In November, the Integration 2022 elevator pitch competition pitted organisations against each other in front of a packed hall to compete to win the Integration Ideas Presentation Competition. A total of seven different organisations took part in the elevator pitch competition: the EHYT ry/HADIYA project, MIELI without Borders, the City of Oulu Immigration Services, the Finnish Association of Somalis, FinPolar Cultural Centre Ry, Selkokulttuuri ry and Mirsal ry. The winners were chosen by the jury and the public together. The jury included Shadia Rask, THL and Maria Tiilikkala, City of Espoo. A total of 158 votes were cast.
The winners were the Hadiya project of EHYT ry, whose pitch was given by Abdirahman Rage, and MIELI Without Borders, whose speech was given by Fon V. Krairiksh. The prize was the opportunity to present the winning idea to the Minister of Social Affairs and Health, whose sector the proposed activities fall under. The idea of the prize was not only to bring important ideas to the attention of the Minister, but also to provide an opportunity for the associations to practice their advocacy work and empower them to continue doing important work.
The Hadiya project promotes the well-being of young people
Abdirahman Rage of the EHYT Association's Hadiya project won the audience over by presenting the project's discussion cards. He explained the cards like this:
"What do you think, is it easy to talk about drugs and gambling? Is it easy to talk about such topics with young people? Or with parents? Well, of course not. These are sensitive issues. In many cultures the topics are even taboo.
Believe it or not, we have a cure. That remedy is called HADIYA conversation cards. The idea behind this tool is that the cards contain questions to open up the discussion. Questions like:
-Why are curfews needed?
-Why is gambling forbidden for people under 18?
-What is a good group of friends?"
The material is in three languages. The questions are printed on the card in Finnish, Arabic and Somali. We have produced our own deck and questions for both parents and young people."
MIELI Without Borders reminds us that migrants are more than just labour force
The competition was not just about project ideas. The second winner, MIELI Without Borders' Fon V. Krairiksh, presented an idea for the association's activities. Here is an extract from Fon's pitch:
"The migrant experience is my lived experience. I am not, nor have I ever been, a problem to be solved. I am a human being who needs to be well before I can contribute to society. Yet, when people like me come to Finland, the question is “Well, now that you’re here, what would you like to do?” And I’m only asked that because I am able to work. “What shall we do with you?” is the question if you are a child, a stay-at-home parent, an elderly person."
- ”
Lunch meeting was motivating, but it also raised questions
At the April meeting, the winners were treated to a lunch with the Minister and her Special Adviser. At the lunch at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the Hadiya project was represented by Malika Diouani, an education planner, and MIELI Without Borders was represented by Fon V., vice-president and winner of the pitching contest. Both participants said that the Minister had responded positively to the ideas presented. "There were positive comments from the Minister. She thinks we are doing important work."-Malika Diouani
Malika was able to present the discussion cards created under the Hadiya project and a video was taken of the meeting. In the video, Hanna Sarkkinen talks about how much she liked the cards. "I was really excited about them, they're a really great way to address issues related to young people's substance abuse and prevention work," Sarkkinen says in the video. In the video, Minister Sarkkinen recommended that homes and communities get to know the cards.
Due to the busy government spring and the parliamentary elections, the lunch was postponed from the beginning of the year until after the parliamentary elections. Partly because of this, both participants were left to reflect on what the lunch would actually entail. According to Malika Diouani, the Minister promised to take their message forward. Fon V. Krairiksh said that the next concrete steps were missing. Both mental health and preventive youth work are crucial to the functioning of Finnish society, and NGOs often reach clients with a lower threshold than the authorities and thus more effectively.
Both participants found the event instructive and also appreciated the opportunity to get to know each other better. We at Moniheli thank the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Hanna Sarkkinens and Petra Malin for making the meeting possible and of course both winners for their work!
the hadiya project
Hadiya is an EHYT-coordinated project for 2020-23 to promote the well-being of Arabic and Somali-speaking young people. The project encourages migrant organisations to work on prevention and strengthens the cultural competence of substance abuse organisations.
mieli without borders
MIELI Without Borders or MIELI ilman rajoja is a community for foreigners, by foreigners that welcome people regardless of language skills, ethnic or national origin, ability, gender, religion, and/or status in Finland.
