Neighbour mediation was initially launched as the KOTILO project (2006-2008), coordinated by the Finnish Refugee Aid Association and funded by the Finnish Funding Agency for Social Development (RAY) and the Ministry of the Environment.
The aim of the KOTILO project was to create practices to improve the quality of housing in areas with a high number of people with a migrant background. The project focused on the prevention of conflicts between residents, including through housing counselling, the production of material and training, but also on the mediation of conflicts that have already arisen. KOTILO cooperated with the Finnish Mediation Forum in mediation activities and the neighbourhood mediation model created in the framework of the project was tested primarily in the properties of Espoon kruunu Oy (now Espoon Asunnot), VAV Asunnot Oy, Myllypuron Kiinteistöt Oy, TVT Asunnot Oy and Tampere Vuokratalosäätiö.
The project was coming to an end in 2013, but funding was still available for 2014. The housing counselling and related training activities were closed and the activities were further refocused on mediation, for which RAY awarded a new grant for 2015-2018. The Centre for Neighbour Mediation was established in January 2015 as a project coordinated by Finnish Refugee Aid.
In 2015-2018, the activities were extensively developed. Networks were established with key housing actors in key locations, training activities were organised, a model of co-mediation was created to address increasing conflicts between asylum seekers and the general population, andNeighbourhood mediation handbook.
The Centre for Neighbourly Mediation was transferred from the Finnish Refugee Aid Association to the Finnish Mediation Forum at the beginning of March 2019.Since then, the number of cases has been increasing and the activities have been further developed to meet the increasing demand. Volunteer resident mediators have been mediating in Tampere and Helsinki since 2020 under the guidance of the Centre's professional mediators. In 2022, the effectiveness of mediation started to be monitored through a long-term follow-up to assess customer satisfaction, the level of peace in housing and the effectiveness of mediation. The model and modalities of community mediation were strengthened to better reflect the handling of conflicts in large estates and residential communities. In the education sector, mediation training has become an established part of the additional training offered by many companies. New thematic trainings were developed and started to be offered from 2024 onwards. The Centre for Residential Peace receives additional income from its trainings to run its activities.
The activities are funded by the Social and Health Organisations Support Centre (STEA). Project staff can be found in the Contact tab.
