TURKU PEOPLE PARTICIPATION PROJECT - participation as a tool for local empowerment

Turku's People Participation Project (TPPP) answers the goals of social and municipal policy practised at both national and EU level. The destiny of the European welfare society is largely dependent on securing a functioning triumvirate of social protection, employment promotion and preventing disaffection. Co-supporting Turku project resources are directed at breaking the vicious circle of people non-participation. TPPP will harness different city quarters as growing bases for a communal citizens society.

TPPP aims at increasing people´s opportunities for participation and influence. There is a strong precedent for the work, and the various part-projects contain the know-how to get people involved in a local democratic process. Achieving even better results requires networking, and in turn co-ordination. The project is mainly realised at local levels, in residential areas. Core groups include youths, families at home with children, the unemployed and those who are ageing. Part-projects pay special attention to the needs of the unemployed and immigrants. Turku's part-projects are gathered under a common umbrella so that each part retains its distinctive characteristics. Project activities are co-ordinated by the City Office and controlled by a broad-based Consultative Committee for this project, led by the Mayor.

TPPP crosses traditional administration borders. It develops a genuine dialogue between different municipal sectors and between communal, NGO and residential interests. Activities directed at common goals are complemented with the special skills of each party involved. The local partnership actors include residents, volunteer organisations (NGOs), communities, city quarter associations and other bodies as well as different City administration offices, the Church an local enterprise activity outcomes. The work has a. Co-ordination and evaluation view, b. Resident view and c. Partnership view.

ICTULA -project
is information and communication  technology use with Local Agenda 21. It is an international, European research project, encouraging people to participate in the land use planning, real estate and building planning in their neigborhood level. The core idea is to use new techonology in people`s participation dealing with the mentioned issues.