Think Africa Democracy Action Team (TADAT)

October 18, 2021

Every vote counts.

As the immigrant population of Finland grows, the need for a body to champion minority- centred issues becomes acute and vital.

Statistics repeatedly indicate that the majority of immigrants of African descent do not vote, and figures from the municipal elections of 2017 show that only 23,9% of eligible immigrant voters exercised their right to cast a ballot.

The Think Africa Democracy Action Team (TADAT) proactively seeks solutions to address this challenge through advocacy for change, creating awareness and spotlighting issues that contribute to voter apathy among the African diaspora in Finland.

TADAT recognises democratic participation as a fundamental human right and strives to inform the African population in Finland about their democratic rights and being part of the political decision-making process is at the core of our ‘Engage, Promote and Empower ’ goals at Think Africa.

The Project aims to:

Understand the real deficits of democratic and civic participation and begin the process of dialogue with African immigrants through identified channels.
Influence policy development that better includes African students who otherwise are sidelined from accessing integration services offered by the municipalities.

Process: Grassroot outreach

1. Content production and dissemination

Production of “Harambee” Podcasts on various themes. Harambee in Swahili means “Pulling Together”
Production/dissemination of 2 vlogcasts promoting better inclusive integration services in municipalities
Publication of blog posts addressing the needs and desires of Africans for democratic participation. Read the Blog
Raising awareness on African immigrants and students issues

2. Forming Alliance, Collaboration and Advocacy

One of the main learnings from Sitra Lab intervention is the need to work closely with partners and stakeholders, and build alliances and networks that enable us to reach out to the diverse target groups and impact the change we want to see in Finland. Multiple conversations need to happen amongst different interest groups and stakeholders, knowledge and understanding should be established to advocate for the rights of and to raise awareness on the dire need of integrating students to access integration services such as Finnish language and employment services. Therefore, we developed a cooperation and partnership strategy document that identified four core goals.

Goal 1. Empowering and engaging African immigrants to be proactive citizens and actively contribute to society through democratic participation and civic engagement.

Goal 2. To ensure African descents voices, and narratives are appropriately represented, to impact and contribute to improving the media narratives of African immigrants in Finland

Goal 3: By exploring the benefits from contributions made by Africans to Finnish society, we hope to exert impact on the integration agenda and influence government policies in reshaping, redesigning, and refocusing and contributing to foster good relationships in society.

Goal 4. Enhanced cooperation with Moniheli, Sitra Lab and Good Hair Day for the sustenance of TADAT initiative. If and whenever available, apply for grants, and projects that give technical and financial support to TADAT.

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