I was at the local library today, meeting Stadiluotsi Silja Lindblad – ’Stadiluotsi’ meaning City Pilot. As president of the regional association in this part of town it was of course kind of an obligation, but as you can see from the selfies taken by Silja it turned out to a very enjoyable and relaxed chat, but with much substance as well.
These City Pilots are young women and men coming from outside the municipal services who are here to link people with the Helsinki City administration and services. This is a superb initiative which I could once again see and feel at our small but great Pitäjänmäki – Sockenbacka in Swedish – library today. Kind of our second living room it is.
By coincidence another good friend was there also, Pirjo Kivistö, chair of the influential Pitäjänmäen Työväenyhdistys, the local social democratic association in this very traditional part of town. And no this was not planned so could have been my green or conservative and any other friends as well. They all support our association, the political groups in this city.
Helsinki – or Helsingfors in Swedish – is a dynamic but also progressive city. An interesting new initiative is that anyone living here can make a suggestion about spending part of the city budget on anything that feels important. Over 4 million Euros are reserved for this annually. And even better, the winning proposals that will become reality are selected through a general vote where everyone who is at least 12 years old – yes 12 years – can take part.
So again I felt happy to be home 😊.