“The idea is that, with practice, more people will feel confident using Swedish, both among colleagues and with clients. Helsinki is a bilingual city, and it is important that everyone can access services in their mother tongue. Language agents play a key role in inspiring others to use Swedish at work. We hope that many of our staff members will want to take part in this initiative,” says Special Planning Officer Ronja Hilli.
Other bilingual wellbeing services counties are also running similar initiatives with the same goal – to promote bilingualism in a positive and encouraging way.
Community events and pin badges
There’s no single way to be a language agent; each person can decide how they want to encourage others to speak Swedish.
“All language agents will take part in an introductory training. Our aim is to build a close-knit community, with training sessions and gatherings where agents can support and inspire one another. We’ve been planning this initiative for quite some time, and it’s great to see it finally taking off,” says Special Planning Officer Maria Finström-Haanpää.
Language agents will wear pin badges to show that they are happy to speak Swedish. The language agent activities are intended for staff working in the Social Services, Health Care and Rescue Services Division.
