Many forms of participation
High school students have had the opportunity to learn about the diversity of the city's participatory work as a partner of Borough Liaison. The students have observed the streets of Kallio together with the borough liaison officer and the visiting nurse, and at the same time the young people were given the opportunity to give their opinion on the plans for Kallio's summer streets. Borough Liaison Naams is enthusiastic about Konepaja's new approach to learning and has seen in practice how well the students can learn new things in a working life-oriented way.
"It was also important for me that the young people were able to influence the city's real interaction processes and see their own opportunities for influence. We city employees have also gained valuable insights into the opinions of young people," says Borough Liaison Gritten Naams.
Borough Liaisons interact with residents in cooperation with other city employees and through extensive networks
The City of Helsinki's seven borough liaisons help citizens to participate in the development of their own area and find the right channels to make a difference. High school students have had the opportunity to meet planners from the Urban Environment Department and also to make their own invitations to other young people for student workshops in Kampintor. The footsteps and encounters with different professionals have made the students eager to ask so many questions that during the same meeting, learning has taken place on many subjects not covered by the high school curriculum, from history through health to physics.
Borough Liaisons collaboration with Konepaja as a working life partner continues. The next plan is to work with high school students on green spaces in the Postal Park, in collaboration with the landscape architects of the Urban Environment Department.
Borough Liaison Gritten Naams encourages all city employees to become a working partner
- Few people can say that I have fifteen students here whose opinions we can listen to in developing the city. Hopefully more and more will have this opportunity in the future. I warmly encourage everyone to become a partner for high school students, says Gritten Naams.
