How Can We Build Better Public Services Across Borders?
How can public services be improved to truly meet the needs of citizens? That was the question at the heart of a two-day networking event in Turku, Finland, organised under the Central Baltic Programme’s Objective 7: Public services and solutions for the citizens.
The event brought together projects funded by the programme to share experiences, learn from each other and build stronger services across borders. Through discussion rounds, knowledge exchange and site visits, participants focused on the practical side of project lifetimes—how ideas can be turned into solutions that work in everyday life.
Keynote speakers offered broad perspectives:
- Niina Salonen, City of Turku, reminded participants that the city has been delivering public services for almost 800 years—proof that services must constantly adapt.
- Nicolas Rossignol, from ESPON, spoke about the added value of cross-border public services, showing how cooperation can make services more efficient, fill national gaps and help border regions thrive. He also directed participants to the ESPON portal, where data findings and analyses are available for anyone looking to strengthen cross-border services.
A warm thank you goes to both speakers for inspiring participants and sharing practical tips for developing better public services.
This work is part of a bigger picture. So far, the Central Baltic Programme has funded 15 projects under Programme Objective 7, with more than €12 million. It is also the Programme Objective that attracted the most applications in the Fifth Call—a clear sign of the strong demand for better public services. More projects can be expected, bringing fresh ideas and change across the region.
From Come Strong to CoMe Stronger
One of the highlights of the event was a site visit to the Naantali Museum, a partner in the CoMe Stronger project. The project focuses on a challenge many cultural institutions face: elderly men visit museums far less than women.
In ageing societies, cultural services are not luxuries. They are vital for well-being, social connection and health. Men often make less use of them than women, partly because they feel excluded. Projects like CoMe Stronger show that involving people in co-design can close that gap—benefiting individuals, institutions and the wider society.
Thus, instead of designing services for elderly men, the project designed services with them. Groups of men in Finland and Estonia worked with curators to co-create new museum services – solutions made by them, for them.
At Naantali Museum, the men asked for an exhibition about jobs that no longer exist, and for the chance to handle real objects. Their ideas became pilots, and one exhibition is now close to launch. Visitors will soon be able to explore trades from the past, such as the weighmaster, who measured cargo for steamships; the ironer, who starched and pressed textiles for customers; and the telephone operator, who manually connected callers by plugging wires into the right holes and then ending the call.
These exhibits bring history alive in a hands-on way, rooted in lived memory and curiosity. For the museums, it is a new toolkit to attract audiences they had struggled to reach. For the men, it meant becoming active co-creators rather than passive visitors—gaining a sense of belonging and purpose.
A Project with Roots
CoMe Stronger builds on the earlier Come Strong project (2017–2019), which worked with inactive men aged 45–75 at risk of social exclusion due to unemployment, loneliness or lack of family support. Partners from Turku and Tartu created Come Strong clubs, safe spaces where men could meet, share experiences and plan meaningful activities. The model was later introduced to social and health-care professionals, providing them with a practical tool to engage and support men at risk.
Now, CoMe Stronger takes this model further, adding a cultural and creative dimension. By involving elderly men directly in shaping museum services, it both broadens participation and strengthens community ties.
Want to know more?
On 10 December, a public webinar will showcase the project’s results. The Naantali Museum, Mynämäki Museum, the Estonian Agricultural Museum and the Estonian National Museum will present their co-created services and share practical lessons on engaging elderly men as active users.
More information: Elderly Men in Museums – Webinar on 10 December 2025
