Community Developers
The goal of the Community Developers’ work is to promote the wellbeing of the people living in Vantaa and to develop Vantaa's Community Work.
From left to right: Salli Allén, Mirja Varjoranta, Maria Jantunen and Emilia Henttunen-Dufvelin.
Why do we do Community Developing?
We want to improve the opportunities of all Vantaa residents. Our aim is to ensure that no one is left alone.
We aim to promote wellbeing in Vantaa and improve the opportunities of all residents to participate in our community. To achieve this, we support local communities and community spirit.
Our work focuses on the major regions of Koivukylä and Myyrmäki, but we also operate in the major regions of Hakunila, Kivistö, Korso and Tikkurila.
We want all of Vantaa's residents to have equal opportunities.
What do Community Developers do?
- We establish connections with locals and had a presence in the areas.
- We provide and pass on information.
- We bring people and groups together.
- We develop Vantaa's Community Work.
Each of us two Community Developers have our own regions where we work. We work together with local people and take into account the specific characteristics of each region.
We worke in the City of Vantaa’s Youth and Community Services, but we also cooperate with other services.
Background to the Community Developers work
The City of Vantaa established the Regional Programme of Positive Action (MEK) to promote the wellbeing of people living in Vantaa. The aim was to reduce disparities in wellbeing between residents and regions. MEK comes from the Finnish words: Myönteinen ErityisKohtelu (positive special treatment)
The MEK-programme ended in December 2025. The Community developers started working in the City of Vantaa's regional Community Work's team. In the team Emilia Henttunen‑Dufvelin and Maria Jantunen continued workin with Dommunity Development. Salli Allén and Mirja Varjoranta returned to their positions as Community Workers in the same team.
Read more about the City of Vantaa's Community Work by clicking the following link: https://www.vantaa.fi/fi/vapaa-aika-ja-harrastukset/yhteisollinen-toiminta-ja-tilat/yhteisotyo-pahkinankuoressa.
The contact details of the Community Developers stayed the same. You can find the contact details at the bottom of the webpage.
MEK-Community Developers final report
The Community Developers’ work in the MEK-programme ended in December 2025. Because of this, the Community Developers wrote a final report about their work during the MEK-programme 2023–2025. The final report is written in Finnish. Click on the link below to read the final report.
