The opinions and wishes of young people were collected through a survey in spring 2025. The respondents raised an important point: people make a space both safe and unsafe, and a safe space is created by a sense of security. The young people called for more adults and adult intervention. OmaStadi enabled two new youth instructors, Ävin Bapiiri and Hannes Särkkä, to start their work in October.
“During the first two weeks, there were almost 200 encounters with young people. We are very happy that we were able to start new activities quickly with our new youth instructors. We listen to the wishes of young people very carefully and try to adapt our activities to their needs," says Project Planner Hanna Malmivaara from the Northeastern Youth Work Unit.
Living room activities and badminton
Five activities have now been launched in the context of the project. On Wednesday afternoons, a pop-up living room is hosted at Puistola Comprehensive School and a longer break takes place at Helsinki Upper Secondary School of Media Arts. On Thursdays, a ‘Nutanurkka’ youth centre event is held at Pukinmäenkaari Comprehensive School. Evening living room activities will be held at Puistola Church on Thursdays and Fridays and once a month on Saturdays starting from early 2026. At the same time, LGBTQ activities will also be launched.
“The young people hoped for badminton. Badminton and other ball games can be played at Helsinki Upper Secondary School of Media Arts on Fridays. In addition to this, the project will help in youth facilities in the northeastern major district in various situations and in everyday youth work. The aim is also to increase outreach in the area,” Hanna Malmivaara continues.
The original idea behind the OmaStadi proposal focused on safe spaces, such as living room spaces set up in schools. There, you can be yourself without fear of being bullied. It has been possible to target activities to the Puistola area, where there were few hangouts for young people.
“It has been really inspiring to start such diverse new activities in a great team," says Youth Instructor Hannes Särkkä.
“My experience is that the young people and my colleagues have really welcomed me. Things are off to a good start. We are looking forward to the spring and all that is to come, including new activities,” says Youth Instructor Ävin Bapiiri.
The fourth OmaStadi round started in September 2025, with 1,761 new proposals submitted by residents. The proposals are currently being assessed by specialists from the City of Helsinki. In March, residents will be able to vote on how the budgeted 10 million euros will be spent.
OmaStadi is the City of Helsinki’s way of providing participatory budgeting services. During three OmaStadi rounds thus far, Helsinki residents have proposed and voted on how the City will spend a total of 22 million euros. The 164 OmaStadi projects implemented to date have made Helsinki a better and more welcoming place for its residents.
The fourth round of OmaStadi started in autumn 2025, when a total of 1,761 proposals were submitted by Helsinki residents. The use of the 10 million euros will be put to a vote in March 2026. To submit proposals and vote, go to omastadi.hel.fi.
