A representative from the Children’s Wood attended the 5th InTransit meeting in Helsinki. InTransit is a cultural project run by the Goethe Institut that connects 15 citizens’ initiatives from Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Scotland, England, Ireland and the Netherlands that promote co-operative projects and user-led urban planning processes in their neighbourhoods, cities and villages.
First day of the event started at Oranssi Youth Centre presenting and discussing the projects in attendance: Oranssi and Yhteismaa based in Helsinki, Röstanga Tillsammans from southern Sweden, GivRum from Copenhagen, Gängeviertel from Hamburg and The Children’s Wood. It was interesting to hear about other projects and different ways of working towards better communities and more accessible spaces for citizens.
Second day started with an inspiring visit to Malta House based in a new Jätkäsaari district of Helsinki, where citizens live in collective housing where common areas are shared between residents of a high rise flat. The day continued with a visit to an old Cable Factory that is now used as Finland’s largest cultural complex made up of art studios, rehersal rooms and offices to name a few. The delegates then attended a public discussion at Laituri titled ‘How can and do citizens participate in the building of their city?’.
The meeting ended with a visit to Restaurant Day, where delegated sampled ‘fish and Chips’ from Social Kitchen set up by Yhteismaa.
Representatives from Children’s Wood will attend another 2 meetings in the coming months to exchange experiences and share best practice with other centres involved in the project.
For more information about InTransit and projects included, please visit: http://www.goethe.de/ins/se/prj/int/abu/enindex.htm
