Vaasa is often described as one of Finland’s most international and multilingual cities. More than 100 languages are spoken in the city, and people representing approximately 120 nationalities live, study, and work here.
International migration has played an important role in the city’s development, while universities, educational institutions, and workplaces continue to attract newcomers from around the world. According to the City of Vaasa, multilingualism has become a defining characteristic of the city and an important part of its identity.
Despite this diversity, many everyday experiences within migrant and international communities remain largely invisible in local media narratives. Public discussions about migration often focus on labor markets, language requirements, integration policies, or demographic trends. One key problem is the lumping of immigrants and refugees into a group, which obscures the enormous diversity and, at worst, the humanity of immigrants (Chouliaraki, Georgiou, Zabarowski, 2016; Kotilainen & Laine 2021).
While these issues are important, they do not always capture how people actually experience life in a city. They rarely tell us how people build friendships, learn languages, navigate uncertainty, establish routines, or develop a sense of belonging.
As a migrant journalist living in Vaasa, I have often reflected on this gap. Through conversations with international students, newcomers, multilingual families, and long-term residents with migrant backgrounds, I have encountered stories that reveal a more complex picture of life in Finland.
Some people describe meaningful connections and successful integration. Others speak about loneliness, uncertainty, limited social networks, or the challenge of feeling at home in a new society.
Many experiences, all of them realities at the same time.
This project was created from the belief that local journalism should reflect the people who actually live in a community. Journalism is not only about institutions, policies, or official statements. It is also about everyday experiences, relationships, identity, language, and the ways people understand their place in society.
Why Belonging Matters?
Starting a new life in an unfamiliar environment often involves uncertainty, adaptation, and a range of personal challenges. Among these, developing a sense of belonging is one of the most important.
When people are unable to imagine a future for themselves in a new place or feel disconnected from the society around them, it becomes difficult to identify with that community or actively contribute to its development and well-being.
A sense of belonging transforms the relationship between individuals and their surroundings. It allows people to move from feeling like outsiders to seeing themselves as part of a shared community. Through belonging, people are more likely to build social connections, participate in community life, and develop a sense of responsibility toward the places and people around them.
This project focuses on migrants, international students, and multilingual residents living in Vaasa and the region around it. Through in-depth interviews and community-based reporting, I aim to document experiences that are rarely explored in depth by local media. Rather than presenting people as abstract social categories, the project seeks to create space for individuals to speak in their own voices and share their own perspectives on life in the city.
The themes explored in these stories may include language learning, education, employment, social relationships, cultural adaptation, identity, belonging, and everyday encounters. Some stories may examine the challenges of navigating Finnish society as a newcomer. Others may focus on opportunities, resilience, and the positive experiences that help people feel connected to their communities.
The project is informed by research on migration, belonging, and urban life. In The Enduring Neighborhood Effect, sociologists Robert J. Sampson and Brian L. Levy argue that people’s opportunities and social experiences are shaped not only by where they live but also by where they move, interact, and spend time in their daily lives. Their research suggests that access to social spaces and networks can strongly influence people’s sense of inclusion and participation.
Belonging is not simply a personal feeling. It is shaped by everyday encounters, access to opportunities, and the social environments in which people live.
A complementary perspective comes from Finnish researcher Marja Enbuska, whose work highlights that integration cannot be measured solely through employment or language proficiency. Instead, belonging develops through social relationships, participation, recognition, and the feeling of being accepted as part of a community.
Together, these perspectives suggest that belonging is not simply a personal feeling. It is shaped by everyday encounters, access to opportunities, and the social environments in which people live.
Vaasa as a Living Social Space
These ideas resonate strongly with the realities of Vaasa. The city hosts approximately 13,000 students across several higher education institutions and is widely known as one of Finland’s major university centres.
For many international students and migrants, daily life is shaped by movement between universities, workplaces, integration programmes, public services, neighbourhoods, and social networks. These spaces influence not only practical opportunities but also how people experience the city itself.
Researches consistently show that language learning, while essential, does not automatically create social inclusion. People build belonging through relationships, trust, participation, and repeated interactions with others.
A person may have a job, attend language courses, and actively participate in society while still feeling socially disconnected. At the same time, small acts of recognition, friendship, and inclusion can have a significant impact on a person’s experience of a place.
This project therefore approaches migration not primarily as a policy issue, but as a human experience. It asks simple but important questions:
- How do people experience everyday life in Vaasa?
- What spaces make them feel welcome?
- What barriers do they encounter?
- How do language, identity, and social relationships shape their experiences?
- What does belonging mean in an increasingly international city?
Journalism as a Space for Dialogue
The project also reflects the role of journalism itself. How can local media better represent multilingual communities? How can stories be told in ways that are accessible, respectful, and inclusive? How can journalism encourage dialogue between different groups rather than simply reporting about them?
These questions are increasingly relevant as Finnish society becomes more diverse. Journalism plays an important role in helping communities understand themselves and one another. By creating space for underrepresented voices, journalism can contribute to a more informed and inclusive public conversation.
Multilingual Voices of Vaasa is being developed within the Pomedia environment connected to the University of Vaasa and supported through a journalism development grant from Vaasan Aktiasäätiö Foundation. The project combines community-based reporting, multilingual storytelling, and digital journalism to explore the realities of life in a multilingual city.
An Invitation to Participate
As this work begins, I am looking to connect with people who may be interested in sharing their experiences, perspectives, or ideas.
You do not need to have an extraordinary story. Often, the most meaningful stories emerge from ordinary moments, everyday challenges, and honest conversations.
If you are an international student, migrant, multilingual resident, researcher, community member, or simply someone interested in questions of belonging, identity, language, and everyday life in Vaasa, I would be pleased to hear from you.
Participation will always be approached with respect, transparency, and ethical journalistic practice. Conversations can begin informally, and interviewees will always have the opportunity to discuss how their stories are presented.
Ultimately, this project is about listening. It is about listening carefully to the experiences, aspirations, and realities that shape life in a multilingual city. Through thoughtful journalism and community-centered storytelling, I hope to contribute to a richer understanding of the people who make up Vaasa and to create a space where more voices can be heard.
If you would like to participate, collaborate, suggest a story, or learn more about the project, please feel free to get in touch. Here is also a link to share, if you know someone who might be a kind of person I am looking for: Share Your Story – Multilingual Voices of Vaasa.
Sources:
Chouliaraki, Georgiou & Zaborowski. (2016). The European “Migration Crisis” and the Media,
London School of Economics, . https://www.lse.ac.uk/media-and-communications/assets/documents/research/projects/media-and-migration/Migration-and-media-report-FINAL-June17.pdf
Enbuska, M. (2025). Boundaries of Belonging. Immigrants at home in Rural Finland. http://hdl.handle.net/10138/590560
Koivuporras-Masuka, K., Tariku, S. & Elbarbary, H. (2022). Muuttoliike mediassa. Miten kohti moniäänisempää ja vastuullisempaa journalismia maahanmuutosta? -selvitys.
Kotilainen N. & Laine, J. (2021). Muuttoliike murroksessa. Metaforat, mielikuvat,
merkitykset. Into.
Sampson, R. J. and Levy, B. L. (2022) .”The Enduring Neighborhood Effect, Everyday Urban Mobility, and Violence in Chicago,” University of Chicago Law Review: Vol. 89: Iss. 2, Article 2. https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/uclrev/vol89/iss2/2
Website of the City of Vaasa.
