ESPOO MAGAZINE 2/2020
A MAGAZINE FOR ESPOO RESIDENTS
A MAGAZINE FOR ESPOO RESIDENTS
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<strong>ESPOO</strong> ESBO<br />
& Coronavirus<br />
solutions<br />
A magazine for Espoo residents 2 <strong>2020</strong><br />
New<br />
ideas<br />
Creative<br />
solutions have<br />
been born<br />
of necessity<br />
to allow<br />
education,<br />
cultural<br />
activities and<br />
many others to<br />
continue.<br />
A student body<br />
with a difference<br />
Say no to<br />
discrimination<br />
View some of this<br />
summer’s events
editorial<br />
In the editorial,<br />
Jukka Mäkelä takes<br />
a stand on issues of<br />
current interest in the<br />
City of Espoo.<br />
Jukka Mäkelä is the Mayor of Espoo.<br />
We can make<br />
it together<br />
Espoo residents have taken care of each other<br />
in many ways, being adaptive, flexible and<br />
compliant with instructions. Together, we have<br />
ensured that we can cope in these exceptional<br />
circumstances.<br />
Now we have to look to the future. Cities will<br />
play a major role in providing welfare society<br />
services, in investing in growth and in generating<br />
a new ascent after the coronavirus crisis. Cities<br />
need cooperation, predictability and support<br />
from the central government in order to weather<br />
this crisis. The funding base of the public sector<br />
has deteriorated to an unprecedented extent<br />
due to the coronavirus crisis. Accordingly, we are<br />
launching a programme titled Taloudellisesti<br />
kestävä Espoo [Economically sustainable<br />
Espoo]. Now is not the time to add to the duties<br />
and obligations of local government.<br />
The coronavirus crisis is having an impact<br />
particularly on cities like Espoo that finance<br />
their services with tax revenue. This must be<br />
taken into account in the support measures of<br />
the central government. Large cities also have<br />
the potential to launch revitalising projects with<br />
significant employment impacts. Infrastructure<br />
investments, for instance, promote employment,<br />
growth, competitiveness and carbon neutrality<br />
all at once.<br />
We need partnership and close cooperation<br />
now like never before. We can make it together.<br />
Jukka Mäkelä<br />
Mayor<br />
8<br />
Contents<br />
3 | Calendar and picks<br />
Remember these this summer.<br />
24<br />
8 | Theme<br />
Necessity is the mother of invention during the epidemic.<br />
14 | At your service<br />
Annina Artman from the kitchen at the Painiitty daycare centre.<br />
15 | What's on<br />
The summer is full of events.<br />
20 | Right now<br />
Leppävaara undergoes sustainable growth.<br />
23 | Encounters<br />
Being different means being conspicuous.<br />
24 | Pearl<br />
The Pentala Archipelago Museum reopens.<br />
26 | Espoo people<br />
Student teams are active at Juvanpuiston koulu school.<br />
28 | Swedish in Espoo<br />
Pentala Island – a historical archipelago community.<br />
30 | We<br />
Espoo for the nature recreation enthusiast.<br />
31 | My Espoo<br />
Villas were big in the 1920s.<br />
2
6 June –<br />
30 August<br />
Espoo archipelago<br />
boats are in service.<br />
10 June<br />
Korko info at the Espoo Employment and Economic Development Office<br />
(TE Office) on Wednesday 10 June at 13:00–14:00. ‘Korko’ is a<br />
service provided by the City Employment Service for unemployed jobseekers<br />
over the age of 30 with a higher education degree. Its purpose<br />
is to review participants’ competence and employment goals, brush up<br />
their CVs and jobseeking skills, and engage in small-group networking.<br />
Participants may also attend jobseeking theme groups of their<br />
interest and receive training for instance on how to use LinkedIn.<br />
8 June and<br />
17 August<br />
City Council meeting<br />
beginning at 17:30.<br />
Meetings are streamed live at<br />
mediaserver.fi/live/espoo.<br />
11 June<br />
Additional application rounds<br />
for upper secondary school<br />
starts on 11 June at the earliest.<br />
Applications for vocational<br />
education may be filed all<br />
year round in the continuous<br />
application process at omnia.fi/<br />
jatkuvahaku.<br />
calendar Jun–Aug/20<br />
Check the<br />
calendar for the<br />
main events and<br />
key dates of the<br />
summer.<br />
15 June<br />
Register your event<br />
for Espoo Day. The<br />
advance registration<br />
deadline is 15 June<br />
at 16:00.<br />
30 June<br />
Deadline for open call for artworks. Corona Collective,<br />
curated by the Espoo Cultural Centre and Sami Yaffa,<br />
is an art exhibition that is to open in the Ahjo exhibition<br />
space at the Espoo Cultural Centre in the autumn,<br />
documenting the current exceptional circumstances. The<br />
Collective is open to professional and amateur artists<br />
alike. The deadline for submissions is 30 June. Further<br />
information: bit.ly/coronacollective and #koronakollektiivi.<br />
21 July<br />
The deadline for the application<br />
round that began in May for<br />
10th grade in comprehensive<br />
school and for preparatory<br />
education is 21 July. Applications<br />
for post-comprehensive<br />
preparatory education should<br />
be submitted via Opintopolku.<br />
22 August<br />
Publication of the<br />
next issue of Espoo<br />
Magazine.<br />
<strong>MAGAZINE</strong> FOR <strong>ESPOO</strong> RESIDENTS<br />
Public bulletin to all households. Feedback and suggestions: espoolehti@omnipress.fi<br />
Publisher City of Espoo, PO Box 12, 02070 City of Espoo, 09 81 621, espoo.fi, firstname.lastname@espoo.fi<br />
Editor-in-chief Satu Tyry-Salo, Communications Director Editors Omnipress Oy, espoolehti@omnipress.fi<br />
Managing Editor Kimmo Kallonen Layout Oona Kavasto/Hank Printed by Punamusta<br />
Distribution SSM Notifications jakelupalaute@omnipress.fi Cover Timo Porthan ISSN 1798-8438<br />
3
Picks<br />
A total of 2,169 applicants gave an Espoo upper secondary school as their primary choice in<br />
the joint application round this spring. The figure was up 8.3% from last year’s 2,001 applicants.<br />
The number of students admitted to Espoo-based upper secondary schools will increase<br />
from last year. This year, a total of 1,819 students will be admitted to Finnish-speaking upper<br />
secondary schools in Espoo and 134 in Kauniainen.<br />
Espoo Day celebrated<br />
virtually at end of August<br />
AS in previous years, summer ends with Espoo Day<br />
on 28–29 August. This year in this largest annual city<br />
event in Espoo, the focus is on small-scale events<br />
held by residents’ associations with free admission<br />
and on virtual online events.<br />
The events are produced by residents, associations,<br />
city operators and partners. Submissions for<br />
events to be included can be sent in up until the main<br />
event day, 29 August, but the deadline for events to<br />
be included in the Espoo Day programme leaflet is<br />
15 June.<br />
The Event and Cultural Services of the City of<br />
Espoo provide advice and guidance for event organisers<br />
at advance webinars that cover topics such as<br />
how to set up virtual remote events.<br />
Further information: espoopaiva.fi<br />
City Bikes up and running<br />
ahead of schedule<br />
THE City Bikes are up and running earlier than normal<br />
this year. As the coronavirus crisis escalated, the City<br />
of Helsinki, Helsinki City Transport and the City of<br />
Espoo decided to bring forward the date of putting<br />
the City Bikes in circulation. The purpose of this was<br />
to help curb the spreading of the coronavirus. When<br />
using City Bikes, please wear gloves and remember<br />
to practise good hand hygiene.<br />
City Bike docking stations and availability can be<br />
seen in the Reittiopas Journey Planner, where you<br />
can also plan routes. Some docking stations have<br />
been relocated because of construction sites or for<br />
other reasons. These changes and the new locations<br />
are shown at bit.ly/2VGEO6s.<br />
” This is the 18th<br />
time that we<br />
celebrate Espoo<br />
Day; it has been<br />
held on the last<br />
weekend in August<br />
for the past ten<br />
years.<br />
Residents involved in<br />
reforming espoo.fi<br />
THE reform of the espoo.fi website has been<br />
launched, and the new website will be online in 2021.<br />
Users were polled for their opinions about the reform<br />
in the spring. A total of 433 responses were received.<br />
The respondents asked for good search functions<br />
in order to find information and opening hours<br />
for various services easily. There were also calls<br />
for making information about decision-making and<br />
about individual city districts more readily available.<br />
The respondents would like to see news and event<br />
notices on the front page of the new espoo.fi website<br />
along with information on city operations.<br />
54% of the respondents reported visiting the<br />
espoo.fi website on a daily or weekly basis. All means<br />
of access were fairly equally used – computer, laptop,<br />
smartphone. Social welfare and health care is the top<br />
search category, followed by culture and sports.<br />
The majority (73%) of the respondents were<br />
women. The 35–44 age group was the best represented<br />
among the respondents, but responses were<br />
received from a wide range of age groups. Espoo<br />
residents accounted for 60% of the responses; 25%<br />
of the respondents were employees of the City of<br />
Espoo, and 3% had recently moved to Espoo.<br />
If you want to contribute to the website development,<br />
sign up for the volunteer group. By signing up,<br />
you will get the chance to comment on the evolving<br />
website at the various stages of the project. To sign<br />
up, send an e-mail to verkkoviestinta@espoo.fi.<br />
Espoo in<br />
social media<br />
Facebook<br />
Espoo – Esbo<br />
Posts from different parts of the<br />
city and the Facebook pages of<br />
various City of Espoo actors.<br />
Twitter<br />
@EspooEsbo<br />
Timely updates and quick<br />
responses. Bulletins, answers to<br />
questions and discussions.<br />
Instagram<br />
@espoonkaupunki<br />
Great moments, events and<br />
landscapes through the eyes of<br />
Espoo residents.<br />
#espoohetki<br />
4 A magazine for Espoo residents
CHECK<br />
THIS OUT!<br />
In this section of the<br />
magazine, we introduce<br />
interesting sites all<br />
Espoo residents have<br />
free access to.<br />
Small and large<br />
glacial pothole.<br />
A third glacial<br />
pothole, about<br />
0.5 m across,<br />
is a few metres<br />
away.<br />
Glacial potholes in<br />
Kaupunginkallio<br />
GLACIAL potholes are round pits that were<br />
excavated by stones rotating in the meltwater<br />
flows of the glaciers of the most recent Ice Age.<br />
There are several of these in Espoo. You may<br />
even find some close to home.<br />
Three of them are in Kaupunginkallio, near<br />
Espoon keskus. The glacial potholes in Kaupunginkallio<br />
are in the lower part of the rocky<br />
slope between Kiuastie and Kiuaskuja, about<br />
30 m south-west of Espoonväylä. There is a<br />
