International Family Support Network Visited Family Centre in Espoo

Representatives of the International Association of Family Support Networks (IAFSN) visited the Espoo Family Centre in September to learn about Family Centers and Open Meeting Spaces in Finland. Established in 2024, IAFSN is a global network aimed at promoting family well-being and sharing best practices among countries. Its members include Networks of Family Resource Centres [AR1] from Australia, Canada, France, Finland, Ireland, and Sweden.

The visitors to Espoo included Andrew Russo, IAFSN Co-Founder (USA), and Maria Kruse, Board Member of both the IAFSN and the Swedish network of Family Centers, and Coordinator of the Family Centre in Salem, Sweden. During the visit, Miia Kivilinko, Head of Service Unit in our Wellbeing County, and Elina Wetterstrand, Coordinator for the Family Centre’s meeting place, presented the centre’s activities. Pia Sinkkonen, Service Manager, introduced the maternity and child health clinics services. The guests explored the daily operations of the Family Centre and engaged in discussions with visitors at the multicultural meeting café hosted by Espoon Monikulttuuriset Lapset ja Nuoret ry. The event provided an opportunity to exchange experiences on family support, multicultural work, and building community.

For Russo, familiar environments include not only the U.S. but also Canada and Ireland. Practices can vary significantly worldwide, especially regarding collaboration with organizations. Russo found the Family Centre’s broad cooperation with multiple partners particularly interesting:

“When I compare this to how such centres are organized in other countries, the model here seems different. The idea that many organizations come together to provide services would be quite unusual in other countries, where typically one organization is contracted to provide everything,” Russo explained.
“The concept there is to have the same staff at the center everyday who build relationships with families. In your model, the organizations facilitating activities, and the communities coming to participate in them vary.”

Cultural differences strongly influence how parenting and community are shaped in different countries. Kruse reflected on how individualism is emphasized in Sweden and its impact on parent interactions:

“Sometimes it’s a cultural clash in how we parent, because in Sweden we are mostly individualistic. We know the saying ‘it takes a village to raise a child,’ but today in Sweden we are far from that,” Kruse noted.
“When cultures meet, someone might feel nervous about saying something to another person’s child or parent. For example, is it acceptable to tell a child they can’t do something?”

Kruse’s thoughts highlight how the tension between community and individuality challenges professionals and families to find new ways to support children’s growth in multicultural settings.

Network-based co-creation sparked enthusiasm among the visitors, though they noted it requires patience and persistence to bring stakeholders together for genuine development. According to Wetterstrand, co-creation in meeting place activities is implemented through dedicated days where visitors, organizations, and staff jointly discuss and agree on practices and develop programs based on families’ needs:

“In Western Uusimaa, collaboration with municipalities and other actors is the foundation of our work,” Wetterstrand said.
“Without joint efforts, we couldn’t serve our clients well enough.”

This visit itself was a form of co-creation and part of broader international cooperation aimed at strengthening family support expertise and developing services to meet diverse family needs. The Finnish Family Centre model and meeting place activities attracted great interest among the international guests, and the exchange of experiences was considered rewarding on both sides.

“Such international visits are significant for developing Family Centre operations, as they allow us to reflect on our practices against how similar client groups are served elsewhere and gain new perspectives. In many areas, we are already advanced, but there is always room for improvement,” Kivilinko concluded.

[AR1]Networks of Family Resource Centres