HelloEspoo.fi updated
We have updated the Hello Espoo website for recently immigrated Espoo residents. The content update is tied to the revision of the Act on the Promotion of Immigrant Integration that entered into force on 01 January 2025.
Espoo is growing and becoming more international. The city's growth comes primarily from abroad.
The updated Hello Espoo website, helloespoo.fi, contains information that meets the needs of new immigrants. For example, the site explains the basics of housing, childcare and finding a job. It also guides users on how to find multilingual information in the InfoFinland.fi online service or provides links to the services of the well-being services county, Kela and organisations.
Personal support from the Iso Omena Service Centre
Immigrants have the same concerns about different life stages as Finns do. The updated Hello Espoo website uses the life situations of new Espoo residents as a starting point. The content has been written for people who are unfamiliar with Finnish society, its services and Espoo.
A person’s life situation affects what services are available to them. The updated Hello Espoo website provides clear information on statutory integration services in Finland and Espoo. The site is particularly aimed at people who have been issued a residence permit less than three years ago.
When faced with a new life situation, many appreciate the option to discuss their concerns in person in addition to having information available online. The Hello Espoo Info is located in the service centre of the Iso Omena shopping centre, and it provides low-threshold advice on everyday life to foreign-language speakers living in Espoo. Help is available in plain Finnish and English. An interpreter is used if necessary.
Artificial intelligence helps expand the range of available languages
The official service languages of the City of Espoo are Finnish, Swedish and English. We encourage immigrants to study Finnish.
The updated Hello Espoo website is available in three languages. We hope that AI will help increase the number of languages available.
“Espoo is a multicultural city with 155 nationalities and 43 different languages being taught as mother tongues. We do not have the resources to translate online content into many different languages. Artificial intelligence models are constantly evolving. This year, we would like to use Hello Espoo content to test this new option and to find out whether AI-generated translations could provide information to all Espoo residents in a clearer and more equal manner,” says Development Manager Sanna Lindholm.
Currently, one in five Espoo residents and one in four school-aged children is a foreign language speaker. If the growth continues at the same rate, by 2030, one in three Espoo residents will be a foreign language speaker. In the Espoo story – the city’s strategy – one of the seven objectives for the 2021-2025 city council term is that Espoo will be “the best integrator in Finland”.
Additional information
Development Manager Sanna Lindholm, tel. +358 (0)43 825 1878, sanna.lindholm@espoo.fi