footpath leading from the cycle path to the site.<br />
The largest of these glacial potholes is<br />
about 1.5 m in diameter and has a depth of 2.5<br />
m measured along the rear wall. The smaller<br />
ones are shallow and about 0.5 m across.<br />
Mia Weckström<br />
Q & A<br />
In this section of the<br />
magazine, we answer<br />
the most often asked<br />
questions received by<br />
the city at the time the<br />
magazine is<br />
published.<br />
” Camping is<br />
allowed at<br />
Oittaa,<br />
Nuuksio,<br />
Kattilajärvi<br />
and<br />
Väransby.<br />
?<br />
Where can I find the archipelago boat timetable?<br />
The archipelago boat service begins on 6 June and<br />
ends on 30 August. The archipelago boat service will run<br />
Tuesday to Sunday from 6 June to 9 August and thereafter<br />
at weekends on 15–16 August, 22–23 August and 29–30<br />
August. The archipelago boat service timetable can be<br />
found at bit.ly/espoo_boats. Timetables are also available<br />
at City of Espoo Service Points. Passenger volumes and<br />
weather conditions may affect the timetable. On Midsummer’s<br />
Eve, the archipelago boats will operate according to<br />
the normal timetable.<br />
?<br />
Where can I camp?<br />
Camping is allowed at Oittaa, in Nuuksio National Park<br />
and in the recreation areas at Kattilajärvi and Väransby.<br />
There are islands in Espoo designated for recreational<br />
use, accessible by private boat or by the archipelago boat<br />
service. Camping is allowed on the following outdoor recreational<br />
islands: Bylandet, Gåsgrund, Knapperskär, Rövargrundet,<br />
Rövaren, Stora Herrö and Torra Lövö. Further information<br />
on camping sites and campfire sites in Espoo can be found<br />
at bit.ly/espoo_camping. On the luontoon.fi website, you can<br />
search for camping and hiking sites nationwide by characteristics<br />
and by activities available.<br />
?<br />
What is the algae situation on beaches?<br />
Water temperature and algae alerts for beaches can<br />
be found at ulkoliikunta.fi.<br />
Viherlaakso Health Centre<br />
relocates to Kilo<br />
THE building housing Viherlaakso Health Centre has reached<br />
the end of its service life, and because of this Viherlaakso Health<br />
Centre will relocate to temporary premises on Trillakatu, adjacent<br />
to Kilo Health Centre, after Midsummer.<br />
A comprehensive search of premises in Viherlaakso area<br />
revealed that there are no premises suitable as temporary premises<br />
for an entire health centre. By contrast, space is opening<br />
up in the Kilo Health Centre building, as the maternity and child<br />
health clinic and dental clinic phone services are being relocated.<br />
The neighbourhood route 229 will be rerouted so as to<br />
provide transport from Viherlaakso to Kilo Health Centre. There<br />
are also other frequently running buses for those who are able to<br />
change buses on the way. Local services will be provided in the<br />
premises of the Aurora maternity and child health clinic. Physicians<br />
will also provide remote consultation.<br />
The relocation of Viherlaakso Health Centre is a temporary<br />
measure. A long-term service network planning project is being<br />
launched for Suur-Leppävaara. This service network plan will<br />
be created in consultation with residents. A phone survey was<br />
conducted among residents in May, and information events for<br />
residents will be held online.<br />
5
Picks<br />
The official population of Espoo as at the beginning of this year was<br />
289,731. Of these, 75% were Finnish or Sámi speakers, 7% were Swedish<br />
speakers, and 18% were speakers of foreign languages. During 2019,<br />
the population of Espoo grew by 6,099 residents, or 2.2%.<br />
Health Centre voucher<br />
for the Espoon keskus<br />
area<br />
FROM May, Espoo residents are able to use service<br />
vouchers to visit a private health centre in Espoon<br />
keskus for their health care needs.<br />
There are two participating private health<br />
centres at the moment: Mehiläinen Oma Lääkärisi<br />
Espoontori and Terveystalo Espoontori. Samaria<br />
Health Centre continues to provide services in<br />
Espoon keskus, except that during the coronavirus<br />
pandemic Samaria is only treating patients with<br />
respiratory tract infections.<br />
The service voucher trial will last until 30 April<br />
2025. During this trial, 25,000 health centre service<br />
vouchers will be available. For further information,<br />
please visit bit.ly/espoo_voucher.<br />
The main character<br />
of the My2050<br />
adventure game,<br />
Niha Bee, takes<br />
players on a tour of<br />
the future.<br />
” A dental<br />
care service<br />
voucher will<br />
be introduced<br />
in Matinkylä<br />
in August.<br />
Adventure to<br />
the future<br />
MY2050 is an adventure game open to<br />
every one free of charge. It features a real<br />
urban environment, Espoon keskus. The<br />
narrative of the game is a look into the<br />
future, giving players information on climate<br />
change in a new and exciting way.<br />
The adventure to the future begins on<br />
Espoonkatu in Espoon keskus, outside the<br />
City Council building. The game lasts one<br />
hour, during which players have to score<br />
points by solving puzzles. The game is a<br />
mobile app available in the relevant application<br />
store for each device.<br />
You can go on the adventure any time<br />
you like, along or with friends or family<br />
members. The game offers a new learning<br />
tool suitable for students from sixth grade<br />
to the upper secondary level, but there are<br />
many things to do with plenty of challenge<br />
for adults as well.<br />
Espoon Kaupunginmuseo/Eetu Sorvali<br />
Only a ruin remains of<br />
the observation tower<br />
at Dalsvik Manor.<br />
Volunteers are needed<br />
to take care of monuments.<br />
Adopt a monument<br />
in Espoo<br />
<strong>ESPOO</strong> is launching an ‘Adopt a monument’ scheme.<br />
This is a volunteer scheme for the upkeep and maintenance<br />
of old buildings and archaeological sites.<br />
Archaeological sites suitable for adoption include<br />
fortifications, stone walls, cairns, remnants of quays<br />
and ancient settlements. Other candidates include<br />
minor buildings or structures such as monuments,<br />
bathing houses, transformer stations, bridges or<br />
stone road signs.<br />
Maintenance and upkeep may involve clearing<br />
vegetation, mowing, cutting coppices and collecting<br />
waste, according to the maintenance plan. Maintenance<br />
plans are drawn up jointly with the Espoo City<br />
Museum. The Museum also provides advice and<br />
guidance on further upkeep.<br />
Sites may be adopted by a community, an association,<br />
an enterprise or a public body such as a school.<br />
In some maintenance events, anyone can participate.<br />
Persons or organisations considering adoption are<br />
not required to have any previous experience or<br />
information in the maintenance of cultural sites. The<br />
adoption may be for a short or a long period.<br />
Further information is available from Curator Eetu<br />
Sorvali who is in charge of cultural environments<br />
and antiquities and of archaeological research, eetu.<br />
sorvali@espoo.fi or kulttuuriymparisto@espoo.fi.<br />
6 A magazine for Espoo residents
The coronavirus epidemic has pushed unemployment up everywhere, and Espoo is no exception.<br />
As at the end of March, there were 3,750 more unemployed persons than at the same time in<br />
the previous year, an increase of 35%, and the unemployment rate was 2.6 percentage points<br />
higher. Nationwide, the increase in the number of unemployed people year on year was 30%.<br />
Smartbot begins multilingual<br />
coronavirus chat<br />
THE City of Espoo is testing a smartbot, or a learning artificial<br />
intelligence application, that answers questions in more<br />
than 100 languages on the espoo.fi website. This multilingual<br />
smartbot supplements the communications and services of<br />
the City of Espoo in cases where a user is unable to communicate<br />
in Finnish, Swedish or English. The smartbot is available<br />
on a 24/7 basis and is capable of serving more than 100,000<br />
simultaneous users.<br />
The smartbot collects information from the websites of the<br />
City of Espoo and various authorities and answers questions<br />
on the basis of that information. The smartbot is able to learn.<br />
If the information on the websites changes, the bot will notice<br />
it with a short delay and change its answers accordingly.<br />
The smartbot will also respect privacy: it always chats with<br />
the users anonymously.<br />
“A smartbot based on artificial intelligence and machine<br />
translation enables us to communicate instructions and latest<br />
updates on our services to Espoo residents who speak many<br />
different languages. Such rapid multilingual communications<br />
would not be possible without artificial intelligence. Although<br />
the grammar may still have room for improvement, the solution<br />
complements the City of Espoo’s communications in Finnish,<br />
Swedish and English,” says Juha Metso, Director of Social<br />
and Health Services.<br />
” The bot<br />
allows us to<br />
distribute<br />
information<br />
on services<br />
to the<br />
multilingual<br />
population.<br />
Digital access<br />
to culture<br />
<strong>ESPOO</strong> brought a digital cultural centre to homes in<br />
response to the culture deficit caused by the coronavirus<br />
epidemic. Kotona247 [Home 24/7] is an online<br />
service set up by Event and Cultural Services to offer<br />
Espoo residents culture at home in the form of live<br />
streaming. The programme includes concerts of Tapiola<br />
Sinfonietta and popular music performances.<br />
“Kotona247 is an online concert venue for every<br />
Espoo resident – and for everyone in Finland for<br />
that matter. When the coronavirus epidemic forced<br />
cultural events to be cancelled, we put our heads<br />
together and decided to accelerate the plans that we<br />
already had been working on,” says Karri Soilamo,<br />
Event Specialist at City Events Espoo.<br />
Forthcoming Kotona247 live webcasts and<br />
concert recordings can be found at kaupunkitapahtumat.fi.<br />
The programme is further augmented by the<br />
Urban Espoo service, which is available online at<br />
urbanespoo.fi and as a mobile service, similarly to the<br />
digital cultural centre. Urban Espoo has a virtual city<br />
environment which users can explore and where they<br />
can experience the urban and natural environments<br />
and learn new skills.<br />
Theme year encourages<br />
to take action for nature<br />
THE <strong>2020</strong> theme year of the Espoo Environment Department,<br />
Lumoudu kaupunkiluonnosta [Enchanted by Urban<br />
Nature], invites Espoo residents to take action to preserve<br />
diversity in the urban natural environment. This is done<br />
by publishing ‘nature actions’ each week on the Facebook<br />
page of the Environment Department and on the<br />
Instagram account of the Nature House Villa Elfvik which<br />
