The Homelike Oulu - Oulu omaksi (2008-2011) European Social Fund project, which is funded by the Centre for Economic Development, Transport, and the Environment for Northern Ostrobothnia and the City of Oulu, focuses on developing the early stages of guidance and counselling services for immigrants as well as the adding of an international viewpoint to the provision of basic services for the City of Oulu. Three new services have now been opened based on the project for those immigrants already living in Oulu, or contemplating moving to Oulu, as well as those parties working with the target group in one way or another: native language advisory services, the Info Bank local information section on Oulu, and the event calendar for the ever more international city.
The new native language advisory service is available for personal service in Chinese (Monday), Russian (Tuesday), Turkish (Wednesday), and Thai (Thursday) from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the City of Oulu service point Oulu 10, located at Torikatu 10. The native language advisors provide assistance in many everyday practical matters including housing, education, leisure activities, health, and public services. The native language advisory service was opened in May. The service will be on a summer hiatus for the month of July. Operations will continue normally, however, at the beginning of August.
The Info Bank is a national online service, which is funded by the state and municipalities, and that offers important basic information to immigrants on the operations and opportunities in the Finnish society in 15 languages. The Info Bank online service has approximately 65,000 users monthly. The Info Bank, operating administratively under the City of Helsinki Cultural Office, now also serves the citizens of Oulu because the pages have a local information section on Oulu in six languages (Finnish, English, Russian, Somali, Arabian, and Chinese). The information covers subjects such as housing, education, permits, and work.
The Info Bank pages are available at: www.infopankki.fi
An International City event calendar in Finnish and English has been opened for bulletins and notices on international and cross-cultural events, training, seminars, and other similar functions in Oulu and the surrounding areas. The event calendar is a free of charge and easy-to-use bulletin board.
The event calendar can be accessed at: http://villavictor.ouka.fi/
Published by:
Toimintakeskus Villa Victor,
Marjut Välikangas
