, health and rescue sectors. The unifying theme of our PDIA training…Continue Reading Making Eastern Helsinki Safer
Guest blog by Tiina Gustafsson, Ville Immonen, Christina Lundqvist, Kimmo Mustonen, Jaakko Rautavaara Children’s and young people’s experiences of insecurity and harassment have been highlighted significantly in several surveys and studies, such as the School Health Survey. The insecurity experienced by young people in their own environment is directly reflected in their everyday life and…Continue Reading A Safer City Center for Young People in Helsinki
Guest blog by Tiina Kalliola, Heidi Kiuru, Marianna Niemi-Korhonen, Ia Pellinen, Marjaana Martinez de Pinillo In March 2024, we began our three-month Harvard training with anticipation. 24 people from regional cooperation networks for children and young people were selected to participate in the training. The City of Helsinki organized PDIA training with Harvard University. PDIA…Continue Reading Restless Behavior of Children and Young People in the Kannelmäki Urban Renewal Area
Guest blog by Sari Della Spina, Anniina Enovaara, Marjut Kauppinen, Marjaana Risku Helsinki is, on the scale of Finland, a city of its own, with challenges typical to itself. The number of residents who speak foreign languages is one of Helsinki’s new characteristic phenomena. Services are taking shape to meet the needs of an increasingly…Continue Reading Problems in Parenting in Helsinki, Absent Fathers
Guest blog by Johanna Marttila, Mari Luolamaa, Laura Leino, Mia Kivioja, Antti Lehto-Raevuori Parents from multicultural / immigrant backgrounds are isolated and segregated. That´s why parents are not adapting into society. Meri-Rastila is facing a large-scale urban renewal project which will see the construction of new homes for up to 4, 400 new residents and…Continue Reading Integrating Immigrant Parents into Society in Helsinki through PDIA
Guest blog by Antti Leino, IPP’23 When presented with the opportunity to take the Harvard IPP program in the spring of 2023, I was a bit hesitant at first as my workload was substantial. But I also saw it as a chance to evaluate and view my day-to-day job from a wider angle, maybe even…Continue Reading Reducing Socio-spatial Segregation among Youth and Children in Helsinki
Guest blog by Hanna Harris, Arjariitta Heikkinen, Tiina Hörkkö, Satu Järvenkallas, Katja Nissinen, Piia Pelimanni, Mari Väistö, Meri Virta. The challenge we decided to take on was improving children and young people’s experience of safety in urban environments. The problem was tackled by a core team of eight people representing each division of the City…Continue Reading From Silos to Bridges – Improving Children and Young People’s Experience of Safety in Helsinki
