‘Naapuritalon Ympäristölukupiiri’ is a concept co-developed by my neighbour Ilona Maula-Tervo and me.
At its core, the idea is to create space and time for environmentally themed reading based on each participant’s personal interest in the current moment. Instead of pre-selecting texts, we encourage everyone to bring their own texts or select a text from the organisers' collection.
After a set time of individual reading, the group, including the organisers, enter a shared dialogue, drawing on what they had just read. To guide these discussions, we have selected to apply the Erätauko dialogue method, which helps to create an atmosphere where participants can share their reflections, build on each other’s ideas, and develop understanding. Based on feedback from both participants and ourselves as organisers, the concept has worked surprisingly well.
The development of the concept has been a collaborative process. Together with Ilona, we have created and developed the concept from the very beginning. Ilona has brought expertise of the Erätauko method, and I have focused on graphic design.
The visual appearance is built to be inviting and fun, since the aim of the reading circle is to keep it a low-threshold activity. I have made several posters, social media posts, invitation letters, and a 2D animation.
We are currently exploring ways to further develop and scale the concept by looking into potential platforms for future implementations and considering how it might be expanded or adapted for wider spread. We are also collecting interested organisers from all around Finland.
Photo credits: Ilona Maula-Tervo