residents can then carry out at home and outdoors.<br />
The nature actions are compiled in the Enchanted by<br />
Urban Nature databank, which is at bit.ly/espoo_nature.<br />
The databank contains info spots on biodiversity in Espoo<br />
and on how the city is fostering biodiversity in its territory.<br />
The material includes numerous photos and audio files<br />
with nature soundscapes.<br />
The Enchanted by Urban Nature theme year <strong>2020</strong><br />
forms part of the Espoo nature conservation project,<br />
whose purpose is the preservation of nature values and<br />
biodiversity in Espoo.<br />
7
theme<br />
The Covid-19 virus<br />
arrived in Finland<br />
around the turn of<br />
February–March.<br />
By mid-March, it had<br />
changed everyone’s<br />
lives.<br />
Text Tiina Parikka Photos Timo Porthan and Tapiola Sinfonietta<br />
Creative<br />
solutions<br />
The coronavirus spring has restricted<br />
and changed everyone’s lives. But creative<br />
solutions have allowed people to get on with<br />
their lives and have meaningful experiences<br />
despite the self-isolation.<br />
By the time this magazine goes to print, comprehensive<br />
schools will have returned to classroom<br />
teaching, and libraries will have been open for<br />
borrowing and returning books for a couple of<br />
weeks. Outdoor exercise facilities have been<br />
open for sport and fitness from mid-May.<br />
At the beginning of June, libraries and culture facilities<br />
will reopen and return to normal. Museums will also<br />
re-open in early June. •<br />
Niina Sivonen’s<br />
drawings illustrating<br />
remote teaching have<br />
served as peer support<br />
for her teacher<br />
colleagues. Many have<br />
shared similar<br />
experiences.<br />
8 A magazine for Espoo residents
New meaning with instructions<br />
NIINA Sivonen, Deputy Headmaster at<br />
the Lähderannan koulu primary school,<br />
has described her experiences of remote<br />
teaching in drawings. Every day, she<br />
takes a positive observation and illustrates<br />
it as a morale booster for herself<br />
and her colleagues.<br />
“There are more such things than<br />
I have time to draw. The children have<br />
adapted really wonderfully to this new<br />
situation,” says Sivonen, who teaches<br />
sixth grade.<br />
In mid-March, all school teachers suddenly<br />
had to adjust to a new normal with<br />
only a few days’ notice.<br />
“We’re not trained to do remote<br />
teaching. Some teachers and pupils<br />
alike experienced challenges with the IT<br />
requirements, but we help each other as<br />
we can.”<br />
Sivonen’s class continued to study<br />
according to the lesson plan. She has<br />
high praise for stay-at-home parents who<br />
skilfully accommodated their children’s<br />
new daily routine. In most cases, the<br />
children actually went outdoors<br />
for breaks between lessons, and<br />
lunch was at the same time as<br />
at school. However, some parents still<br />
had to go to work during the day, and in<br />
some homes the computer had to be<br />
used in turns.<br />
“I always posted daily instructions on<br />
Wilma on the previous day, so that the<br />
parents would have time in the evening<br />
to see whether their children would need<br />
technical assistance with their school<br />
day. I’ve made many teaching videos and<br />
otherwise used my drawings in class.<br />
Some of the lessons were online meetings.”<br />
Writing instructions and developing<br />
new teaching methods means long hours<br />
for Sivonen, but she does not complain.<br />
“It’s only temporary. Children have<br />
learned to take responsibility and to<br />
manage their time, and that will certainly<br />
be useful as they move on to secondary<br />
school.”<br />
Comprehensive schools reopened for<br />
classroom teaching on 14 May. Upper<br />
secondary schools chose to continue<br />
with remote teaching until the end of the<br />
school year. All schools had their virtual<br />
end-of-school celebration today, 30 May.<br />
Niina Sivonen has kind<br />
words for the smooth<br />
cooperation among<br />
teachers, pupils and<br />
parents during the exceptional<br />
circumstances this<br />
spring. “We helped each<br />
other and shared our<br />
experiences.”<br />
9
theme<br />
i SMARTBOT<br />
serves users in<br />
more than 100 languages.<br />
In mid-April,<br />
the City of Espoo<br />
introduced an online<br />
smartbot to answer foreign<br />
language speakers’<br />
questions about<br />
the coronavirus.<br />
The bot is set up as a<br />
chat service. It can be<br />
found for instance at<br />
bit.ly/espoo_smartbot.<br />
SINCE Mother’s<br />
i Day, visitors<br />
have been<br />
allowed to meet<br />
residents of the City’s<br />
care homes outdoors,<br />
weather permitting.<br />
Extreme caution continues<br />
to be observed<br />
in these meetings:<br />
the resident and the<br />
visitor must remain<br />
at least 2 m apart,<br />
and visitors must<br />
not come to the care<br />
home if they have any<br />
symptoms of a common<br />
cold at all. For<br />
meetings with residents<br />
with memory<br />
disorders, the aim is<br />
to have a barrier such<br />
as a fence between<br />
the resident and the<br />
visitor.<br />
,,<br />
• The city and various operators have come<br />
up with numerous creative solutions in order<br />
to keep services running and to provide meaningful<br />
experiences through the spring, restrictions<br />
notwithstanding.<br />
As services have gone increasingly digital,<br />
the highly varied digital skills of the elderly in<br />
particular have become a sticking point.<br />
The helpline of Nestori – Guidance and<br />
Service Counselling for Senior Citizens has<br />
had extended opening hours this spring, from<br />
08:00 to 16:00 every weekday. Ads about this<br />
service have been run in local newspapers<br />
continuously so that people who may not know<br />
how to access online services can phone in to<br />
get help. As a result, the helpline call volume<br />
has nearly doubled.<br />
“We have posted a coronavirus FAQ online.<br />
We have also accepted questions by e-mail,”<br />
says Maria Rysti, specialist in services for the<br />
elderly.<br />
They have also sent out letters with information,<br />
and they have phoned up previous<br />
Nestori clients to ask them how they are.<br />
Food deliveries. Nestori is also organising<br />
service needs assessments for people over 65<br />
and arranging grocery deliveries. Members<br />
of other at-risk groups also have access to the<br />
The resource pool is an agile way<br />
of ensuring sufficient staffing for<br />
social welfare and health care<br />
services in these exceptional<br />
circumstances, and an opportunity<br />
for employees to broaden their<br />
expertise by undertaking new job duties.<br />
food delivery service.<br />
Rysti notes that food assistance is required<br />
not just by at-risk groups but also by disadvantaged<br />
people whom we normally see queuing<br />
up at food banks.<br />
The food service was launched around<br />
Easter in collaboration with the city authorities,<br />
NGOs and parishes. City employees,<br />
for instance from Education and Cultural<br />
Services, transitioned to the food service when<br />
their own work came to a halt. The first food<br />
deliveries to homes were made in early April.<br />
Local food banks commandeered premises<br />
that were empty due to the restrictions in place<br />
and were suitable for food storage.<br />
Also, students in pre-primary education,<br />
comprehensive school and upper secondary<br />
school have been offered packed lunches during<br />
the distance learning period.<br />
Help on the front line city employees have<br />
transitioned to other duties too. By mid-April,<br />
more than 100 city employees had been transferred<br />
to Social and Health Services.<br />
The city has set up a resource pool in<br />
response to the coronavirus crisis, the purpose<br />
being to safeguard sufficient resources<br />
for social welfare and health care services<br />
in these exceptional circumstances while<br />
10 A magazine for Espoo residents
The Tapiola Sinfonietta<br />
has been<br />
giving remote<br />
concerts for<br />
Espoo residents<br />
this spring. The<br />
orchestra performs<br />
chamber<br />
music in small<br />
groups under<br />
normal circumstances<br />
too.<br />
Sinfonietta in the comfort of your home<br />
THE album Metsänpeitto by Meriheini Luoto was<br />
nominated for the Teosto Prize in 2018. The Tapiola<br />
Sinfonietta was supposed to perform the work in an<br />
orchestration by Kalle Vainio at its concert on 17 April.<br />
The coronavirus epidemic and a last-minute illness<br />
forced a change in plans.<br />
Taavi Oramo, the orchestra’s Artist in Residence,<br />
quickly came up with a new programme. Consisting<br />
of performances by small chamber ensembles, the<br />
concert was streamed live online at the originally<br />
scheduled time.<br />
“It was important for many of our listeners to listen<br />
to the concert live and to sense that they were part<br />
of an event in real time,” says General Manager Anna<br />
Jaskiewicz.<br />
For Tiina Paananen, Deputy Principal 2nd Violin,<br />
the absence of the audience was the most exciting<br />
thing about the remote concert.<br />
“It’s wonderful to know that there are at least some<br />
people out there watching and listening at the same time<br />
that we’re playing. I try to capture that feeling when performing,<br />
now that we’re unable to sense the presence of<br />
the audience,” said Paananen before the concert.<br />
This spring, orchestra members have mainly been<br />
practising on their own and in small groups at the<br />
Cultural Centre.<br />
“I miss the orchestra community, but we play chamber<br />
music during the year under normal circumstances<br />
too, and of course everyone always practises on their<br />
own, so it’s not a completely new and strange situation,”<br />
says Paananen.<br />
The Tapiola Sinfonietta has made further live<br />
webcasts during the spring, and recordings of them<br />
are still available at kotona247.fi and on the orchestra’s<br />
YouTube channel.<br />
All online performances are free of charge.<br />
11
theme<br />
SUMMER activities<br />
organised<br />
i<br />
by the City for<br />
children and adolescents<br />
will go forward<br />
as planned. There<br />
are still vacancies at<br />
summer camps and<br />
courses covering all<br />
sorts of topics such<br />
as drama, animal<br />
care, hiking, cooking,<br />
canoeing and computer<br />
games. Further<br />
information about<br />
camps and courses<br />
can be found at harrastehaku.fi.<br />
offering alternative work to city employees<br />
from sites that had been shut down. This also<br />
represents an opportunity for those employees<br />
to broaden their competence and professional<br />
skills.<br />
The City Board and other city bodies have been<br />
meeting remotely using the Teams platform<br />
since late March. However, City Council meetings,<br />
with 75 attendees, required rather more<br />
