Mayor Daniel Sazonov opened the event, which aimed to open the city-wide dialogue towards religious communities.
“Religious communities are also an important partner for the City of Helsinki. We want to build open and easy communication about what the City is doing and where it can be of help to the Helsinki residents in your communities,” said Mayor Sazonov.
The event featured, among other services, education and training services, employment services, special services for immigrants, family centres, child outreach work and child welfare services, Helsinki-info, Senior Info, sports and youth services, and representatives of the library and cultural services.
Meeting needs and wishes
Earlier this year, the City of Helsinki reviewed the needs and wishes of religious communities. The discussion highlighted the need for cooperation and exchange of information with many different City-run services. This event brought together a wide range of City services based on the wishes of the religious communities.
“This was a useful event. I learned about the available services – the language cafés or the women's swimming hours were completely new to me, for example,” said Chaya Votkin, chairperson of the Jewish Community of Helsinki.
Information on City services for all city residents
Religious communities may be the first point of contact with society for people moving to Finland. These communities are also used to seek support for everyday matters and for functioning in Finnish society. That is why it is important that religious communities have up-to-date information about the services provided by the City.
“Many people were interested to hear how to get involved in the activities of the youth centres, how families can get information about youth work services or how young people can get our membership card,” said Sini Perho, Special Planning Officer of youth work.
