Programme & Infos
⚠️ ‼️ Please always carry your ID, because in some places it might be required to show it! Thank you!
⚠️ ‼️ Please carry warm clothes, gloves, scarfs and an umbrella, because it's cold in Finland ☃️❄️💦
Contact
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⁉️ Emergency number for Flights (Italian number):
+39 02 36104 396
💬 Your Event Manager:
🇫🇮 Your Contact in Finland:
TBA
📲 Useful Apps & Links
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- For buying public transport tickets, it is useful to use the 🔗 HSL app
- If you want to share an Ueber, please don't forget to name all participants in the reimbursement form.
🔗 Here are more infos on the procedure. - To ensure a sustainable exchange, we’ve created an online Community of Practice—a dedicated space to:
- Share and discuss lessons learned from the exchange (adhering to confidentiality).
- Stay connected with other EU-PROMENS participants, including those from other hubs.
- Registration Required via EU Login:
EU-PROMENS Community of Practice on EPALE
✈️ Airport Shuttle
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We understand that commuting during early morning hours can be challenging, particularly when public transport options are limited or unavailable at certain times.
We will organise travel arrangements in Helsinki if you arrive after midnight or need to be at the airport before 8am. As soon as the contract with the hotel is finalised, we will share the details with you.
For departures and arrivals at the airport, you have the following options:
- Be dropped off by someone using a private car (reimbursed at €0.22 per km, up to a maximum of 100 km). Please note we do not reimburse parking or car hire.
- Share an Uber or taxi with others (up to 20km).
- Take public transport such as a train, metro, or bus. Please purchase your tickets directly.
- Please avoid taking a taxi or Uber individually, as we generally do not reimburse those expenses. If you need to be at the airport before 7 AM, please contact me directly.
All public transport that you need to use will be reimbursed. We kindly remind you to retain all receipts (or tickets). Reimbursement for your travel expenses will be processed after the event, once you have signed the attendance sheet. We don’t reimburse taxis but if there is other option, and you are sharing it, we make an exeption.
⛱️ Your Freetime: Weekend
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You will be in the Programme from Monday to Friday. On weekend days, you are free to enjoy your free time (when you arrive on Sunday, you also are free to enjoy leisure time).
Please note: Your hotel room is paid. However, we don’t reimburse any costs related to your travel or other expenses connected to your leisure time. All expenses during your leisure time will be covered by you.
But: You will receive per diems for the whole stay. Meaning: your arrival on Sunday & your departure on Saturday will be reimbursed with the lower travelling fee. All other days, including the weekend, will be reimbursed with 21,60€ per day if lunch was provided, and 43,20€ if lunch was not provided.
🚲 Travel Recommendations for your Leisure Time
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🧢 TBA
🛒 Grocery Stores
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- Weekdays (Monday to Saturday): Most grocery stores, including major chains like K-Market, S-Market, Prisma, and Lidl, are open from approximately 7:00 or 9:00 AM to 9:00 or 11:00 PM. Some stores might close earlier on Saturdays.
- Sundays: Grocery stores typically open from 12:00 PM to 6:00 or 9:00 PM, though smaller stores may have more limited hours.
- Market Halls (e.g., Kauppahalli): These often operate Monday to Friday from 7:00 AM to 5:30 PM and Saturdays from 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM
🛍️ Other Shops
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- Weekdays (Monday to Saturday): Most shops open between 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM. Larger shopping centers and stores in cities like Helsinki and Tampere may extend their hours on certain evenings, often until 8:00 or 9:00 PM, particularly on Thursdays and Fridays. This extended time is comparable to the Dutch "shopping evening" tradition
- Sundays: Non-grocery stores in major cities, including Helsinki and Tampere, generally open on Sundays from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM, though smaller businesses may have more limited hours or remain closed altogether
🍽️ Restaurants & Cafés
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- TBA
🏨 Hotel
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TBA
Check-in is typically available from 3:00 PM. However, we will inquire if early check-in can be accommodated for those arriving earlier. If early check-in is not possible, you will have the option to leave your luggage at the reception and explore the city until your room is ready.
Checkout is at 12:00 PM. Should you require a late checkout, please note that it must be arranged and paid for directly by you.
📚 Recommended Reading List
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This reading list contains links to EU-Commission documents on the “comprehensive approach to mental health”, overarching European initiative which is structured around three core principles: prevention, access to quality and affordable care, and reintegration into society after recovery. The EU-PROMENS, capacity building in mental health project represents one of the 20 flagships and is implemented through a tripartite consortium from GFA, TRIMBOS and MHE.
