Avainsana: Helsinki

Julkaistu

ELECTRICAL FISHING IN OUR LOCAL MÄTÄJOKI CREEK IN PITÄJÄNMÄKI HELSINKI

Electrical fishing on 10 October 2019. No, not at all as bad as it sounds. Together with the head of a local sports fishing association I joined experts from the National Resource Center of Finland to find out how the seriously endangered trout is establishing itself in our local creek – Mätäjoki or Rutiån in Swedish.

Leading a weak current to the water, the two gentlemen from this government agency could draw the fish towards the electrically positive pole and catch them for measuring. After this was done they were let back into the water.

And yes, there was lots of trout in these waters that ten years ago were absolutely dead after a chemicals leak from a paint factory. On a test area of 8 x 16 meters they counted 60 trouts, small ones of course, and were surprised themselves. – There would not even be space for more, they commented.

This is part of the environmental work that we support in our local city region, through our local association Pitäjänmäki-seura ( Sockenbacka-samfundet ) that I am president of. And the fishing enthusiasts have done a truly great job which now is bearing fruit.

Learning new things every day.

Julkaistu

PITÄJÄNMÄKI VILLAGE ASSISTANT HELPS ELDERLY AND FAMILIES WITH HOUSEHOLD CHORES

Akseli Kukkavaara

Today we started a new service in my city region Pitäjänmäki – Sockenbacka for the elderly and for families who need assistance. Our new village assistant will be available to help with chores both in homes and in gardens. This will bring much relief to many. We are not competing with the private sector but providing a social service in the neighbourhood.

This initiative by the regional residents’ association Pitäjänmäki-seura which I am president of is made possible by the Finnish government. To enable long-term unemployed to get back to work, organisations like mine can apply for support from the public employment authorities. If all conditions are met they will pay the full wages for up to one year, instead of paying unemployment insurance compensations. We handle all administration and booking ourselves, and can thus keep the hourly fees paid by customers very low.

So today, Akseli started his work with us. Next autumn he plans to pick up his university studies again. There are many elderly people living in our villages so I am sure that he will be busy.

To support both local employment and provide useful social services is an important function for our association.

Julkaistu

FINLAND’s FORMER PRIME MINISTER PAAVO LIPPONEN DISCUSSES EUROPEAN INTEGRATION AND FOREIGN POLICY WITH HELSINKI SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC VETERANS

Highly interesting discussion today ( 3 September 2019 ) when Finland’s former Prime Minister and Speaker of Parliament Paavo Lipponen visited the social democratic veterans association which I am president of. His role in bringing our country into the core of European Union integration was absolutely crucial. Today some 50 of us former full time activists listened attentively to his analysis of the truly fateful years for Europe and the world that we are living through now.

Paavo Lipponen covered much subject matter in what was almost a lecture, from the rise of authoritarian rule and the hardened global climate over growing inequality, the spread of anti-semitism and racism, concluding with the need for an intensified cooperation within the European Union. The EU needs to play a stronger role. Further strengthening of the European monetary union EMU is part of the necessary measures.

There was a clear consensus in our group that we cannot just stand on the side-lines and watch extreme right wing groups and ideologies spread in different parts and countries of Europe. We have to take the lead away from these circles on issues where they are now allowed to dominate. This calls for speaking fearlessly out for our own values and standing up to these dangerous movements that are putting humanity and democracy at risk.

Almost 50 years have gone from when Paavo Lipponen often took the same city bus as I did, on the way to our neighbouring offices in Hakaniemi-Hagnäs in Helsinki. At times Paavo came on board of Bus 17 two stops after mine and we could have a brief chat during these 15 minutes on the road. It was fun to refresh the memories of far back early morning rides – we both indeed left very early for work.

When I welcomed Paavo Lipponen and told our friends that in my view, he did play a historical role in securing Finland as a European western democracy with a Nordic welfare state orientation there was clearly a broad agreement in the room. Here I believe he has placed himself alongside some of our most important social democratic leaders of the 20th Century, such as Väinö Tanner, Karl-August Fagerholm and Mauno Koivisto.

