City of Espoo’s Voxit discussions have started: you can now make a difference!
The digital Voxit participation platform of Espoo was opened to residents on 1 September. The first two Voxit discussions concern the wellbeing of people with functional difficulties or reduced mobility and the wellbeing of children and young people, and they will take place during September.
In the Voxit discussions, Espoo residents can express their opinions on the topic selected by the City of Espoo by voting on relevant statements. Participants may also add their own statements to the discussion, expressing their opinion and changing the course of the discussion.
Voxit discussions can first be tested by Espoo residents with functional difficulties or reduced mobility. The Voxit discussion on their wellbeing will open/opened on 1 September and will continue until 26 September.
You can add new statements to the discussion until 13 September, after which you can vote on statements until the discussion is closed. This ensures that all statements are answered.
All Espoo residents with any characteristic, disability, handicap or perhaps an age-related challenge that makes everyday functional capacity, mobility or accessing services more difficult, among other things.
“I am encountered as an equal.” “I encounter extra challenges or obstacles in everyday life because of my functional difficulties or reduced mobility.” What do you think? Express your views in the Voxit discussion for people with functional difficulties or reduced mobility(external link, opens in a new window).
Children and young people express their opinion
The second Voxit discussion beginning in September concerns the wellbeing of children and young people. It will open on 8 September and remain open until 2 October.
Children and young people aged 10–29 living in Espoo are welcome to participate in the discussion. They can comment on the following statements, among others:
“Cell phones should be banned during recess.” “I feel safe when out and about in the city.”
How does that sound? For more information about the discussion and participation, visit the Voxit home page.
Espoo will also survey the opinions of children under the age of 10 by visiting primary schools and day-care centres with the Voxit platform.
Voxit discussions will provide the city with valuable information on residents’ needs, wishes and wellbeing as well as what topics Espoo residents agree and disagree on. The results of the discussions will be used to support the planning and development of services and decision-making.
For example, the September discussions will be an important help for the city when preparing its future Wellbeing Plan, which will define the focus areas of wellbeing work in the coming years.
“I hope that we will hear opinions that have not occurred to us. In the future, Voxit discussions may also make it easier to make difficult decisions by allowing us to hear which issues Espoo residents support extensively,” says Marianne Sepponen, responsible for developing resident inclusion in the City of Espoo.