My Oulu: Kickstart to You Belong Here antiracism campaign

When I was invited to join Oulu for All as one of the four project coordinators, I thought to myself, this initiative is too important and too great to pass! So right after the bustle of Midsummer and in the midst of the beautiful summer light, I got on the bus with a ginormous backpack and my dog to start a new chapter of my life in Oulu, a place I had never been before.

Oulu IS for All

Oulu for All project is dynamic, activating and inclusive. It confronts racism from all angles and with different population groups.

For example, project coordinator Petri Juka has been organising Anti-discrimination forums, which are free and open to the public and soon dialogue sessions that will include families, children, different business owners, for example residing in Tuira and Kaukovainio to convene and discuss different topics. Dialogue is needed in order to nurture understanding. We may not all have the same belief system, but we do need to respect each other’s differences as well as similarities.

Päivi Suhonen is coordinating Finland’s first ever Anti-racism Support Centre. This is specifically for people who have been directly affected by racism so that they get the help and guidance needed – anywhere from filing a criminal report to having somebody listen to what you have experienced.

Paula Lähdesmäki-Wilson is focusing on promoting diversity and antiracist practices for the city of Oulu’s workers. She will arrange training that responds to skills and knowledge needed to make Oulu’s hiring processes and staff more inclusive, more accessible, more equitable, and more welcoming for a growing diverse workforce.

My role is with youth and young adults in schools and youth centers all around Oulu. I have been giving them antiracist tools and knowledge through art practise and experiential methods.

Project chiefs Priyanka Sood and Teija Leinonen are leading this team. With a well-rounded, sharply strategic yet human-centred approach to fighting and preventing racism, I had to say yes to coming on board with the impressive Oulu for All team.

You belong here

Since late June, I’ve hit the ground running with the work I’d like to do with youth and young adults. The summer art workshops at Nurkka were very inspiring as I could immediately see how open and creative not only the youth were, but also the youth workers.  This inspired me to develop You Belong Here antiracist campaign, which will last until the of the project, December 2027.

The campaign consists of workshops at schools and youth centers all around Oulu, art exhibitions made by youth and young adults, You Belong Here Adventures, and exercising norm-critical thinking through open dialogue and art and culture with the possibility to publish a participant’s opinion piece in Kaltio, the cultural magazine of the North. Collaborating with different groups and institutions such as Nuorten Oulu, Oulun nuorisovaltuusto ONE, Oulu Art Museum, Oulu Museum and Science Centre, is essential as antiracism and growing a sense of belonging needs to be addressed not only as a co-creative process, but also from an intersectional standpoint.

You Belong Here campaign is based on the intention to ensure that you know you are invited, you are needed, you are important and that you have the possibility to show up and express yourself just as you are. By developing self-awareness our empathy for others can grow and more peace can enter our world.

So much groundwork and experimentation have already been covered! With the students at Oulu International School and Myllytulli School, we already had a few You Belong Here art workshops. Students can vote on the topic and the art technique for the 2-part workshop. The 8th graders chose to explore the theme ‘Why do I feel this way?’ through comics and the 9th graders chose to deepen their understanding of unconscious biases and cultural diversity through wearable art and sound art.

In collaboration with Helena Korpela and eight young adult Influencers (Vaikuttajat) from The Peace Education Institute, we developed ”What do I Need?’ a workshop and installation, which activated important reflections on what makes one glow, happy and shine.

Alli Teirikko from No Hate Speech Network and I co-developed and co-facilitated ‘More love, less Hate speech’ art workshops with Tuira’s youth centre and Tuira school.

All of these initiatives have been able to transpire within just a few months! I believe that this was made possible due to the collective wanting to learn and do more for society, the want to love more as well as to be loved. You Belong Here is about making the invisible visible and creating meaningful creative connections.

Making meaningful connections

As an artist, an equality worker, an educator, an immigrant, a person of mixed race, a woman, and a human that is forever curious being able to be a part of Oulu for All is extremely meaningful both personally and professionally. I look forward to seeing how my identities evolve over the next couple of years as I am sure my experiences with you all will impact me greatly in a positive way.