advanced arrangements. The plan was to hold<br />
the first online City Council meeting on 18 May,<br />
but in mid-April it was announced that it would<br />
not be possible to cancel the meeting scheduled<br />
for 27 April. In a blitz response, a Teams meeting<br />
was set up in less than two weeks, complete with<br />
a separate system for voting. While Helsinki, for<br />
instance, already had a system in place for online<br />
City Council meetings, Espoo was the first to<br />
implement voting like this.<br />
“This was a historic meeting. Not only was it<br />
the first online City Council meeting in Espoo,<br />
it was the first ever meeting in my many years<br />
on the job where every single regular member<br />
was present,” says City Council Secretary Jouni<br />
Majuri.<br />
City Council members were provided with<br />
rehearsal opportunities in the previous week,<br />
with trial runs of voting, requests to speak and<br />
attendance reporting. Any City Council members<br />
who were hesitant to use the systems or<br />
were doubtful about whether the online connections<br />
would work were allowed to attend the<br />
meeting in person in the City Council meeting<br />
room.<br />
“The people present were the chairman<br />
and myself, the Technical Secretary, three City<br />
Council members and two IT experts,” says<br />
Majuri.<br />
Three votes were taken in the meeting. One<br />
participant failed to vote through the voting<br />
system and had to have the vote recorded separately.<br />
There was also another glitch in one of<br />
the voting rounds, but on the whole the meeting<br />
was much commended.<br />
“I believe that we’ll continue using the<br />
remote meeting option even after meetings in<br />
person are allowed again,” says Majuri.<br />
,,<br />
This was a historic meeting.<br />
It was the first ever City<br />
Council meeting where<br />
every single regular member<br />
was present.<br />
12 A magazine for Espoo residents
Supporting entrepreneurs in a tight spot<br />
THERE are about 15,000 enterprises in<br />
Espoo, two thirds of them being run by sole<br />
entrepreneurs. The restrictions imposed due<br />
to the coronavirus epidemic have severely<br />
affected the operations of many, even shutting<br />
some businesses down completely. The<br />
central government has granted targeted<br />
allowances to help sole entrepreneurs. A<br />
sole entrepreneur allowance of EUR 2,000<br />
has been available to apply for since 24<br />
April.<br />
Espoo has taken the plight of entrepreneurs<br />
seriously. More than 980 applications<br />
were received in a support application<br />
process coordinated by Business Espoo<br />
in a period of two weeks, representing a<br />
combined support need of about EUR 1.34<br />
million.<br />
“At present, we are able to process applications<br />
on the same day, and if all the attachments<br />
are OK and all conditions are fulfilled,<br />
the entrepreneur will have the money in their<br />
account within 4 or 5 weekdays of the application<br />
being filed,” says Sanna Lindholm of<br />
the Economic and Urban Development unit<br />
of the City of Espoo.<br />
Entrepreneurs may apply for the Espoo<br />
allowance if they can demonstrate that the<br />
coronavirus epidemic has reduced their sales<br />
income and receivables by at least 30%. The<br />
application period continues until the end<br />
of September. Lindholm advises potential<br />
applicants to consider what would be the<br />
best time to apply for the allowance.<br />
Sole entrepreneurs may also claim<br />
unemployment benefit if their business has<br />
stopped completely because of the coronavirus<br />
epidemic.<br />
Some enterprises have been able to stay<br />
open by modifying their business model. A<br />
case in point is the restaurant Base, almost a<br />
second home to many Leppävaara residents.<br />
Good food, wine and various events bring<br />
locals together. After 30 March, however, the<br />
restaurant was obliged to rethink its entire<br />
operating concept.<br />
Through the spring, Base has been selling<br />
takeaway lunches on weekdays and preparing<br />
meals for delivery to special occasions.<br />
“At Easter, we had so many orders for<br />
lamb dinners that we ended up having to<br />
turn people away,” says restaurateur Vuokko<br />
Varila-Kiverä.<br />
The restaurant has had to lay off its serving<br />
staff, but the kitchen staff still have work<br />
to do, at least part-time.<br />
The restaurant offers home deliveries of<br />
meals for a minimum of four people in the<br />
Leppävaara area.<br />
“People in at-risk groups and people<br />
working from home who have children have<br />
made good use of our services. We have a<br />
lot of regular customers who have remained<br />
faithful in these times. Leppävaara residents<br />
look out for one another,” says Varila-Kiverä<br />
happily.<br />
Vuokko Varila-<br />
Kiverä explains<br />
that Base has<br />
been able to<br />
offer many of its<br />
normal items on<br />
the lunch menu.<br />
The restaurant<br />
has also come<br />
up with new<br />
solutions based<br />
on customer<br />
requests.<br />
13
at your service<br />
In this section of the<br />
magazine, meet employees<br />
and close partners<br />
of the City of Espoo.<br />
Heart and soul<br />
of the kitchen<br />
Annina Artman is a food service coordinator responsible for<br />
feeding more than 100 children at the Painiitty daycare centre.<br />
”<br />
Under normal circumstances, I’m responsible<br />
for feeding about 120 children at the Painiitty<br />
daycare centre. My work as a food service coordinator<br />
includes heating up the food delivered<br />
from the central kitchen in Kilo, serving the food,<br />
preparing salads and sides, and performing supervisory<br />
and customer service duties.<br />
I have help to do the washing up a couple of times a<br />
week, but otherwise I work alone. Because of this, it’s<br />
vital that I schedule my work so that I can keep up the<br />
pace. But even though I work independently<br />
for the most part, I don’t feel alone<br />
thanks to the staff and kids at the daycare<br />
centre.<br />
I’m always available at mealtimes and<br />
ready to advise on special dietary requirements<br />
and to answer any questions that<br />
the children may have. Children are<br />
particularly interested in where the food<br />
comes from. The large machines in the<br />
kitchen are also fascinating to them.<br />
We were awarded a Makuaakkoset diploma for good<br />
food in March. This diploma is awarded on the basis of<br />
sustainable development measures, nutritional values<br />
and promoting a healthy diet.<br />
The diploma is testimony to smoothly running cooperation<br />
between the kitchen and the daycare centre and<br />
proves that the food served is appropriate and healthy.<br />
Both myself and the minders are present at mealtimes.<br />
We encourage children to try various foods and teach<br />
them that meals are an important part of their day.”<br />
Text Mia Weckström Photo Timo Porthan<br />
Annina Artman<br />
has been the food<br />
service coordinator<br />
at the Painiitty daycare<br />
centre for four<br />
years, having been<br />
a waitress for eight<br />
years before that.<br />
Painiitty<br />
daycare centre:<br />
› 120 children fed per day<br />
› 300 meals per day, including<br />
breakfast, lunch, snacks and<br />
staff meals<br />
› favourite Painiitty foods are<br />
macaroni casserole, cream of<br />
carrot soup and spaghetti<br />
bolognese<br />
14 A magazine for Espoo residents
15 In situ 16 Things to do 19 Exercise tip<br />
Things to do<br />
in Espoo<br />
Culture, sports<br />
and exercise on<br />
offer from June<br />
to August.<br />
Car Museum opens<br />
again in Pakankylä<br />
The Espoo Car Museum continues with<br />
its theme ‘Skootteri on lälläripyörä’ [A<br />
scooter is a sissy bike]. Traditionally<br />
opening at Easter, this year the summer<br />
museum will open its doors on 2 June.<br />
FINLAND’S oldest car museum will open its doors to the public<br />
on Tuesday 2 June. The main features are the exhibition Skootteri<br />
on lälläripyörä [A scooter is a sissy bike] spiced up from last<br />
year and a new theme for this summer.<br />
The Espoo Car Museum houses some 100 cars and more<br />
than 200 two-wheeled vehicles. The exhibits also include other<br />
items related to road traffic.<br />
Founded around the Saab collection of Rafael Huhta in<br />
1979, the Espoo Car Museum occupies historical premises: a<br />
graphite block cowshed over 100 years old at Pakankylä Manor<br />
near Lake Bodominjärvi in northern Espoo. The farmstead is<br />
owned by the City of Espoo, and the Espoo Car Museum Association<br />
has just signed an extended lease for the premises.<br />
“We want to ensure a comfortable and safe museum experience<br />
with regard to the precautions and restrictions required<br />
in the current situation. We are keeping a close eye on the<br />
recommendations of the authorities, and we will be deciding on<br />
the events of the late summer and autumn at a later date,” says<br />
Minna Hietanen from the Espoo Car Museum.<br />
The Espoo Car Museum was named Vehicle Museum of the<br />
Year in 2019.<br />
The Espoo Car Museum is open Tuesday to Sunday 11:00–17:00<br />
(on Wednesdays 11:00–19:00) from June to August and<br />
on weekends 11:00–17:00 in September and October.<br />
The Moskvich 400<br />
series, nicknamed<br />
Piikkinokka-Mosse<br />
[Spikenosed Mosse],<br />
was the first range<br />
of cars produced by<br />
Moskvich. Introduced<br />
in 1947, the 400 series<br />
and the improved<br />
401 series were in<br />
production until 1956,<br />
with a total of 247,439<br />
manufactured.<br />
Pobeda GAZ-M20 was<br />
a car produced by the<br />
GAZ automobile plant<br />
in the Soviet Union<br />
between 1946 and<br />
1958. Many were used<br />
as taxis.<br />
15
Where to go<br />
✱<br />
Music • Visual arts ♥ Theatre ✘ For children ✓ Cinema = Espoo ♦ Something else<br />
The Glims Farmstead Museum, the Helinä Rautavaara<br />
Museum and the Exhibition Centre WeeGee reopen according<br />
to their normal opening hours from Tuesday 2 June.<br />
Batwatching and<br />
birdwatching =<br />
What goes on in Laajalahti at<br />
night? Join us in hunting for bats.<br />
We start in the garden of Villa Elfvik<br />
at 22:30. Bring a torch (flashlight)<br />
and warm clothes. There<br />
may be plenty of mosquitoes in<br />
some places, so also bring bug<br />
repellent and allergy medication if<br />
you need it. Trousers are recommended.<br />
We will be taking a short<br />
refreshment break.<br />
› Sat 6 Jun 22:30 –<br />
Sun 7 Jun 01:00<br />
Wildflower<br />
day trip ✘<br />
A nature excursion for the whole<br />
family, designed for children.<br />
Bring a light packed lunch and<br />
dress according to the weather.<br />
The Nordic Wildflower Day was<br />
established to encourage interest<br />
in the plant world and to offer<br />
shared experiences of the natural<br />
environment. The theme species<br />
for <strong>2020</strong> is the mountain ash.<br />
