Our story

     Helsinki Friends started as a small gathering of people who were looking to make friends in a new country. Group was started in 2020 by Jamie Forrester who arrived to Finland from Scotland and, as many of us, struggle to make connections. The first idea was to make a Whats app group and post invites on social media, with the hope that other will join. After a few days the group had already about 20 people and a meet-up was arranged in a park in Helsinki. It was summer time and a lot of people from all kinds of backgrounds showed up. It was fun!

The rest is history: more and more people kept joining and the group got a name Helsinki Friends. We kept organising various meet-ups and attended events together, everything from BBQ-s to day trips to cities and islands. One thing became apparent – loneliness is a problem and people at all ages and from all countries, have a huge need for creating meaningful connections. We want to help them with that.

Now, 5 years later we are a thriving, vibrant community of about 6000 people, meeting (at least!) weekly. But, we didn’t want to stop there!
The next step was becoming a NGO and try to make an even bigger difference on a bigger scale. Helsinki Friends became a registered organisation in 2024.

At Helsinki Friends, our mission is simple: to cultivate a community where diversity is celebrated, loneliness is banished, and everyone thrives. We envision Helsinki where both Finns and expats feel not only welcomed but truly at home, where cultural differences are embraced as strengths, and where every individual is valued and included. Through a variety of events, programs, and initiatives, we strive to create meaningful connections, foster understanding, and build bridges across communities. Together, we’re not just building a stronger Helsinki; we’re building a brighter, more inclusive future for all who call this city home. 

We are collaborating with local businesses and brainstorming with our international members, to create a community for everyone, regardless of age, nationality or background.

Vision and future of Helsinki Friends consists mainly of two parts.
The first part is to keep growing our community and become a go to place not only to meet like-minded people and make new friends but also for networking for both personal and business opportunities and also for advice and recommendations concerning life in Helsinki. Our community is not only for expats living here – every year we get more Finns joining and taking part in our activities and making new connections. We also get a lot tourists who and are looking to have a good time while here. Absolutely everyone is welcome to join, we don’t have any restrictions.

This brings us to the second part which is building strong partnerships with businesses in and around Helsinki. We feel that there is power in numbers and both the community and businesses benefit from such collaborations. We are constantly looking for new partnership opportunities. Hope to see you on our meet-ups as well!