Neighbourhood mothers 2017 Neighborhood mothers: Community change agents | Page 5

The Neighbourhood Mothers as Community Change Agents Project promotes community development and social inclusion by strengthening the active participation of women from different ethnic backgrounds. The project aims to empower women by identifying, recognizing and utilizing their skills and competencies. The project fosters the anchoring of community-based activities by enabling women develop and implement activities that are based on the existing needs of the women themselves in their local areas. The project uses the previously developed Neighbourhood Mothers’ model in the Helsinki capital region (Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa) and the South Karelia region. Neighbourhood Mothers implement community and needs-based activities (facilitating groups, acting as mentors and providing peer support) and events that are targeted toward women and families in their local areas. These activities are geared towards promoting social inclusion, active participation, recognition of skills, and most importantly – the development of innovative actions for community cohesion.