Case Kontula: Conversational encounters and information in the local languages

From the point of view of foreign-language entrepreneurs, the most essential factors for participation are access to information in their own language and conversational encounters during the mall’s development. It is crucial to consider the target group’s needs when designing interactions. The experiment we conducted was praised in part because the methods were designed with this target group in mind: entrepreneurs with an immigrant background.

A third of the participants first heard about the mall plans during our experiment. Another third had heard about the project during the architectural competition in 2020, and the rest before. Before our experiment, the entrepreneurs obtained information on the spot at the mall, for example, during general meetings, from city representatives, or at events organized by the city. A small number have been informed about the project through local actors.

The results of our experiment show that there should be more discussion around the development project. Now, the debate occurs in face-to-face encounters on the spot in the mall or at events organized by the city. Although there are active actors in the area (such as the Veto and Voima Mellunkylään project), these have not reached the respondents to our survey. Social media has also not been used as a channel for discussion on this issue.

As official information about the project has yet to reach all the stakeholders, wild rumors are circulating among entrepreneurs about the future of the mall. It is worth investing in information, as sufficient and correct information is a prerequisite for effective interaction. The information package developed in our experiment brought together the main elements of the information available. It contributed to the dissemination of information to entrepreneurs.

This is an English version of Pilvi’s blog, which you can find here.