"How to be an organisation person"

An interview with Organisation Incubator Coordinator Janette Lindfors.

How and in what fields does Org. Inc. ‘increase the know-how’ of immigrant associations?

All our activities have to do with organisation life. We organise training courses on how, for instance, a board should work, how the financial side of things should be taken care of, and how to use a computer.

A very important issue is teaching individuals how to think in an organisation-minded way; how to be an ‘organisation person’. Some immigrants have never been in an association or been able to experience one up close because organisation life in their country of origin is related to politics, and thus forbidden or censored.

 

Besides the training activities, does Org Inc provide other support to refugee/ immigrant organizations? 

One of our greatest priorities is networking. We’ve been trying to set up a data bank for immigrant and affiliated organisations, but haven’t gotten very far yet. It is a definite task for the near future, though.

 

How many groups do you work with, and what kind of groups are they?

We basically collaborate with organisations with whom the FRC has worked before. During the 2005-2008 cycle we worked with fifteen ‘stakeholders’; organisations who assisted us in the implementation of the project by for instance providing people to carry out trainings. Our activities were focused on fifty to sixty immigrant associations. These groups represent an incredible variety in heritage; Kurdish, Vietnamese, Estonian, Russian, Somali, other African countries, central Asia... The size of the associations differs greatly. A group may have ten members, but it may also have three hundred.

 

What kind of assistance do refugees, individuals or groups most often request from the project?

Associations usually need help with the ‘paper’ side of things; filling out forms, writing applications, planning their strategy etc.

 

Are there other organizations in Finland which do similar work? Do their activities support yours?

No-one does the exact same work as we do, but there are a few organisations whose field of work overlaps ours on some points, but in a positive way.

 

Our project actually covers nearly entire Finland. Or it will soon, at least. Right now we offer assistance in Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Pirkanmaa. We look forward to expanding our project to the north, with a base in Oulu.

 

What distinguishes the current project cycle (2009-2010) from the previous one (2005-2008)?

In these coming years, we will look after 5 organisations intensively, instead of spreading our resources over tens of associations. Quality is better than quantity! Nevertheless collaboration with the other ‘old’ organisations will also continue.

After this project ends in 2010, we hope to be able to get the funding and support to make Org. Inc. a permanent programme.

Text: Nora Heinonen