These unstable times need peace – that is why we are opening a peace café in the legendary Peace Station in Eastern Pasila!
Right now we have limited resources with communicating in other languages than Finnish in our day-to-day posts. We hope that this page in English gives you an understanding of what Fredrika is about, and feel free to contact us if you have any questions! We plan to open our café in late May and once we get our stuff up and running, volunteering for us will be possible in English too.
About the café
Fredrika is a meeting place for everyone, where guests (hopefully you and your friends) can have lunch or spend the evening and get more familiar with peace-advocacy and activism in general. All our products are vegan and eco-friendly.
At Fredrika our core-values are based on creating a peaceful world with more equity, and the basis for our activity is strengthening the peace-movement and sustainable development. Our café is a safer place promoting community – discrimination in any form is not tolerated.
The café hosts diverse cultural get-togethers open to all, such as pub and music quizzes, bingo, karaoke, art exhibitions and larger events. The café also has board games and other activities, as well as social literature and magazines to read during the visit. In addition to the relaxed programme, the café focuses on social events, especially those related to the peace movement. On Fridays, once a month, we organize a “Peace Club”, where depending on the theme of the event, we invite music performers or panelists.
Why and where?
The current unstable global political context necessitates peace-advocacy and alternative views. Due to the cuts of State subsidies the situation of peace organisations is critical. Fredrika is almost entirely run by young volunteers and is supported by the Itä-Pasilan rauhankulttuuriyhdistys ry. Community-based café activities provide a channel for developing civic engagement skills and help young people in particular to find their role as activists. As the project progresses, you will also have the opportunity to volunteer, more information on that later!
The Peace Station in Pasila, Helsinki, is home to several peace organisations and action groups, as well as a popular venue for gigs and meetings. We work in close cooperation with the other organisations based in the Peace Station. Our operations are non-profit and all proceeds are used to develop the café, organisation and peace work.