› Sun 14 Jun at 10:30–12:30,<br />
vicinity of the Nature<br />
House Villa Elfvik<br />
Glimsinjoki river<br />
walk =<br />
The Glimsinjoki river walk introduces<br />
participants to the varied<br />
flora along the river. The Glimsinjoki<br />
river valley is recognised as<br />
a running water site of national<br />
importance, and as such is one of<br />
the most valuable nature sites in<br />
Espoo.<br />
The walk begins at the Aurora<br />
memorial plaque outside the main<br />
entrance of Träskända Manor<br />
(Träskändanristi 1) and concludes<br />
at Jorvinkoski outside Jorvi Hospital.<br />
Please wear sturdy shoes,<br />
either hiking shoes or rubber<br />
boots. The path is a natural trail<br />
with wet spots.<br />
Anyone wishing to leave their<br />
car near the end point of the walk<br />
so may do so in the hospital car<br />
park (parking fee charged).<br />
Have a preview of the Glimsinjoki<br />
river walk at proespoonjoki.fi/<br />
Glimsinjoki.htm, where you can<br />
download a nature path guide to<br />
bring with you on the river walk.<br />
› Buses to Träskända:<br />
reittiopas.fi.<br />
› Sun 14 Jun at 10:00–12:00<br />
Glimsinjoki river valley, from<br />
Träskända park to Jorvi<br />
Landscape architecture<br />
=<br />
The exhibition Jussi Jännes –<br />
Unelma puutarhakaupungista<br />
[Jussi Jännes – Dream of a garden<br />
city] opens at WeeGee on Friday<br />
5 June. Jussi Jännes was one of<br />
Finland’s first architects to focus<br />
on landscape. He designed both<br />
public green areas and private<br />
gardens.<br />
The exhibition includes the<br />
first ever public display of a digitised<br />
version of Jännes’s comprehensive<br />
designs for Tapiola.<br />
Nature House<br />
exhibition =<br />
The Nature House Villa Elfvik<br />
is the place to see the best of<br />
Espoo’s natural environment at<br />
any time of year. Eläköön Espoo<br />
[Long Live Espoo] is the permanent<br />
exhibition at the Nature<br />
House, showcasing the essential<br />
features of Espoo’s natural environment:<br />
groves, bird wetlands,<br />
forests and archipelago.<br />
The exhibition is active and<br />
appeals to all senses: visitors can<br />
listen to birdsong, stroke a fox’s<br />
fur and view exhibits. There are<br />
microscopes available for examining<br />
visitors’ own specimens.<br />
The utopian Futuro, a plastic house<br />
designed by Matti Suuronen, is one of the<br />
most popular exhibits at WeeGee.<br />
Personae mythologicae by Ilona Niemi<br />
depicts not-so-familiar mythological<br />
creatures with a modern twist.<br />
Remember at least these!<br />
1 2 3 4 5 6<br />
Enchanted city<br />
nature<br />
The exhibition<br />
Lumoudu kaupunkiluonnosta<br />
[Enchanted<br />
city nature] at the<br />
Nature House Villa Elfvik<br />
brings the wonders<br />
of nature’s diversity<br />
within the reach of<br />
visitors. The exhibition<br />
is open from 24 June<br />
to 16 August <strong>2020</strong>.<br />
Futuro open in<br />
summer<br />
The Futuro House, the<br />
well-known landmark<br />
of WeeGee, is open in<br />
the summer, from mid-<br />
May to 13 September.<br />
The building is accessible<br />
during WeeGee<br />
opening hours.<br />
Urban<br />
mythology<br />
Personae mythologicae<br />
[Mythological persons],<br />
a work by Ilona<br />
Niemi, is on display on<br />
the fence encircling<br />
the construction site<br />
outside WeeGee. The<br />
28 quirky characters<br />
depicted are drawn<br />
from Finnish mythology.<br />
Virtual Gallen-<br />
Kallela tour<br />
A virtual tour of the<br />
Tarvaspää castlestudio<br />
designed<br />
and built by artist<br />
Akseli Gallen-Kallela<br />
(1865–1931) is available<br />
online at<br />
gallen-kallela.fi.<br />
Espoo in<br />
Images<br />
The exhibition Bodom<br />
Ämmässuo – kaupunki<br />
kuvissa [Bodom<br />
Ämmässuo – Espoo in<br />
Images] at the Espoo<br />
City Museum is also<br />
available for virtual<br />
visits. All the images<br />
in the exhibition are<br />
posted in Finna. The<br />
exhibition showcases<br />
the 56 official city<br />
districts of Espoo.<br />
Open<br />
Studios Day<br />
An open house for<br />
painting is held in the<br />
garden of the Gallen-<br />
Kallela Museum on<br />
Fine Arts Open Studios<br />
Day on Fri 10 July<br />
from 11:00 to 14:00.<br />
The event includes a<br />
demo. The instructor<br />
is Olga Veselovskaya.<br />
Please bring your own<br />
equipment.<br />
16 A magazine for Espoo residents
The Pentala Archipelago<br />
Museum reopens according<br />
to its normal opening hours<br />
on Saturday 6 June.<br />
The Villa Museum<br />
Villa Rulludd<br />
reopens on<br />
Sunday 7 June.<br />
Libraries are open<br />
as usual from<br />
1 June.<br />
The Tacita Dean exhibition<br />
includes the ambitious chalk painting<br />
Chalk Fall (2018).<br />
The IC-98 media installation forms part<br />
of the Kosketus [Touch] collection exhibit<br />
in the EMMA exhibition space.<br />
Nastja Säde Rönkkö makes use<br />
of a gesture familiar from<br />
political demonstrations.<br />
A Thousand<br />
Stories about<br />
Espoo ♦<br />
Tuhat tarinaa Espoosta [A Thousand<br />
Stories about Espoo] is a permanent<br />
exhibition on the history of the city<br />
at KAMU. The exhibition focuses<br />
on five eras and five locations in the<br />
history of Espoo: Stone Age sealers<br />
at Bosmalm, Medieval farmers at<br />
Mankby, gentlefolk and commoners<br />
at Alberga, factory workers at<br />
Kauklahti and urban life in suburbs.<br />
How was Espoo born, and how did it<br />
become what it is today?<br />
The Next<br />
500 Years ♦<br />
Artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela built<br />
his castle-like studio, Tarvaspää,<br />
on the Pellavaniemi headland<br />
beside Villa Linudd in the grounds<br />
of Alberga Manor in 1911–1913.“I’m<br />
not building for us, I’m building for<br />
the next 500 years,” he said of his<br />
studio more than a century ago. The<br />
exhibition Tarvaspää – 500 vuotta<br />
eteenpäin [Tarvaspää – The Next<br />
500 Years] is about architecture,<br />
construction and everyday life.<br />
› 1 Jun <strong>2020</strong> – 25 Apr 2021<br />
for those<br />
yet to be •<br />
The work for those yet to be<br />
(2016–2018) by Nastja Säde<br />
Rönkkö (b. 1985), Young Artist<br />
of the Year 2019, is on display at<br />
EMMA until 2 August. The work<br />
is a series of video performance<br />
art pieces about the emotions<br />
prompted by climate change and<br />
environmental damage. Rönkkö<br />
visits fragile locations around the<br />
world that are being destroyed<br />
through human activity, sending<br />
a message to future generations.<br />
This is the first time that the work<br />
is being displayed in its entirety.<br />
Main exhibition<br />
continues<br />
through August •<br />
The exhibition of works by Tacita<br />
Dean (b. 1965), one of today’s<br />
internationally most distinguished<br />
contemporary artists, will continue<br />
at EMMA through 2 August. Dean<br />
is especially known for 16 mm<br />
and 35 mm films and her work to<br />
preserve the tradition of analogue<br />
film but also for large-sale chalk<br />
drawings that command the<br />
space. Dean works with drawing,<br />
photography, printing methods<br />
and found materials.<br />
Ceramic animal<br />
figures •<br />
A group of delightful animal<br />
figures is on display in EMMA in<br />
the summer. Animals created by<br />
ceramic artist Michael Schilkin<br />
(1900–1962) are displayed in a<br />
playful environment designed by<br />
contemporary artist Lotta Mattila<br />
(b. 1986). Mattila, also known<br />
for animal figures, contributes new<br />
sculptures of her own, created for<br />
this exhibition.<br />
› 2 Jun <strong>2020</strong> –<br />
28 Feb 2021<br />
Cars for<br />
kids ✘<br />
The special exhibition Menopelileikki<br />
[Vehicle Play] explores<br />
movement and travel, vehicles and<br />
traffic safety from a child’s perspective<br />
and through playing. The<br />
exhibition features traffic-themed<br />
toys and playful vehicles. Active<br />
and interactive, the exhibition is an<br />
introduction to how traffic works<br />
and to what various vehicles are<br />
like and also tests visitors’ knowledge<br />
of traffic regulations.<br />
Anni Puolakka:<br />
Diamond Belly •<br />
From June, the media space in the<br />
Kosketus [Touch] exhibition features<br />
the video work Timanttimaha<br />
[Diamond Belly] (2018) by Anni<br />
Puolakka, a discussion between a<br />
human and an AI chatbot. The work<br />
explores love and companionship<br />
between a human artist, a bot and<br />
mosquitoes. Puolakka incorporates<br />
autobiographical and documentary<br />
materials into her works.<br />
› 2 Jun <strong>2020</strong> – 27 Sep <strong>2020</strong><br />
Theses on the<br />
Body Politic •<br />
The media installation Teesejä<br />
yhteiskuntaruumiista [Theses on the<br />
Body Politic] by IC-98, a.k.a. Patrik<br />
Söderlund (b. 1974) and Visa<br />
Suonpää (b. 1968) is on display at<br />
EMMA in August and September.<br />
The work forms part of the Kosketus<br />
[Touch] collection exhibit in the<br />
EMMA exhibition space. The work<br />
focuses on the shapes and metamorphoses<br />
of rope. Sound plays a<br />
significant role in the work.<br />
› 4 Aug <strong>2020</strong> – 27 Sep <strong>2020</strong><br />
Aladdin and the<br />
Magic Lamp ✘<br />
The classic story Aladdin ja<br />
taikalamppu [Aladdin and the<br />
Magic Lamp] is presented by the<br />
Hevosenkenkä Theatre as an<br />
exciting adventure story for kids.<br />
The cast includes the young hero<br />
Aladdin and his rat friend Baba, the<br />
lovely princess, the Genie, the evil<br />
Grand Vizier and of course a flying<br />
carpet. The production is generous<br />
with visuals and music, conjuring<br />
up an ancient Oriental mood.<br />
› Thu 13 Aug at 18:00, Sat 15 Aug<br />
at 16:00, Sun 16 Aug at 15:00 and<br />
Sat 22 Aug at 16:00.<br />
17
Where to go<br />
✱<br />
Music • Visual arts ♥ Theatre ✘ For children ✓ Cinema = Espoo ♦ Something else<br />
The Gallen-Kallela<br />
Museum reopens on<br />
Monday 1 June.<br />
Lehman Trilogy<br />
in August ♥<br />
Fifteenth Night,<br />
the Musical ♥<br />
History of toys<br />
and play ♦<br />
The Lehman Trilogy traces the evolution of<br />
modern capitalism and the beginnings of<br />
mass consumerism.<br />
One of ASA’s most recent releases<br />
are Rakkauslauluja miehille<br />
(Love songs for men).<br />
Dave Lindholm Lights are: Dave himself<br />
and seasoned musicians Tommi Laine,<br />
Juppo Paavola and Mikko Löytty.<br />
The premiere of Lehman-trilogia<br />
[The Lehman Trilogy] has been<br />
postponed to Saturday 1 August.<br />
Directed by Davide Giovanzana,<br />
the play depicts the history of<br />
the family of the founders of the<br />
Lehman Brothers investment bank<br />
over three generations.<br />
In the course of an evening,<br />
actors Jussi Lehtonen, Timo<br />
Torikka and Juha Sääski and<br />
composer-musician Maija Ruuskanen<br />
relive a story that begins<br />
in 1844 and ends with the bank’s<br />
