{"id":4806,"date":"2025-06-07T08:30:44","date_gmt":"2025-06-07T06:30:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tyyala.utu.fi\/turun-yk-yhdistys\/?p=4806"},"modified":"2025-06-07T08:30:46","modified_gmt":"2025-06-07T06:30:46","slug":"why-low-threshold-events","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tyyala.utu.fi\/turun-yk-yhdistys\/en\/2025\/06\/07\/why-low-threshold-events\/","title":{"rendered":"Why low-threshold events?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Why is this important to me?<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When I moved to Turku, I noticed I was missing something I couldn’t quite put into words at first. I started to feel a longing for community. I come from a culture where togetherness and being part of a community are important. Even though I was born and raised in Finland, I\u2019m still surprised again and again by how little community is emphasized here and how many people seem to long for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was raised to share, to listen, and to gather with others. Maybe that\u2019s why I felt the need to make space for that here as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where did this idea come from?<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I had been searching for a community in Turku for a long time, especially outside of universities and higher education institutions. Even though I\u2019m not currently studying, I\u2019m still involved in student circles in different ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s when the idea started to take shape, what if we created spaces where it would be as easy as possible for people to join in?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the spring, the idea finally took flight when we started planning an event concept together with our board. I was happily surprised by how many others were excited about it too.
Here are a few examples of what we\u2019ve already done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our first events<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

March – International Women’s day Workshop<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Our first event was held on International Women\u2019s Day in collaboration with UN Women. This day has always been important to me, and I wanted to highlight its origins: International Women\u2019s Day began with the labor movement in the early 1900s, particularly with the 1917 women\u2019s strike in the Soviet Union.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our event, we reflected on the role of women then and now and wanted to remind people that the day isn\u2019t just about flowers and chocolate, though those are nice as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

April – Urban Gardening Workshop<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In April, we hosted a gardening event in a university courtyard. The idea came from our board\u2019s event coordinator. We wanted to give people the chance to start their own balcony or windowsill gardening. Participants learned which vegetables and herbs can be grown at home, which is especially relevant in today\u2019s economy, where everything keeps getting more expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To our surprise, many passersby stopped and joined in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May \u2013 Tea and Multiculturalism<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In May, we celebrated International Tea Day and the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development with a joint event in collaboration with Kirjakahvila and the Estonian Center. We offered teas from around the world and explored the tea cultures of different countries. The event sparked conversations and encounters the very things we aim for in all of our events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why low-threshold events?<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We want to organize events that are truly accessible and community-centered. Here are four reasons why this matters:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Free and inclusive<\/em><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Nowadays, almost everything comes with a price. Many young people and students are left out of events due to financial or social reasons. That\u2019s why our events are always free and multilingual, at least in Finnish and English, and often in Swedish as well. Our board includes people who speak various languages, and we aim to reflect that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. A third place<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A \u201cthird place\u201d refers to a space that isn\u2019t home or work\/school, but where you can spend time comfortably and feel at ease. We need more of these spaces, especially for those of us who crave connection and lightness in everyday life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. A sober option<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Not everyone drinks alcohol, and enjoying yourself shouldn\u2019t depend on it. We want to create events where you can be yourself and still have fun without needing to drink. Personally, I rarely drink, and I don\u2019t always enjoy being around intoxicated people. I know I\u2019m not alone with this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. New people and new experiences<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Our events bring together people who might not otherwise cross paths. You might discover a new hobby, an idea, or even a friend. These moments create something that feels natural, not forced but truly meaningful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s next?<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This summer, we plan to organize more events and invite our members to take part in designing what we do together. Our goal is to keep building warm, low-threshold, and safe spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope these events can be a small answer to the loneliness and disconnection many of us feel.
You are warmly welcome, come just as you are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cristina Helmi Badoi<\/em>
<\/em>Chairperson of the UN Association of Turku<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why is this important to me? When I moved to Turku, I noticed I was missing something I couldn’t quite put into words at first. I started to feel a longing for community. I come from a culture where togetherness and being part of a community are important. Even though I was born and raised […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3470,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4806","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"czr-hentry"},"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":1,"label":"Uncategorized"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"tyky","author_link":"https:\/\/tyyala.utu.fi\/turun-yk-yhdistys\/author\/tyky\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":1,"name":"Uncategorized","slug":"uncategorized","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":1,"category_count":1,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Uncategorized","category_nicename":"uncategorized","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyyala.utu.fi\/turun-yk-yhdistys\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyyala.utu.fi\/turun-yk-yhdistys\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyyala.utu.fi\/turun-yk-yhdistys\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyyala.utu.fi\/turun-yk-yhdistys\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3470"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyyala.utu.fi\/turun-yk-yhdistys\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4806"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/tyyala.utu.fi\/turun-yk-yhdistys\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4806\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4818,"href":"https:\/\/tyyala.utu.fi\/turun-yk-yhdistys\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4806\/revisions\/4818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyyala.utu.fi\/turun-yk-yhdistys\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyyala.utu.fi\/turun-yk-yhdistys\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyyala.utu.fi\/turun-yk-yhdistys\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}