Text Liisa Kosonen, the writer works as the secretary on the Espoo multicultural advisory board and was the expert secretary on the working group of "Good ethnic relations in the metropolitan area".

The ETNO working group "Good ethnic relations in the metropolitan area", appointed for a two year period, has finished its task. The members included representatives of municipal advisory boards on multicultural and immigrant issues, labour market organisations, Employment and Economic Development Centres and the ETNO. Ilkka-Christian Björklund, mayor for cultural and personnel affairs of the city of Helsinki, chaired the active team with interacting members.

Their task was to bring the special conditions in the metropolitan area into focus and make suggestions for development to elaborate strategies and practices in the region as well as the whole of Finland, review on distributing the outcome of their work and the continuation of the team.

The group began working on the assumption that ethnic relations can be affected by reducing differences which appear between people belonging to ethnic groups and by promoting diversity. The team defined their focus primarily on new arrivals, that is, immigrants, but in the future this kind of work will have to involve all the ethnic groups, the main population and minorities.

A positive approach

The themes ranged from attitude atmosphere, neighbourhood, learning the language, employment, interaction and contribution and immigrants in the metropolitan area as an international resource. In the case of each topic, a description of the current situation was drawn on the basis of the outlines and debates, in addition to suggestions for further development.

The group consciously employed a positive approach. It concentrated on making constructive proposals to enhance ethnic relations and bring forward the advantages of diversity, instead of focusing on problems. The working team wished to highlight diversity and variety as a resource in society, but also as a personal identity: the more communities an individual feels he belongs to, the more strongly he is connected with society and its parts.

The metropolitan area is the most diverse

Nearly half of all the residents in Finland whose native language is other than Finnish or Swedish reside in the metropolitan area. Moreover, old minorities such as Romanis, members of the old Russian community as well as those belonging to the Jewish and Tartar communities and members of the Sami aboriginal people are concentrated in the region.

Concerning their individual characteristics, countries of departure and their reasons for emigration, immigrants in the metropolitan area are a heterogeneous group. Since this area provides better possibilities of interaction than in the rest of the country, due to a large number of ethnic minorities, on average the attitude atmosphere is more positive than elsewhere in Finland. However, expressions of inequality and ethnic hierarchy still occur.

More visibility

In order to promote good ethnic relations the working group introduced a number of proposals for development. To influence people´s attitudes it is important that influential decision-makers, such as town-councillors and authorities in the civil service, present immigrant issues in a positive light. Efforts have to be made to increase the role of ethnic minorities in the visible places of the public sector, in other words, engaged in jobs in which they serve and guide town residents.

The media is also a central influencing channel to introduce ethnic minorities and let their own voices be heard.

Interaction is increased and stereotypes reduced by creating opportunities for various population groups to meet each other. We need debate forums, meeting places and other collective events. What has to be consolidated is the contribution of ethnic minorities to existing natural situations of interaction.

As far as society is concerned, communities of ethnic minorities have to be concretely involved in its planning, implementation, assessment and follow-up.

A neighbourhood is important

A neighbourhood, its human relations and services are the main working environment to many. This concerns especially those who no longer go to work or study outside of their neighbourhood whether or not they belong to ethnic minorities or the main population.

In terms of the ethnic minorities, the importance of the neighbourhood and its human relationships is emphasised as the breeding ground for children´s and young people´s integration.

What is essential is to prevent residential areas from segregation, to increase residents´ chances to influence, consolidate structures in the region, including service points, networks to prevent conflicts, support for parenthood, opportunities for free time activities and, in particular, immigrants´ contribution to existing structures, such as involvement in activities at school.

Language skills make contacts

Various jobs require a varying knowledge of Finnish. That´s why it is necessary to compose language skills requirements, related to tasks and workplaces. We also need flexible, diverse language training which is regionally informed about.

Along with language skills, we have to stress the importance of social capital, the knowledge of how society works, history and culture as well as basic values. Part of the social capital is born in interactive situations, while some of it has to be learnt systematically.

Everybody´s contribution is necessary

Preconceived ideas related to nationalities, religions and countries of departure have already given birth to unjust concepts of where good labour is available. The reason why a few ethnic minorities fail to be employed equally well compared to others is due to both the status and educational and work background of their members and the fact that many belong to visible minorities.

Seeing people of the ethnic minorities more as individuals and representatives of their own profession aiming to acquire more professional skills in working life more than at present could remove the stereotypes preventing their employment.

As means to improve the situation, the working group proposes the number of ethnic minorities be purposefully increased and their career development supported in the personnel strategies of the public and private sector employers. Working communities can be coached and orientation practices improved to support diversifying workplaces.

What facilitates employment is a regional coordination of employment affairs and founding a regional skills centre focusing on immigrant entrepreneurship.

An international resource

Members of ethnic minorities have special skills in addition to their professional skills, including international contact networks, competence in coping with various cultures and walks of life and, what´s more, new perspectives. We have to support and benefit from the domestic and international networks provided by these communities.

Immigrants´ special skills have to be taken better into account as an alternative to changing their career on arrival, which is facilitated by some projects on surveying, maintaining, marketing and product designing of their skills which they have acquired in their native country.

As the basis of further work, the working group proposed an extensive ETNO working team be set up to take more comprehensively into account all the ethnic groups in the metropolitan area. Its task is to make feasible the suggestions for development presented in the report, assign responsibilities and provide a schedule and monitor the development of good ethnic relations.

The report in its entirety is available on the ETNO homepage at www.etno.fi.