collapse in 2008, sparking one<br />
of the most devastating financial<br />
crises of all time.<br />
› Sat 1 Aug at 18:30, Fri 7 Aug at<br />
18:30, Sat 8 Aug at 14:00 and<br />
Fri 14 Aug at 18:30, Espoo City<br />
Theatre<br />
Asa & Band at<br />
Sello Hall ✱<br />
Asa & Band appear in concert at<br />
Sello Hall in August. Matti Salo,<br />
who began his career under the<br />
pseudonym Avain, is an artist<br />
driven to pursue paths very<br />
much his own. His début album<br />
Punainen tiili [Red Brick] brought<br />
social realism and political pathos<br />
to the Rähinä Records catalogue,<br />
but he did not truly discover his<br />
own voice, language and world<br />
until becoming Asa.<br />
Over the past ten years, Asa<br />
has published and performed<br />
a great deal of music, from the<br />
emphatically psychedelic, do-ityourself<br />
-themed Foetida series to<br />
more conventional explorations<br />
of hip-hop aesthetics such as the<br />
albums Love and Jou jou, and<br />
from DJ-driven gigs to concerts by<br />
Asa & Band.<br />
› Thu 13 Aug at 19:00<br />
Tickets: lippu.fi<br />
Viidestoista yö [Fifteenth Night]<br />
is a musical offering a time travel<br />
experience to the world of the<br />
late legendary Finnish singersongwriter<br />
Juice and his friends.<br />
In addition to the greatest Juice<br />
classics, the production includes<br />
songs by Mikko Alatalo and<br />
some of the finest gems of<br />
Manserock from the city of Tampere,<br />
including the bands on the<br />
famous Tuuliajolla [Adrift] cruise<br />
tour in the 1980s. The musical<br />
includes these songs and many<br />
more: Viidestoista yö, Rakkauden<br />
haudalla, Syksyn Sävel, Marilyn,<br />
Jyrki Boy, Mä maalaispoika<br />
oon, Hän hymyilee kuin lapsi,<br />
Kaksoiselämää, Musta aurinko<br />
nousee, Paperitähdet, Aamu alkaa<br />
A:lla, Pidetään ikävää... Juice himself<br />
is played by Matti Mikkonen,<br />
alias Matthau Mikojan, a secondgeneration<br />
Manserock musician.<br />
› Fri 14 Aug at 19:00<br />
Tickets: lippu.fi<br />
Dave Lindholm<br />
at Sello Hall ✱<br />
Dave Lindholm is undisputedly<br />
one of Finland’s most distinguished<br />
musicians. He began his career in a<br />
band named Ferris in 1971. In 1972,<br />
he released his first solo album, Iso<br />
“Kynä” Lindholm. His most recent<br />
band, Dave Lindholm Lights, is in<br />
concert at Sello Hall in September.<br />
The band’s roots and blues sound<br />
is created alongside Dave himself<br />
by musicians familiar to enthusiasts<br />
from a variety of contexts: guitarist<br />
Tommi Laine (e.g. Groovy Eyes),<br />
drummer Juppo Paavola (e.g.<br />
Pauli Hanhiniemen Perunateatteri)<br />
and bass player Mikko Löytty (e.g.<br />
SF Blues).<br />
› Thu 20 Aug at 19:00<br />
Tickets: lippu.fi<br />
A tour aimed specifically at<br />
adults, Lelujen ja leikkien historiaa<br />
[History of toys and play] is an<br />
exploration and remembrance of<br />
how toys, playing and children’s<br />
lives have changed over the<br />
decades, from the 19th century<br />
to today. The tour starts at the<br />
door of the Finnish Toy Museum<br />
and is included in the price of the<br />
WeeGee ticket. Recommended<br />
age: 7 and up.<br />
› Sat 6 Jun at 13:30–14:00, Exhibition<br />
Centre WeeGee, Finnish Toy<br />
Museum Hevosenkenkä<br />
Louhiklubi at<br />
Espoo Cultural<br />
Centre ✱<br />
Friends of Finnish popular music<br />
have here a rare opportunity<br />
to witness two fine and longstanding<br />
duos at one go, as Kettunen–Kuokkanen<br />
and Johanna<br />
& Mikko Iivanainen join forces on<br />
their second joint tour. In a series<br />
of lounge concerts, they perform<br />
their own material and a carefully<br />
chosen selection of covers. There<br />
are sensitive moments, down-toearth<br />
stories and humour in store.<br />
› Thu 27 Aug at 19:00–21:00,<br />
Espoo<br />
Cultural Centre, Louhi Hall<br />
Tickets: lippu.fi<br />
Virtual arts<br />
experiences •<br />
The Espoo Museum of Modern<br />
Art has posted a wealth of content<br />
on its website for you to enjoy at<br />
home. There is a compiled list of<br />
links to documentaries on artists<br />
and to exhibition-specific artist<br />
interviews.<br />
18 A magazine for Espoo residents
5<br />
magic moves<br />
for home<br />
workouts<br />
Warm up properly. Perform the<br />
moves according to your fitness<br />
and capacity. Repeat each move<br />
10 to 15 times. Take a break and<br />
then do the same thing again. Do<br />
several rounds if you feel like it.<br />
3<br />
Thighs and buttocks:<br />
squatting.<br />
Squat as if you were<br />
about to sit on a chair.<br />
Then straighten up<br />
again.<br />
Tips<br />
for independent exercise<br />
for people of all ages (in Finnish):<br />
espoo.fi/<br />
omatoimiliikunta<br />
The videos, live group<br />
exercise sessions and instructions<br />
listed on the<br />
page are free of charge.<br />
2<br />
Upper body: rowing.<br />
Perform rowing movements<br />
in long pulls,<br />
bringing your shoulder<br />
blades together.<br />
Exercising in Espoo<br />
It is important to keep<br />
in shape and look after<br />
your mobility even in<br />
these quarantine-like<br />
conditions.<br />
Text and photos Espoo Sports and Exercise Services<br />
1<br />
Warm-up: ski moves.<br />
Swing your arms back and<br />
forth in opposite directions.<br />
Allow your torso and your<br />
line of sight to turn with the<br />
movement.<br />
4<br />
Abdominal oblique<br />
muscles: rotation.<br />
Touch your fingers/elbow<br />
to the opposite knee.<br />
5<br />
Mobility: side stretch.<br />
Reach up and to the other<br />
side over your head with<br />
your arm.<br />
19
ight now<br />
Espoo is growing at a<br />
rate of about 5,000<br />
residents per year.<br />
Sustainable solutions<br />
will benefit future<br />
generations.<br />
Text Maarit Krok<br />
Green<br />
hub for<br />
sustainable<br />
mobility<br />
In the near future, a pedestrian<br />
centre and services will be<br />
developed in Leppävaara.<br />
Indicative plan of<br />
what Leppävaara is<br />
to look like, viewed<br />
from the direction of<br />
the Ring I road.<br />
Leppävaara is the third busiest public transport hub in the<br />
Helsinki metropolitan area and also accounted for one third of<br />
Espoo’s population growth last year. In 2019, Espoo acquired<br />
more than 6,000 new residents, of which 2,000 in the Greater<br />
Leppävaara area.<br />
There are three key goals for Leppävaara: condensing the urban structure,<br />
improving public transport and services, and expanding the pedestrian<br />
zone.<br />
“The basis for project development is that at present this environment<br />
does not meet the requirements of a heavy-traffic area,” says Mika<br />
Rantala, Project Director of the Greater Leppävaara area.<br />
The Sello shopping centre is the heart of Leppävaara, and the current<br />
project is intended to develop its immediate vicinity.<br />
“The ‘Leppävaara centre’ vision involves a new business park to the<br />
north and the Hatsinanpuisto business park to the east of Sello. All<br />
these are within walking distance of each other. We are seeking to create<br />
a larger city centre that can generate positive urban buzz,” explains<br />
Rantala.<br />
The redeveloped city centre is also meant to be greener and more<br />
accessible. Car parks will be relocated underground, and the bridge spanning<br />
the railway is intended to house services along with an indoor terminal<br />
space for both bus and train passengers.<br />
These projects are consistent with sustainable mobility and public<br />
transport. Several of the planned new housing estates are located along<br />
the forthcoming Jokeri Light Rail, and cycling routes are being planned<br />
along with the expanded pedestrian zone.<br />
The area is being designed according to the wishes of its residents,<br />
who have been invited to participate actively in the development work<br />
through residents’ forums and other channels.<br />
“I’ve been meeting local residents on a monthly basis under the heading<br />
Tehtävä Leppävaarassa [Mission Leppävaara], and I run a public<br />
Facebook group where people can discuss current affairs and development<br />
initiatives,” Rantala says.<br />
›<br />
20 A magazine for Espoo residents
Leppävaaran keskus (SARC Architects ltd)<br />
Aerial view of the<br />
Hatsinanpuisto site.<br />
The new business park<br />
will expand the Leppävaara<br />
urban centre<br />
around Sello.<br />
Hatsinanpuisto (OOPS, NCC)<br />
21
Projects:<br />
HATSINANPUISTO<br />
(under construction)<br />
about 100,000 sq.m of floor space<br />
(offices, hotel, housing and<br />
commercial space)<br />
VERMONNIITTY<br />
(under construction)<br />
250,000 sq.m of floor area for housing<br />
Illustration of<br />
an aerial view<br />
of Leppävaara<br />
according to<br />
current plans.<br />
Construction of<br />
the Jokeri Light<br />
Rail has begun<br />
in Leppävaara.<br />
Raide-Jokeri<br />
SCHOOL CENTRE<br />
2023–2024<br />
PUUSTELLINKALLIO<br />
(under construction)<br />
60,000 sq.m of floor area mainly for<br />
housing<br />
Leppävaara<br />
statistics<br />
LEPPÄVAARA CENTRE<br />
new railway station bridge<br />
35,000 sq.m of floor area for housing<br />
25,000 sq.m of floor area for offices<br />
20,000 sq.m of floor area for a hotel,<br />
services and businesses<br />
SÄTERINKALLIONKULMA<br />
40,000 sq.m of floor area for housing<br />
Population: 71,500<br />
Population increase:<br />
9,000 by 2025<br />
PALOKÄRKI<br />
30,000 sq.m of floor area for housing<br />
MÄKKYLÄNKUJA<br />
25,000 sq.m of floor area for housing<br />
Jobs:<br />
30,000<br />
Jokeri Light Rail:<br />
9 km in Leppävaara<br />
Services for new residents in Espoo<br />
<strong>ESPOO</strong> enjoys one of Finland’s highest<br />
rates of population growth. The<br />
City is catering to new residents by<br />
producing various info packages.<br />
Under the heading Information<br />
for residents on the city of Espoo<br />
website, there are sections for<br />
instance on housing counselling,<br />
allotment gardens and carpet washing<br />
sites. The city has also launched<br />
an English-language website, Hello<br />
Espoo, for foreign residents. The site<br />
is a step-by-step guide to the journey<br />
before, during and after moving to<br />
Espoo.<br />
The InfoFinland.fi website also<br />
provides a wealth of information<br />
about Espoo for both Finnish and<br />
international people relocating to<br />
the area and is available in Finnish,<br />
Swedish and English and also in nine<br />
other languages, including Somali<br />
and Chinese.<br />
Read more:<br />
• espoo.fi (Information for residents)<br />
• helloespoo.fi<br />
• infofinland.fi<br />
22 A magazine for Espoo residents
Human<br />
dignity is for<br />
everyone<br />
It is only natural to have<br />
prejudices about people<br />
who are different. However,<br />
there is a difference between<br />
thinking and saying things<br />
out loud. Sometimes prejudices<br />
can lead to another<br />
person’s fundamental rights<br />
being violated.<br />
› We are meeting Hanna Bäckström<br />