Julkaistu

A NOSTALGIC DAY IN THE ARCHIPELAGO NEXT DOOR TO HELSINKI – HELSINGFORS

A beautiful summer Sunday (23 June 2019) – and what could be better than to get out on the water. This time we went to the archipelago just west of the Finnish capital Helsinki – Helsingfors. We took the tour boat from a suburban marina in Finno which brought us to the Pentala island in about an hour.

The island world just outside the Helsinki metropolitan region is quite fantastic and today it showed its most beautiful face.

The route was a bit nostalgic for me as this was where we used to head westward for weekend trips with my parents’ slow wooden cabin boat. Later, when I was about 14 or 15, we were allowed to go alone, with friends. Often we berthed for some days on one of the many uninhabited islands, most with superb red cliffs at the sea shore, smoothed by the ice age. The water was clear and the swimming great.

Later, with our own family, we had a small summer house a bit further west. Today we remembered the stormy weather and the agitated sea on the open stretches when we took our small cabin boat there for the first time. Our luck I guess was that it was a slow Norwegian dinghy kind of a boat, made to roll on top of the waves…

Today’s tour was of course different, like taking a bus but still right out there in the fresh air and clean nature. We wanted to see a new museum on the island, an old fisherman’s homestead. It is owned and managed by the municipality, with free entrance, and the boat trip there and back costs 6 Euros. If you are retired – age does not matter they said – you pay only 3 Euros, sponsored by our next door neighbours in the Espoo – Esbo municipality.

Julkaistu

MEETING AT CITY HALL – TRYING TO GET HELSINKI TO UNDERSTAND THAT OUR PITÄJÄNMÄKI-REGION NEEDS MORE SUPPORT

After stone age excavations it was City Hall in Helsinki this afternoon, discussing municipally owned or supported community centers in the Finnish capital. We saw some good examples of other city region associations having done a great work renovating old historical buildings that otherwise would have been demolished. Superb work by our friends in other parts of town !

I hope that also we here in Pitäjänmäki – Sockenbacka will one day have the chance to build up a place of our own, especially as we are growing very fast. This is a part of town where the multicultural profile has increased maybe faster than anywhere else. We need to work a lot to preserve and develop our community cohesion and for that we need tools.

Actually we have tried to get our own space already over many years – even decades – as my predecessors as association presidents tell me.

Today, we work on our own, financed by our members through their modest contributions, without any city support.

The city services had made an obvious mistake and budgeted far too little this year for our kind of residents’ organisations. It did feel a bit strange that they were very complementary about the work we are doing but just had to excuse themselves as they had ran out of money.

Not the fault of the responsible civil servants who have always been very supportive, but maybe something for the politicians to take another look at.

Well in any case, today we manage with the support of our local members’ and the help we get from the Pitäjänmäki business community…

Julkaistu

5,000 YEARS OLD TREASURES ARE BEING UNEARTHED IN MY HELSINKI VILLAGE

This was a great experience and learning opportunity to participate i the stone age digs in my own village. Lead by archaeologists Jan Fast and Janne Soisalo the team uncovered once again new treasures and new knowledge from the smooth sands of the Nuolipuisto ( Swedish: Pilparken) park. This is incredibly important for the people of Pitäjänmäki – Sockenbacka who learn new things about their past.

The digs were hosted by Pitäjänmäki-seura, the local community association that I am president of, and co-sponsored by the amateur archaeologists’ association ANGO.

This site at the Nuolipuisto park with its children’s playground houses the richest stone age finds of the Finnish capital. In June 2019 professional and amateur archaeologists together with villagers from here were unearthing loads of ceramics as well as other items. They believe that this used to be a small island where people went for fishing and trading and maybe even lived. The land which was pushed down by the inland ice has of course risen considerably over this time and today the site is a small sandy hill.

We had a lot of fun as well, such as when the small kids from the next door playground came over and messed up both the digging tools and the neat stacks of sand. To do the digs like this is really a superb way for creating an interest for archaeology among small and big, and an understanding of how much it tells about our ancestry.

We are not Rome or Athens but our first villagers lived, cooked and traded here more than 5,000 years ago 😊