Column: Turku as a pioneer – Virtual integration environment under development
This column was published in Finnish in Turun Sanomat Alio-series on 2 January 2025.
Unemployment in Finland is high, but at the same time, it is important to look to the future. The record-low birth rate and the growth of the elderly population are weakening the age dependency ratio and causing labor shortages, which can already be seen in some sectors. Work-based immigration provides us with skilled professionals, and asylum seekers also have competence and high motivation to find employment as soon as possible.
In addition to finding employment, well functioning and easily accessible integration services are of paramount importance when striving for rapid integration into Finnish society. From the beginning of 2025, municipalities will have overall responsibility for promoting integration and employment services. Important services supporting integration include integration training, personal guidance and counselling, competence assessment and an integration plan. Integration training includes, for example, instruction in Finnish or Swedish, social studies and career guidance. Employment services provide support for employment and entrepreneurship. In addition, many basic services, such as schools and kindergartens, support integration into society and local communities. In addition to the public sector, various organizations also do important work to promote integration.
“Well functioning and easily accessible integration services are of paramount importance when striving for rapid integration into Finnish society.“
Information supporting integration has been available online for a long time, for example on the InfoFinland website in 12 languages, but services have been organized mainly on the basis of face-to-face interaction. This showed its vulnerability during the coronavirus pandemic. As part of improving productivity of the health and social services in Finland, the aim is to make digital services the primary option in accordance with the Government Program. A digital leap is also necessary in the development of integration services.
“Technology should be used to connect people, not to devide.”
In early 2025, municipalities will have a new customer information system for integration (Koto-AJ) available to integration professionals. It is equally important to have a digital service suitable for customers. Customer involvement in the development of services plays a key role. The European Union’s Digital Inclusion Strategy defines that technology should be used to connect people, not to devide. Digitalization must contribute to a fair and inclusive society and economy in the EU. The practical implementation of the strategy requires listening to the target group and identifying their needs. Estonia and Ukraine, among others, have already taken a digital leap in several service sectors.
Many large cities in Finland, such as Espoo, are launching the development of digital integration services. Development in Turku is already well under way. The EU-funded VINCE project is developing a mobile application that will support the integration services in a customer-oriented manner by means of service design. Turku University of Applied Sciences, the City of Turku, Sateenkaarikoto ry and Swedish partners are involved in the development work. In the service design process, a large sample of the target group, i.e. those who have moved to the Turku region from abroad and have lived here for a longer period of time, have been involved in the planning of the application and its content. Their experiences and wishes have been mapped out with individual interviews, group interviews and workshops. This ensures that the application will meet the genuine needs of the immigrants.
“The end result is a virtual environment to which existing integration services can be connected and new forms of service can be created.”
The mobile application that is currently under development will enable immigrants to be guided and informed about services supporting integration by utilizing artificial intelligence and metaverse technology. The end result is a virtual environment to which existing integration services can be connected and new forms of service can be created. The application enables AI-assisted information retrieval from trusted websites and translation services in more than 50 different languages. The translation service works both by voice and text. In the virtual rooms, it is possible to organize individual and group meetings between integration professionals and clients in real time, such as language courses or guidance in career services. Elements related to Finnish culture and language can be added to the virtual rooms. An example of this is a graphic model of a Nordic home, where you can study various things related to everyday life in different rooms. Turku International House plays a key role as a provider of integration services in Turku, and its services, such as appointments with customer advisors, can be provided online in the future. This is especially important from the point of view of stay-at-home parents and people living in sparsely populated areas, who find it more difficult to visit the city center.
The mobile application will be completed at the beginning of 2026, after which immigrants in the Turku region will have access to multilingual integration services in their own pockets.
Writers
Riina Riihimäki, Master of Social Sciences (Sociology), Project Manager of VINCE
Sirppa Kinos, Doctor of Social Science, Content Developer for VINCE project
Both writers are working at the Turku UAS as lecturers in the faculty of Health and Well-being and pivotal members of the Social Inclusion and Active Citizenship -research group.
