A Sociological Travelogue

Abstract

On a chilly day in May 2007, in a Helsinki city hall meeting room, two groups gathered to ponder issues of local democracy. One group was from Lyon and its surrounding areas in France, while the other was from the hosting city of Helsinki and its surrounding areas in Finland. The visit was initiated by the French group, which consisted of the leader of the Rhône-Alpes regional council, local councilors and leaders of party junctions from Lyon, members of the regional opposition, as well as members of different local associations, who wished to learn from experiences of local democracy abroad. The Finnish group had been chosen in order to respond to the request of the visitors in the best possible way, and included Helsinki city officials, Helsinki Urban Fact Center’s researchers (and one sociologist), and representatives of several associations, such as a the umbrella organization of Helsinki neighborhood associations. The introductions, however, showed that the first group consisted of French citizens — citizens and only citizens, one could say, as each participant repeated this status with care and emphasis. The Finnish participants, in contrast, introduced themselves as representatives of various organizations, and specified meticulously each of their affiliations.