and Paula Åkerlund by virtual<br />
means because of the current exceptional<br />
circumstances. Because of this,<br />
it was easy for all of us to come to the<br />
meeting. That is not always the case.<br />
Bäckström is in a wheelchair, and<br />
sometimes she quite literally faces a<br />
high threshold for attending events.<br />
“In many cases, when I arrive at<br />
an event, it’s taken so much time and<br />
trouble to get there that I can’t be<br />
bothered with how confused people<br />
get when I arrive in a wheelchair,” says<br />
Bäckström.<br />
Paula Åkerlund, a Roma woman,<br />
can identify with the experience. She<br />
also often encounters open resentment<br />
and discriminatory behaviour.<br />
“It’s humiliating to walk around<br />
in a shop with a security guard trailing<br />
behind you. I can’t accept anyone<br />
making automatic judgments like that<br />
about another person.”<br />
Åkerlund is active in advocating for<br />
minorities. She used to be a member<br />
of the Espoo Multicultural Advisory<br />
Board and is now in her first term as<br />
minority representative on the Espoo<br />
Equality Committee. Bäckström,<br />
following in her father’s footsteps,<br />
represents Uudenmaan lihastautiyhdistys<br />
[Muscle Disease Association<br />
of Uusimaa] on the Espoo Disability<br />
Council.<br />
Through their respective<br />
municipal bodies, Paula<br />
Åkerlund and Hanna Bäckström<br />
are involved in the ‘Espoo for<br />
Everyone – Stop Hate Speech!’<br />
campaign, the purpose of which<br />
is to raise awareness, to foster<br />
an atmosphere of tolerance<br />
and to encourage everyone to<br />
intervene in harassment and<br />
hate speech.<br />
With the honour of representation<br />
comes great responsibility.<br />
Sometimes it is not so easy to be humble,<br />
friendly and kind.<br />
“Sometimes I’d like to be able to<br />
be bad-tempered and rude without<br />
having the entire disabled community<br />
judged by my conduct,” says<br />
Bäckström.<br />
Åkerlund admits that she has a<br />
very short fuse in situations where<br />
she feels she is being mistreated. If<br />
she has had a rough day, she may lash<br />
out at someone more fiercely than she<br />
intended.<br />
“And then they say ‘you people are<br />
always like that’,” says Åkerlund.<br />
Everyone has prejudices. When<br />
Hanna Bäckström catches herself<br />
thinking in a prejudiced way, she<br />
laughs at herself.<br />
“Stereotypes about population<br />
groups are incredibly powerful. I’m a<br />
slave to them just as much as the next<br />
person. When you catch yourself having<br />
thoughts like that, you just have to<br />
grab yourself by the neck,” she says.<br />
Paula Åkerlund stresses that<br />
no one is saying you cannot have<br />
thoughts and opinions of your own.<br />
The point is in how you express them.<br />
“You don’t always have to take up the<br />
pitchforks and torches even if you don’t<br />
approve of a particular operating culture<br />
or way of thinking. Every human<br />
being is entitled to human dignity, no<br />
matter what they are like. We all have to<br />
respect that,” Åkerlund insists.<br />
encounters<br />
Espoo is a multicultural<br />
city with a policy of promoting<br />
acceptance and<br />
cooperation between<br />
population groups.<br />
Text Tiina Parikka Photo Timo Porthan<br />
23
pearl<br />
Pentala island is one of<br />
the 11 outdoor recreation<br />
islands in Espoo. The<br />
Pentala Archipelago<br />
Museum and its services<br />
have been open to the<br />
public since 2018.<br />
Text Mia Weckström Photo Ari Siliamaa<br />
24 A magazine for Espoo residents
Life in the archipelago requires<br />
many kinds of manual skills<br />
THE Pentala Archipelago Museum is<br />
located on an old fisherman’s estate on<br />
Pentala island in Espoonlahti Bay. With the<br />
help of museum guides, you get to explore<br />
life in the archipelago and everyday life on<br />
the fisherman’s estate as it used to be.<br />
“We organise guided tours, lectures,<br />
exhibitions and craft workshops, such as<br />
net knotting, in the museum area,” says<br />
Pentala Archipelago Museum’s guide and<br />
coordinator, Ninni Finnberg whose job<br />
description includes producing museum<br />
services for the public and keeping an eye<br />
on the plants in the museum yard.<br />
The role of a museum guide on Pentala<br />
is very versatile. As well as serving<br />
customers, museum guides look after the<br />
sheep in the area under Finnberg’s tuition.<br />
“The sheep that have a summer job at<br />
the Archipelago Museum are very affectionate,<br />
and visitors to the museum also<br />
get to stroke and cuddle them when their<br />
guide takes them to the pasture.”<br />
Visitors can enjoy the archipelago<br />
nature on the 2.3-kilometre-long nature<br />
trail that starts in the museum area and<br />
continues from the former fisherman’s<br />
estate to lake Pentalanjärvi and the<br />
Diksand beach.<br />
“When planning a visit to the museum,<br />
it’s good to remember that when the Tapiola<br />
weather station shows rain in Espoo,<br />
it’s often sunny here in the archipelago,”<br />
Finnberg says.<br />
You can also explore the Archipelago<br />
Museum and the history of the<br />
Pentala island virtually using the<br />
‘Museum Without Walls’ mobile guide<br />
at tarinasoitin.fi/pentala.<br />
The Pentala<br />
ram is waiting<br />
to be let<br />
loose on the<br />
island for<br />
the summer.<br />
The Pentala<br />
Archipelago<br />
Museum will<br />
reopen to the<br />
public on 6<br />
June.<br />
25
Espoo residents<br />
Juvanpuisto is in the<br />
Niipperi district. It is a<br />
low-rise housing area<br />
favoured by families,<br />
situated adjacent to<br />
the industrial estates<br />
at Juvanmalmi and<br />
Koskelo.<br />
Text Tiina Parikka Photos Eemeli Sarka<br />
A student body<br />
with a difference<br />
At the Juvanpuiston koulu<br />
joint comprehensive school,<br />
every pupil at the secondary<br />
level can participate in<br />
pupil body activities. The<br />
pupil body also adapts its<br />
activities according the<br />
pupils’ wishes.<br />
The Juvanpuiston koulu joint<br />
comprehensive school has<br />
abandoned the traditional<br />
secondary-level pupil body<br />
elections where one representative<br />
from each class is elected to<br />
the board. Instead, pupil body activities<br />
are structured around teams that any<br />
pupil may join according to their interests.<br />
“We have about 580 pupils, and some<br />
100 of them are on these teams. Next<br />
autumn, we plan to have all new pupils<br />
pick a team that they want to join. If<br />
there is no team that they’re interested<br />
in, we’ll set up new ones according to<br />
their interests,” says Headmaster Vesa<br />
Äyräs.<br />
The largest teams are the café team<br />
and the environmental Vihreä lippu<br />
[Green flag] team, which also admits<br />
pupils from primary school.<br />
“The café is open two days a week.<br />
The team is divided into smaller groups,<br />
with each group tending to the café for<br />
one week. We shop for baking supplies,<br />
bake the products and sell them. It’s<br />
a great way to learn about customer<br />
service and how to run a business,” says<br />
Mandi Isopahkala.<br />
Everyone may contribute however<br />
they can. Kerttu Kantomaa joined<br />
the international team initially as an<br />
observer but has since become one of its<br />
key members.<br />
“The international team takes care<br />
of guided tours for visitors. We have a<br />
lot of foreign visitors coming to view the<br />
Finnish school system in action and to<br />
see our school in particular. The best<br />
thing is meeting people from different<br />
cultures. It’s also good practice for performing<br />
skills and of course for communicating<br />
in English,” says Kerttu.<br />
There are many ways of working,<br />
and how often the teams meet<br />
depends on what they are doing. Kaisa<br />
Koivunen is on the international<br />
team and is also a member of STEM,<br />
a team for pupils interested in science<br />
and mathematics.<br />
Niipperi<br />
• Population: 3,364 (31 Dec 2018), of which<br />
over 600 of comprehensive school age<br />
• Located in northern Espoo, along<br />
the Ring III road<br />
• Most of the 3.9 sq.km of the area is owned<br />
by the Espoo Ringside golf course<br />
• Two shops: a barber shop and a florist’s shop<br />
• Two youth halls, open alternately<br />
“Last year, our activities included an<br />
escape room,” says Kaisa.<br />
Mandi, Kerttu and Kaisa are also on<br />
the board of the pupil body along with<br />
Adele Silvennoinen.<br />
“We don’t actually elect the board<br />
members. It’s the most active people<br />
that get to be on the board,” says Adele,<br />
who herself is on the café, international,<br />
communications and environment<br />
teams.<br />
Coordinating teachers look after<br />
team operations, but everything is very<br />
free and informal.<br />
The teams are set up according to<br />
pupil interests. There is a scooter badly<br />
in need of repair stored at the school.<br />
The scooter, the spare parts needed and<br />
the mat on the workshop floor were<br />
acquired with a project grant received by<br />
the northern Espoo local chapter of the<br />
Mannerheim League for Child Welfare.<br />
“We work on the bike whenever we<br />
feel like it, on breaks and at other times<br />
too. The idea was to sell it by auction in the<br />
spring, but that was put on hold because of<br />
the coronavirus,” says Petrus Tahkola.<br />
Team activities are important for<br />
adolescents in a district where there are<br />
not many places to hang out. This operating<br />
model is being extended to two<br />
other schools in the Niipperi district.<br />
Opportunities<br />
for success<br />
THE unusual pupil body at Juvanpuisto<br />
forms part of a broader project to<br />
orient adolescents’ interests towards<br />
positive things.<br />
“All too often it’s the individuals<br />
who do stupid things that get all the<br />
attention among young people. It’s<br />
normal to explore your boundaries and<br />
to experiment with new things, but we<br />
want to focus on the positive,” says<br />
Headmaster Vesa Äyräs.<br />
The pupil body teams concept<br />
was launched at Juvanpuisto three<br />
years ago. With meaningful activities<br />
provided for the pupils, there have<br />
been fewer problems for instance during<br />
breaks. The concept now involves<br />
other schools in the district along with<br />
daycare centres and networks.<br />
“We hold intoxicant abuse seminars<br />
for parents in the evening to find<br />
ways for young people to engage<br />
actively. Pupils can now lead clubs<br />
for younger children, and parents and<br />
local businesses have offered their<br />
support for pupil teams,” says Äyräs<br />
and continues:<br />
“It’s nothing new, of course. You<br />
know, ‘it takes a village to bring up a<br />
child’.” At the turn of the millennium,<br />
there were dozens of clubs led by parents<br />
