Kauhajoki International

Project
• Name: ’Tervetuloa kotiin, Suupohjaan!’ (Welcome home to Suupohja!)
• Funding: European Social Fund, municipalities in Suupohja
• Project period: 15.10.2008-14.10.2011
• Managing organisation: Suupohjan Elinkeinotoimen Kuntayhtymä (The Coalition of Municipalities for Economic Development in Suupohja region)

• Budget: 270 000e.
• Project manager (immigration coordinator), Vietnamese trainees
• Demand for the project from local companies
• Immigration strategy for Suupohja Region 2008
Aims

• Creating a model of integration for Suupohja region
• Educating local people for multiculturalism
• Preparing different agencies and offices for dealing with immigrant customers
• Success in work-based immigrants permanently staying in the region
• Support for successful multicultural work environment
INKA
the International Center of Kauhajoki Region
Integration

• Integration into society in Kauhajoki – Finland - Europe
• Social integration = the movement of minority groups such as ethnic minorities, refugees and underprivileged sections of a society into the mainstream of society. Members of the minority groups thus gain full access to the opportunities, rights and services available to the members of the mainstream.
• Social integration goes hand in hand with social solidarity.
• Personal process
• TWO-sided process: integrating immigrants into the life and society in Finland, but also introduce multicultural issues to local Finnish people
• Finland aims to integrate the foreigners living in Finland as rapid as possibly and in a permanent way to equal member of Finnish society.
• The importance of own culture and language is noticed to have benefits both for the immigrant as well as for the Finnish society. The purpose of integration is not to make the immigrants culturally same as the Finns, or to merge immigrants to original population.
• Examples of integration issues: knowledge of Finnish society (how it works and how one can be an active member in it), language, joining in the economical, political and social life in Finland, gaining independency in everyday life, knowledge of culture, habits and values in Finland

Contact us:
Tervetuloa kottin, Suupohjan!
PL 112 (Teknologiapuisto 1) 61800 Kauhajoki