Friendship and communities – How international residents are supported in North Savo

There are several pathways in North Savo designed to help international professionals become part of local life. One of them is the City of Iisalmi’s Bridge Builder initiative, and another is the municipal buddy community in Keitele. Both are based on volunteer work.

The City of Iisalmi launched its Bridge Builder initiative at the 2025 By Iisalmi seminar to support international professionals. Bridge Builders are local individuals who want to support residents with a foreign background living in Iisalmi.

In Keitele, meanwhile, a municipal buddy program was launched in 2022. Municipal buddies are volunteers who help newcomers settle into a new locality by offering assistance, information, and companionship.

Bridge builders supporting immigrants

Bridge Builders can help people who have moved to Iisalmi from abroad with everyday matters such as grocery shopping, finding hobbies, or learning how things work at the swimming hall. The activity is voluntary, and a builder may decline a meeting if they wish, or the meeting may be a one-off.

“Builders also get to decide for themselves what they want to share about their own lives and stories. Of course, it can help an immigrant to hear about experiences of integrating into a new environment,” says Anni-Erika Ylönen, Internationalization Coordinator for the City of Iisalmi.

Bridge Builders themselves are immigrants, but all have a good level of Finnish that allows them to communicate. Ylönen estimates that it may be easy for a newly arrived immigrant to ask builders for help with small everyday matters, such as shopping.

Peer support and encouragement

The Bridge Builder initiative was piloted at the By Iisalmi seminar, where builders supported seminar guests in the Meet & Connect section. The purpose of the section was to allow immigrants to go directly and talk with employers. In addition, one employee of the City of Iisalmi acted as a tutor-builder at the seminar.

“Builders were involved in opening up conversations and making sure that all seminar guests felt included in the event,” Ylönen says.

Bridge Builders have attracted attention as a new form of volunteer activity in the city. Educational institutions in particular have shown interest in the initiative, so that students could make use of it in their studies and act as builders themselves, for example at events.

“I hope that immigrants receive peer support and encouragement from builders, for example when arriving in Iisalmi in the middle of the darkest and coldest winter. Finnish society can also involve many small things that take time to learn and may seem puzzling. These experiences can be shared with a builder,” Ylönen notes.

Municipal buddy program included in Keitele’s strategy

The municipal buddy program in Keitele was developed together with local residents in 2022. The framework for the activity was created in workshops facilitated by Maahenki, where participants discussed the starting points, resources, and practices of the buddy program. Between 10 and 20 people took part in the workshops, and as many as 13 committed buddies joined already at the early stages.

“The municipal buddy program was built from scratch to reflect Keitele itself, without any ready-made models. No strict framework has been set for being a buddy either: everyone who was interested was—and still is—welcome to join,” says Niina Vuori, Training Planner at The Association for Rural Culture and Education.

The municipal buddy program in Keitele, a municipality of about 2,000 residents in North Savo, began when it was written into the municipal strategy. The purpose of the activity is to answer the question of how a small municipality can attract permanent residents. Municipal buddies encourage new residents and involve them in developing the community.

Friendships are formed too

One of Keitele’s municipal buddies is Elviira Vironen, who has been involved in the program since its inception. In the early stages, buddies organized events for immigrants where they could meet municipal buddies and receive support in navigating cultural differences. For example, events were arranged to introduce participants to Finnish ways of celebrating holidays.

“Nowadays, municipal buddies work more on an individual level, for example as walking or conversation companions. I myself have become friends with several of the people I mentor, and we go for walks together,” Vironen says.

Vironen moved to Keitele from Russia. She is an Ingrian Finn and is also fluent in Russian. Thanks to her language skills, she has helped many Ukrainian, Latvian, and Estonian immigrants. She emphasizes the importance of language skills: learning Finnish would improve employment opportunities so that families would not need to move elsewhere for work.

Municipal buddies help with integration

Municipal buddies have played an important role in maintaining a sense of community and supporting the integration of immigrants. Vironen regrets that many buddies have retired or otherwise stepped away from the activity.

“However, there are still active municipal buddies. They teach immigrants things like baking, preparing traditional foods, or otherwise help them integrate into the local community,” Vironen says.

She sees cooperation between local actors and recruitment companies as important, as they serve as a link to employees. Vironen also reminds us that Keitele’s local industry has become more international, increasing the need for multilingual professionals.

Text: Minna Akiola

Photos: The City of Iisalmi, Kuntakummit, The Association for Rural Culture and Education, Petra Kuha

Sources:

https://msl.fi/maahenki/asiakastarinat/keitele/
https://msl.fi/maahenki/keiteleen-kuntakummitoimintaa-rakennetaan-yhdessa/