in the Juvanpuisto area, but they<br />
faded away. Now it is time to become<br />
active again.<br />
The pupils themselves wish that<br />
the youth facilities that there are in the<br />
district would be open more often.<br />
26 A magazine for Espoo residents
Kerttu Kantomaa,<br />
Adele Silvennoinen,<br />
Mandi Isopahkala<br />
and Kaisa Koivunen<br />
are all members<br />
of the pupil body<br />
board.<br />
Petrus Tahkola<br />
found his thing on<br />
the moped team.<br />
The idea was to<br />
repair and sell a<br />
scooter, but the<br />
sale had to be suspended<br />
because of<br />
the coronavirus.<br />
Mandi Isopahkala<br />
and Kerttu Kantomaa<br />
know that<br />
the classic ‘mocha<br />
squares’ are a big<br />
hit at the café.<br />
There is time to<br />
bake for instance<br />
during breaks.<br />
”<br />
foreign<br />
Our school<br />
receives a lot of<br />
visitors.<br />
27
Swedish in Espoo<br />
Espoo has strong<br />
Swedish-speaking<br />
roots. As recently as the<br />
1920s, 70 per cent of<br />
the population spoke<br />
Swedish.<br />
Text Jenni von Frenckell Photos Espoo City Museum<br />
This island in the Espoo Archipelago has not<br />
always been known as Pentala. Over the years,<br />
it has also been called Bentsall and Pentari. The<br />
earliest reference to the island by name dates<br />
from 1540, when it was referred to as Bentsall,<br />
notes Tryggve Gestrin, a curator at the Espoo City<br />
Museum.<br />
“Etymologically, the name was a combination of the<br />
Swedish first name Benedictus – Bengt – and the Finnish<br />
ending ‘-salo’ which means a large, wooded island,”<br />
explains Gestrin who has researched Pentala’s history.<br />
Pentala is located at the entrance to Espoonlahti bay<br />
and is one of the Sommaröarna – the ‘Summer Islands’, or<br />
Suvisaaristo in Finnish. It is not surprising that in the past,<br />
the most important source of income in the archipelago<br />
was fishing.<br />
“Pentala is a typical old fishing village. The inhabitants<br />
made their living from high seas fishing, and it was primarily<br />
Baltic herring that filled their nets. Most of the catch was<br />
kept by the inhabitants for their own use, and to pay the<br />
lease for the cottages. What was left over was then sold at<br />
the Market Square in Helsinki,” Gestrin describes.<br />
Sea fishing was demanding, but the Pentala fishermen<br />
were skilled masters of the art of sea fishing, recounts<br />
Gestrin.<br />
“In the 18th century, the explosions at Suomenlinna sea<br />
fortress posed a challenge, because they frightened the fish.<br />
This forced the fishermen to fish far out at sea, and not everyone<br />
made it back.<br />
In addition to fishing, the residents of Pentala hunted<br />
seabirds and seals and engaged in agriculture. The inhabitants<br />
primarily grew potatoes and other plant-based food<br />
for their own use.<br />
People on the pier<br />
of the Nyholm<br />
fisherman’s estate in<br />
the summer of 1933.<br />
Unknown photographer.<br />
Man and woman in a<br />
speedboat adjacent<br />
to the pier of the<br />
Nyholm fisherman’s<br />
estate in the 1940s.<br />
Unknown photographer.<br />
In 1776, the island of Pentala<br />
in Espoo was inhabited<br />
by 22 Swedish-speaking<br />
inhabitants. Nowadays, the<br />
island welcomes visitors to<br />
the archipelago museum<br />
where the residents of Espoo<br />
can learn about Pentala’s<br />
history.<br />
Pentala Island<br />
– a historical<br />
archipelago<br />
community<br />
28 A magazine for Espoo residents
The main building<br />
of the Nyholm<br />
fisherman’s estate<br />
in 1937. Unknown<br />
photographer.<br />
In those years, Pentala belonged to the<br />
villages of Svinö and Moisö, which had been<br />
owned by Espoo Manor since 1640. It was<br />
also Espoo Manor that established the first<br />
fisherman’s cottage on Pentala in 1758. At<br />
the end of the 19th century, the island had<br />
three cottages. There were also several residential<br />
buildings and villas, including Gurli’s<br />
house.<br />
“Gurli’s house belonged to the fisherman’s<br />
widow Gurli Nyholm. She was the last<br />
resident to live on Pentala year-round, even<br />
in the 1980s. Her husband Arvid was the<br />
island’s last fisherman,” Gestrin describes.<br />
The oldest preserved fishing cottage on<br />
the island dates from 1791. The cottages and<br />
villas served as an extra source of income for<br />
Pentala’s fishermen.<br />
“We know that the first summer tourists<br />
to rent accommodation in Pentala did so as<br />
early as the middle of the 19th century. The<br />
guests were primarily officials and burghers<br />
who wanted a break from the crowded capital,”<br />
Gestrin said.<br />
No precise data exists about the development<br />
of the island’s population. Yet thanks<br />
to old church books from 1776, it is known<br />
that there were then 22 Swedish-speaking<br />
people living on Pentala.<br />
“Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries,<br />
the inhabitants of Pentala were mainly<br />
Swedish-speaking, which was also the case<br />
elsewhere along the coast. Finnish only<br />
gained a stronger influence in the archipelago<br />
in the 20th century, when the archipelago<br />
became accessible via highways,”<br />
Gestrin explains.<br />
In 2010, the buildings on Pentala underwent<br />
an extensive renovation. Every object<br />
found in the course of the renovation was<br />
catalogued.<br />
“In the attic of the fisherman’s cottage,<br />
200 pairs of shoes and a small sealskin cap<br />
were discovered. In the old days, you didn’t<br />
throw anything away. New garments were<br />
made out of old materials,” explains Gestrin.<br />
Today Pentala Island is dotted with summer<br />
villas. In the summertime, the villas are<br />
primarily used by descendants of the original<br />
homeowners.<br />
Since the summer of 2018, Pentala also<br />
serves as an archipelago museum.<br />
“<br />
Gurli Nyholm was<br />
the last inhabitant<br />
of Pentala.<br />
29
we<br />
Nature in Espoo is<br />
like Finland in miniature:<br />
we have the sea and the<br />
archipelago in the south<br />
and the rugged<br />
wilderness of Nuuksio<br />
National Park<br />
in the north.<br />
Test your<br />
Finnish with this<br />
crossword puzzle!<br />
Book prizes!<br />
Espoo for the nature tourist * from June to August 2019<br />
145,200<br />
tourists,<br />
of which from<br />
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79,700 * 11<br />
outdoor<br />
5<br />
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of nature paths at<br />
Hanikka, with<br />
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crossword puzzle<br />
recreation islands<br />
44 metres<br />
above sea level<br />
at the observation<br />
point on Kasavuori<br />
>300 species of birds<br />
to be seen in the Laajalahti<br />
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Mark the letters from the orange boxes (1–14) below and send the answer with<br />
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30 A magazine for Espoo residents
The Villa Museum Villa Rulludd is an uncommonly<br />
well-preserved example of early villa architecture<br />
along the entire Uusimaa coast. The museum is a<br />
time capsule of the summer holidays of the culturally<br />
active Kihlman family. They enjoyed summers at their<br />
villa for six generations until the villa passed into the<br />
ownership of the City of Espoo in 1980.<br />
Memorial book of Agneta Kihlman, 1936–1941. This<br />
page in the memorial book shows a drawing made by<br />
Agneta’s aunt Agnes Kihlman, an arts teacher, of the<br />
Päijänne pavilion at Villa Rulludd in 1937.<br />
my espoo<br />
Further information: kulttuuriespoo.fi/en/rulludd<br />
Swimming, previously<br />
regarded as a pastime<br />
of the common people,<br />
became popular among ”the gentlefolk.<br />
Summer<br />
villas dot<br />
the islands<br />
Villas were big in the 1920s<br />
and 1930s. The bourgeoisie<br />
of Helsinki used to migrate<br />
to their villas in Espoo for the<br />
summer to enjoy crayfish<br />
banquets, swimming and<br />
social life in general.<br />
In 1920, Espoo was a<br />
rural municipality with a<br />
population of less than<br />
9,000. Growth and<br />
urbanisation began in<br />
the 1940s.<br />
Text Hanna Leino Photo Espoo City Museum<br />
› Espoo became a choice destination for summer residents<br />
in the 19th century when upper-class folk and merchants<br />
from Helsinki began to seek out the peace and quiet of the<br />
countryside in Espoo. City homes were cramped and maintained<br />
to strict standards to keep up appearances, and there<br />
was little potential for outdoor recreation.<br />
Back in the day, people with villas did not just pop over for<br />
the weekend – they relocated there for the entire summer.<br />
They would pack up a cartload of items, including linens<br />
and tableware. Their servants came with them, of course.<br />
They journeyed by steamship and boat from the Market<br />
Square in Helsinki to maritime Espoo. There were clusters<br />
of villas particularly in Degerö (now Laajasalo) and on the<br />
islands off Espoo, amidst lovely landscapes but conveniently<br />
served by local shipping.<br />
These villas were not summer cottages as we understand<br />
the term today. They were designed as fully liveable<br />
leisure residences with several outbuildings such as gazebos<br />
and bathing houses, the latter typically perched on the<br />
end of a jetty. Swimming used to be regarded as a pastime<br />
of the common people, but gentlefolk soon took it up when<br />
the outdoor life came to be idealised at the turn of the 20th<br />
century.<br />
Conceptions about appearances began to shift too:<br />
tanned skin and muscle tone were no longer regarded as<br />
coarse and common. Tennis and other outdoor sports<br />
were embraced by gentlefolk, and gardening was keenly<br />
adopted as a hobby. Villa gardens flourished. Villas had<br />
balconies and terraces on which to enjoy sunny summer<br />
days, and plenty of windows to admit the abundant summer<br />
sunlight.<br />
Such settings were ideal for hosting guests, and<br />
Midsummer bonfires and crayfish banquets in August<br />
could bring together families from several villas.<br />
While the better-off lived it up at their villas, the poor<br />
folk continued their everyday lives in the city. There was<br />
no such thing as a holiday for working people, so even<br />
among the gentlefolk the men who had jobs might commute<br />
to Helsinki to work by steamship.<br />
This article is based on an interview with researcher<br />
Heli Haavisto MA. In the autumn, Haavisto gives<br />
talks on the villas and other cultural-historical sites in<br />
Espoo in the lecture series Espoon helmet<br />
[Espoo gems]. The talks are held at the Espoo<br />
City Museum, and admission is free.<br />
Children of the<br />
Kihlman family<br />
on the steps<br />
of Vintervillan<br />
(Winter villa) at<br />
VIlla Rulludd.<br />
(1930, photographer<br />
unknown )<br />
31
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