Meeting at Walda

Kaija Välimaa hosted a meeting at the Walda premises in Oulu this afternoon to try and draw up an integrated programme to help foreigners in Oulu to handle day to day issues and problems. There are many organisations doing work, all of them individually, and Kaija's ambition is to focus the work to make it more effective. A noble cause,

It was interesting that our new informal organisation CHAFF was actually the best represented. Amongst the 11 people taking part, besides Kaija, who has been taking part in our Sunday Club meetings, Ildiko, Anais, Pentti, David and myself are regular CHAFF participants - more than 50% of those present. For an unknown unheard of group - we certainly dominated this meeting by sheer presence!

The discussions were interesting. It is obvious that the free form of meetings that we follow in CHAFF is far more effective than the structured and official organisations who are limited in their flexibility because of the very fact that they are finance dependent.

It was decided that an approach should be made to the City of Oulu to try to make them aware of the issues facing foreigners in Oulu, if the City of Oulu was truly intent on being developed as a multicultural international city. All present were certain that it certainly was not one presently!

Ata Bos, who works within the Business Centre of Oulu City, was given the task of preparing a short but pertinent letter about what could be done to make this vision a reality. Each of the participants could submit a paragraph. Ata would make this into a diplomatically worded document to try and get a face to face meeting with the power hierarchy of the City of Oulu.

It is obvious that our CHAFF meetings continue to be the most exciting of all the active groups.

As we are having fun, I propose that we continue our path and while giving support to others, we keep doing what we are doing till we become large enough to garner the support from all sections of society in Oulu.

See you on Sunday.