Feminist Futures Helsinki
Hackathon Showcase
31.5.2021



This is the showcase of the 12 projects that emerged from the Feminist Futures Helsinki hackathon 2021.The showcase was hosted by Eva Duran Sánchez, Henriette Friis, Helmi Korhonen, Nitin Sawhney, and Eve Nieminen from Futures Feminist Helsinki.






Inclusive Futures Track



Challenge 1: Naisasialiitto Unioni

Project Idea: Reproductive Justice

Imagine an equitable reproductive policy – how might you create equal policies for conceiving, childbearing and childbirth for all birthing parents regardless of gender identity, class, social standing, ethnicity and body type. Consider the ethics of concepts such as surrogacy and egg and sperm donation. How does power show up in the current systems, and what would a feminist future for reproductive justice look like?

Beyond that, what might be the role of Naisasialiitto Unioni (The Feminist Association Union) in creating and supporting these futures?climate debate in a more intersectional direction in Finland.








Challenge 2: Reform MIGRI

Project Idea: Stories of Struggle

The most important request in this petition is to set up an inclusive and diverse external committee to monitor the form. Representatives of different groups, e.g. student unions, entrepreneurship society, asylum seekers, and artists, will ensure the needs of their members will be taken into consideration for future policy-making and service redesign.

What are the right criteria to select representatives for this external committee to ensure inclusiveness and diversity? Or is there another alternative solution? How can immigrants applying for different visas with diverse backgrounds be treated equally? How can such a solution facilitate a more inclusive future for Finland? For example, an inclusive and diverse workforce. How might the team turn the testimonials about all those individual experiences into a strong, collective form of resistance that can turn into political action?






Challenge 3: City of Helsinki

Project Idea: Volunteering for Seniors

How might we better and proactively recommend volunteering for elderly or senior citizens in Helsinki and by doing so both support and enhance seniors physical, mental and social health and feeling of belonging but also design future proof volunteer journeys? How can we support passive senior citizens to take action in their communities? Can we as the City of Helsinki facilitate this journey somehow? How do we ensure that seniors with different backgrounds are seen as individuals?






Well-Being Futures Track



Challenge 1: Fem-R

Project Idea: Dreaming of a Feminist and Anti-Racist Internet

Fem-R wants to host a nationwide debate on Dreaming of Feminist and Anti-Racist Internet in Finland - keep in mind that in Global South such conversations have taken a long time so this is an opportunity to also amplify the activist voices from the Global South and for Finland to learn from the Global South. How should the debate be organised and what platforms should be used? What should be the outcomes of the discussion and what would be different after the debate? How would we ensure an interdisciplinary approach in the conversations? Would debate itself be sufficient or can we magnify the scope?








Challenge 2: Naistenlinja / Turv@verkko

Project Idea: Supporting persons who have experienced Gender Based Online Harassment

The team providing the Turv@verkko services are struggling to fully reach the target audience that they want to help. What creative ways could you imagine utilising to spread the information about their offerings? There are no resources for large scale marketing campaigns.

Consider how we could motivate women and non-binary people who have experienced online harassment to use our services. What are their needs? What are their concerns?






Challenge 3: Fem-R

Project Idea: Sustainable Activism

How can we provide healing and support to those activists who suffer from digital violence that does not further burden an organisation that works on volunteer-basis? Could Fem-R perhaps offer training on how to navigate in online spaces or what to do when someone experiences hate speech?

Platforms like 4chan and Ylilauta where hate speech often brews are (unfortunately) gifted at organising hate speech campaigns: What can we learn from these platforms to mobilise support for those who experience hate speech in a similar manner?








Urban Futures Track



Challenge 1: FEMMA

Project Idea: Inclusive Participatory Planning – Cities Built for the People

Even if people are able to participate in urban planning, participation doesn't automatically mean that the city becomes more inclusive. How can we plan so that the default is not (only) a white able-bodied white-collar man? How can urban planning better take into account people that are often excluded from the decision making processes?








Challenge 2: Lapinlahden Lähde

Project Ideas:
1. Collaborative Lapinlahti Platform

How to engage people and organisations of Lapinlahti to share and combine their expertise even more and to participate in the co-development and joint decision making of the Lapinlahti area and its future?

2. Safe and Inclusive Lapinlahti Space

How to develop Lapinlahti and its premises physically and psychologically to feel even more welcoming, accessible, inclusive and safe for its tenants, volunteers, visitors and everyone?

3. Increased Lapinlahti Influence and Impact

How to connect the Lapinlahti community and its activities and offerings even better to the surrounding society and service network, make the Lapinlahti community even more known, acknowledged and appreciated among the relevant stakeholder groups, increase Lapinlahti’s positive impacts and measure and communicate these impacts?





Challenge 3: FEMMA Planning

Project Idea: Loneliness-free cities

Loneliness has long been an issue in cities and covid certainly has not improved the situation.How can we plan for loneliness-free spaces or spaces that enhance social possibilities without forcing anyone to be under social pressure.







Eco-Justice Futures Track



Challenge 1: Climate Move

Project Idea: Intersectional Climate Movement

We (Climate Move) think that the climate debate in Finland should recognise and listen to different perspectives and voices, especially the voices of marginalized people and of those whose lives will be most affected by climate change. We think that solving the climate crisis should be more inclusive and intersectional. How could Climate Move as a volunteer based activist organization contribute to this development here in Finland?

So far, we have for example tried to make our own activities more accessible to everyone and started a climate podcast with an intersectional perspective. Our goal is to take the intersectional perspective even better into account in our own activities, to encourage other organizations and climate activists to do the same, and to change the climate debate in a more intersectional direction in Finland. We are happy and grateful to hear any ideas or solutions that could help us on our journey towards these goals!








Challenge 2: Ellos Deatnu + Snowchange

Project Idea: Strengthening Sámi Allyship

When it comes to Eco-Justice, Sámi people have long known and told what the issues and solutions are in the Finnish context. Unfortunately, the Sámi communities have been historically and systematically silenced. Being a minority, with only approx. 8,000 - 10,000 Sámi people living in Finland, their concerns and struggles are neither heard nor addressed in mainstream discussions. How might Sámi allyship be improved in Finland? What kind of support can non-Sámis provide for the communities?





Challenge 3: Ellos Deatnu + Snowchange

Project Idea: Spaces for Dialogue

How might we create and maintain spaces where people can meet across generations, backgrounds and experiences, recognising these histories in Finland but also looking to the future(s) of the environmental movement? Every person’s different daily routines are the basis where it all starts from. How could that space help individuals recalibrate their own horizons and find a common ground for next steps? What kind of practices would help people stay sane in this new reality - seeing the world that we know is disappearing and seeing that something is coming which is alien to us.