A group of around 20 members of the far-right group, who call themselves “Soldiers of Odin” arranged a show off in the Puhos shopping mall in eastern Helsinki on Monday evening, frightening and intimidating immigrants. Puhos is a small shopping mall adjacent to Itis. The outdated mall has been rented out to mainly ethnic shops and restaurants. Visitors of the mall are almost all from Somali, Kurdish, Arab and other immigrant groups.

Tino Singh, Green party candidate for Helsinki

Election Talk gives candidates running in the municipal elections a chance to discuss their views on the increasingly international aspect of Finnish society, as well as how this will affect their work if they are elected. Voting will take place on 9 April 2017, with advance voting between 29 March and 4 April. The opinions expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Helsinki Times.

An interview with Tino Singh.

Many people in Finland know Tino Singh. Whether this is from his days in musical theater and dance, his pop music in the 1990s, his business activities, or his role as an activist, he’s a popular chap. Taking a break from his busy schedule, I sat down with Tino to discuss his life in Finland and his decision to stand as a candidate for his hometown of Helsinki in the upcoming municipal elections to be held on April 9th, 2017.

Peter Hackman, Swedish People’s Party candidate for Helsinki

Election Talk gives candidates running in the municipal elections a chance to discuss their views on the increasingly international aspect of Finnish society, as well as how this will affect their work if they are elected. Voting will take place on 9 April 2017, with advance voting between 29 March and 4 April. The opinions expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Helsinki Times.

Finland is becoming increasingly international and there are now a record number of people living here with foreign, non-European backgrounds. Some have come to Finland because of marriage, others have come here to study or work, and some have received asylum due to refugee status. In addition to work, participating in education at various levels is the best way to integrate and become an active part of Finnish society. It is therefore very important that these people have free access to education, at all levels, here in Finland.

Pedro Aibéo, independent candidate for Helsinki City Council running through the Left Alliance party

Election Talk gives candidates running in the municipal elections a chance to discuss their views on the increasingly international aspect of Finnish society, as well as how this will affect their work if they are elected. Voting will take place on 9 April 2017, with advance voting between 29 March and 4 April. The opinions expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Helsinki Times.

Why is an architect, who has so often written negatively about voting in elections, now a candidate for the municipal elections of Helsinki?

Laura Nordström, Green party candidate for Helsinki City Council

Election Talk gives candidates running in the municipal elections a chance to discuss their views on the increasingly international aspect of Finnish society, as well as how this will affect their work if they are elected. Voting will take place on 9 April 2017, with advance voting between 29 March and 4 April. The opinions expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Helsinki Times.

Helsinki is now an international place. Every day we become more connected with the rest of the world. This is the right direction to be going in and needs to be supported by municipal policies.