Please find in the following links to European country profiles, guidelines from World Health Organization, especially focused on Community Mental Health services for your convenience and inspiration. Participating in the EU-PROMENS Exchange Programme you will gain an overview about selected community mental health services guided by one of EU-PROMENS six partner institutions in Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, Spain and the Netherlands. Programmes for these exchanges were carefully developed in 2024 by EU-PROMENS multidisciplinary team together with six experienced institutions (hubs), you can find links to all these institutions below.
Sustainability: To make this exchange programme a sustainable endeavour, we invite all participants to engage in a dedicated community of practice on the European platform for adult learning - EPALE. Once registered on this free platform, you have access to a variety of different learning offers from various other projects from all over Europe too.
Here is the reading list, click on the title to collapse:
EU - Commission website: Comprehensive approach to mental health
A comprehensive approach to mental health - European Commission (europa.eu)
EU - Commission best practices portal
European member states health systems country data profiles - including mental health (2023)
Country profiles focused on mental health reform via European Joint Action Ja-IMPLEMENTAL including best practices on suicide prevention and mental health country reform status
WHO Resolutions on mental health
EU-PROMENS Community of Practice through the EPALE platform
OECD 2021 Benchmark for Mental Health Systems
2023 Mapping of over 800 services and initiatives from Culture for Health initiative - all over Europe
WHO website with publications and guidelines on Community mental health services available in many languages
Nature paper on Grand challenges in Global Mental health 2011
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on the European Commission website (CRPD ratified by EU in 2010)
United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - European Commission
Mental Health Europe Glossary
WHO-International classification of diseases chapter V
Best practices portal of the European Union Drugs Agency
European Alliance against Depression
European health technology Assessment
EU-PROMENS HUB Partner in Spain
Who we are | The Foundation | Recerca Sant Joan de Déu (sjdrecerca.org)
EU-PROMENS HUB Partner in Austria
EU-PROMENS HUB Partner in Czech Republic National Institute of Mental Health
EU-PROMENS HUB Partner in Croatia School of Medicine
Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine – School of Medicine (unizg.hr)
EU-PROMENS HUB Partner in Finland
EU-PROMENS HUB Partner in Netherlands
🔍 Draft Programme
The programme is tentative, and a detailed overview will follow soon
We are currently arranging accommodation and will provide further details as soon as possible. The planned itinerary is as follows:
- 30 March – 1 April 2025:
All 75 participants are in Helsinki. - 1 – 7 April 2025:
37 participants are in Tampere, 38 participants stay in Helsinki. - 7 – 10 April 2025:
We switch: 38 participants in Tampere, 37 participants in Helsinki. - 10 – 12 April 2025:
All 75 participants in Helsinki until departure.
HIGHLIGHTS
Specific Site Visits |
- Gain insight about Neuvola-system to promote the maternity and child health Maternity and child health clinics - Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (stm.fi)
- Visiting the centre for culture and mental well-being
- Learning about Finnish unique suicide prevention methods
- Visits and increase in knowledge about E-Health projects of Finland
- Visit to the Silta-Valmennusyhdistys ry to learn about community rehabilitation for released prisoners
- Gain insight to Valo-Valmennusyhdistys ry projects that promote the mental health of vulnerable people in many different ways
- Visits to special vocational training centres
Hybrid Conclusive Workshop |
- Hybrid conclusive workshop to report findings and insights gathered from observations during shadowing visits, workshops and working visits.
- The conclusive workshop will include a variety of partner organizations and national agencies.
Roundtable Discussions |
- The program offers the opportunity for the participants to have spaces of reflection, discuss the learnings of the visits and exchange experiences.
LEARNING FOCUS
Prevention and Promotion
- Learn about activities for refugee/migrant and other vulnerable populations in Finland
- Discover innovative ways to promote mental health for the new family
- Get opportunity to look in-depth into how suicide prevention systems work
Rehabilitation
- Unique opportunity to learn about Finland’s approach to rehabilitation of former prisoners towards a crime-free life and interact with Silta-valmennusyhdistys ry community rehabilitation for released prisoners.
Community based mental health approach in practice
- Learn about different models of social housing for homeless and interact with professionals in the field
- Gain knowledge on the bridging of psychiatric treatment - hospital/non-residential care and community-based services.