Municipal election arena

Imatra's city library was involved in Sitra's launch From libraries to forums of people's power - in the project as a whole. In the project, six public libraries around Finland carried out experiments with the aim of improving citizens' opportunities for participation and influence in social decision-making. In addition to Imatra, the libraries of Oulu, Turku, Pietarsaari, Inari and Mäntyharju participated.

The Imatra pilot project implemented in early 2021 was called Municipal election arena - the voice of seniors heard. Its target group was the elderly. The project organized three discussion panels between March and April. At the events, the municipal election candidates answered questions that the Imatra seniors themselves had asked them. Questions were collected online and in libraries. The events were shown live on YouTube and Facebook of the city of Imatra, and the recordings can also be viewed afterwards. Direct links to the recordings can be found below municipal election panels.

The panels were organized remotely due to the corona situation. The library and Virta-opisto jointly offered help and advice for participating in remote events. Read more in the section below online workshops.

See also on Youtube project presentation video, which was implemented by the regional administration office!

Attachments
The logo of the Libraries to People's Power Forums project.
Municipal election panels
The logo of the Libraries to People's Power Forums project.
Online workshops

What is it about?
The background of the Libraries of People's Power Forums project

In the 2020s, social polarization seems to be deepening in different parts of the world, and democracy is no longer as widely shared as an absolute value as it was some time ago. In recent years, various countries have seen numerous examples of how voiceless and incompetent people have risen to the barricades. In Finland too, participation and the ways of citizens' participation and influence are in transition.

For a small country like Finland, citizens' trust in each other and in society's institutions is still and in the future an extremely important resource. This requires that everyone has the opportunity to get reliable information about decisions that affect their own lives and also to be heard in matters concerning themselves. For this reason, the conditions for social discussion must be strengthened.
 

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Ari Sareslahti
Library specialist
020 617 6603
Sarianna Purtilo
Sarianna Purtilo
Head of the Culture and Learning Center
020 617 5401