International visitors came to learn about participatory budgeting in Helsinki
In July, the city's participation team welcomed visitors to Helsinki City Hall when a delegation from Ukraine, Armenia, Georgia, and Moldova arrived on a study trip to learn about Helsinki's approach to participatory budgeting. They were hosted by Borough Liaison Gurmann Saini.
The visitors work in the youth sector, the third sector, and ministries with a special focus on local youth services.
During the visit, the different stages of OmaStadi were presented, from proposals to voting and implementation. The discussions emphasized how the city has strived to make participation easy and accessible for all city residents, including young people. Examples included young people's own ideas, joint workshops, and cooperation with youth services.
The guests were particularly impressed by how easy it is to make suggestions during the OmaStadi proposal phase and how well the City’s inter-sectoral cooperation has been planned. They were particularly enthusiastic about how the projects implemented through OmaStad are visibly reflected in the urban environment: in playgrounds, events, and the development of the living environment.
Helsinki's experiences with participatory budgeting provided valuable lessons and inspiration for the guests, who are happy to take new ideas back with them to support their own work.
The next OmaStadi tour will start in September
A new round of OmaStadi (Link leads to external service) starts in the autumn of 2025. The City has raised the total sum upto 10 million euros. You can submit proposals from September 22nd to October 5th, 2025. Later in the spring 11.3.-29.3.2026 residents of Helsinki can vote for their favorite proposals. The city will implement the proposals that receive the most votes.
