Kurikkalainen Reijo Hamalainen served as a member of the Liiver board for six years. When the term was up, he stepped down from the activity, but a certain interest in it remained. So he returned to the board this year as a representative of the city of Kurikka, when the opportunity was offered.
– Everything is developing forward, so of course I agreed to be involved again to see what things could be implemented together, he says.
He sees Leader activities as enabling community development activities in the area it covers.
– I think the big point is that this operating model brings different actors together. For example, the municipality, village associations and many other parties are involved. For villages, Leader funding is particularly important, for example, for village halls, which organize various events that can generate income for village associations, but they are not a huge business. Therefore, funding is always needed to maintain and develop the activities of village halls.
In addition to projects of general interest, Hämäläinen reminds us that Leader activities play an important role in starting new businesses, further developing existing businesses, and making investments.
– It is a comprehensive way of increasing the vitality of rural areas.
Developing village safety
Hämäläinen sees that the safety aspect has recently been emphasized in local development work, which is a theme he is familiar with through his work.
– When I started my job as the emergency manager of the city of Kurikka, we set out to advance issues related to village safety through the development association's village project.
To improve village safety, the city of Kurikka organized a readiness exercise a little over a month ago, involving all the village project leaders of the South Ostrobothnia Leader groups. According to Hämäläinen, the Liiveri village project plays an important role in promoting village safety.
– Through the exercise, we sought a model that could be replicated throughout the province through a village project. I believe that the importance of village houses in village safety will grow. For example, in the event of a major water outage, village houses could be provided with water distribution points or, in the event of a major wildfire, a place for a control center.
– If funding could be found to ensure backup power, the village hall could, for example, serve as a message, evacuation or contact center during a major power outage. In addition, current topics in terms of village safety include the purchase of defibrillators, and village safety tables, which would bring together city or municipal decision-makers, various authorities, the parish, organizations and village residents to discuss issues.
– They are also useful forums for finding new, common operating models and joint development from the perspective of overall security, Hämäläinen states.
Looking forward to the new season
Hämäläinen, who has been on a long break from Leader activities, is looking forward to the new season with interest.
– I expect that we will have good discussions, ideas and projects again, and above all, that everyone is around the same thing, he says.
Hämäläinen also hopes for cooperation projects between the Leader groups in Kurikka. Jalasjärvi in Kurikka belongs to Leader Liiver, and Kurikka and Jurva to Leader Suupohja.
– Even though one piece is completed at a time, the development never ends.