-The city of Tampere is taking on an increasingly international character and is getting new residents from different cultures. Promoting integration and acting against racism at work stem from the aim of identifying and intervening in structural racism, says Kristina Kemi, Service Director at Multilingual info Mainio.
Kemi notes that a society free of racism and a welcoming work environment are significant factors in human well-being and participation. They also increasingly affect the availability of labour and services.
The Finnish Red Cross is one of the participants in the Anti-racist week that is held throughout Finland in March each year.
Multilingual info Mainio, which operates services for the City of Tampere involving international skills and knowledge, is an organiser of the Anti-racist week in Tampere. In addition, many other municipal services are also involved in the week, organising activities linked with the subject, or holding events of their own. Equality is discussed from different points of view and in different ways, from early education to cultural services and the Adult Education Centre.
The opening event of the week will be at the Lehmus hall of the main library Metso on Monday, 20 March at 3:15 PM. The event will be in Finnish. The programme includes talks by experts, after which a panel chaired by Rajkumar Sabanadesan will raise points of view of the business community. The event is being organised by the Multilingual info Mainio, and the Häme district organisation and Tampere section of the Finnish Red Cross will have a strong presence there.
The International Talent Attraction and Migration service branch and its organisation partners will hold a city orienteering competition open to all Tampere residents. Participants will form teams of 2-6 people. A maximum 15 teams will be accepted in the order that they sign up. The teams can start the competition at their own pace on Tuesday, 21 March between 12:30 and 1:30 PM. The competition will last 2-3 hours, depending on how fast the teams run. At the map control points participants can learn new things, solve problems, and get to know the network of organisations that promote integration. The competition is being organised by six different organisations working to advance integration.
Participation in the competition is free of charge. Prizes for those who are successful include tickets to the 2023 World Championships in ice hockey.
More detailed information about the competition and participation in it can be found by clicking this link.
Cultural Affairs will be taking part in the Anti-racist week in the form of services and events nurturing equality and diversity. The week of events, with the slogan “the whole world fits into Rulla”, will have plenty of music, dance, food, art, and workshops. At Tampere City Library the week will include an exhibition of materials, and book tips for social media.
Work against racism is part of everyday activities at the Adult Education Centre of the Tampere Region, especially in Finnish language courses for immigrants. The Adult Education Centre will hold a popular Wednesday Coffee event at the Pulina Café in Sampola. Admission to the event is free and café products are available for purchase. Larna Kourdi, who was named Refugee Woman of the Year for 2022, will hold a lecture (in Finnish) at the Anti-racist week Wednesday Coffee event on 22 March from 5-7 PM.
Tampere Vocational College Tredu is raising the theme of cultural diversity during the week, with an emphasis on equality. There will be diverse programmes during the week, including participatory workshops and a lecture by a visiting speaker. Tredu will also have multilingual morning assemblies while organising multilingual writing workshops linked with the overall theme.
“Stereo-Typos” theme evenings are a monthly event on the Young Tampere Discord server. The idea of the thematic evenings is to break stereotypes affecting the lives of young people through discussions. The theme of the week against discrimination is structural racism.
In early childhood and pre-primary education, work against racism takes place in the daily lives of the groups. Discussions with the children deal with diversity, and ways of encountering others in a positive manner. Anti-racist work is the promotion of equality and in early childhood education it is linked with building friendships and preventing bullying and discrimination. The theme is handled in an age-appropriate manner, employing tools such as literature, drama, and artistic expression.
A focus in basic education during Anti-racist week will be discussions on racism and hate speech. Common assignments are being shared among all schools and lists of tips and links for suitable tasks and other materials have been compiled, taking into account the differing ages of the learners. Training on non-discrimination has been on offer for teachers. The Tampere Global School is doing its part to support visibility in comprehensive schools and upper secondary schools.
