MIA HAFRÉN
Municipal election candidate in Helsinki 2025 – Independent
MIA HAFRÉN
I am a 51-year-old Helsinki resident living in Kulosaari, born in Loviisa.
Actor, singer, solution-focused therapist, and entrepreneur.
I want to see clear progress in how we as a society and as individuals focus on sustainability – socially, economically, and environmentally. In my work as a therapist, I see up close the effects of decisions that have lost focus on people. For me, it is clear that culture and nature support our well-being. I want to see long-term thinking and responsibility in decision-making. I am running in the municipal election because I have a responsibility. My choices have consequences, as do yours. How we act today shapes the future. There is no room for indifference.
My focus areas
WELL-BEING
As a mother, bonus mother, partner and chairperson of Marthaförbundet, I am involved in family issues of various kinds. The well-being and faith in the future of young people need to be supported with concrete actions.
ENVIRONMENT
As an urban outdoors person, I choose solutions that support a functioning and prosperous local environment that positions Helsinki as a pioneer for climate-smart action.
CULTURE
As a Master of Theatre Arts, actor, musician and director, I care about the living conditions of the creative field and the importance of culture for us humans.
WELL-BEING
Equal and equitable, climate-smart decisions, strong cultural field, education, integration, community activities, preventive and restorative.
As a solution-focused therapist, I meet people of different ages, genders, sexualities, backgrounds, ethnicities, and professional groups. Despite all our differences, most of us still struggle with fairly similar challenges, such as the fear of not being good enough, not having enough energy, falling short as a parent, partner, employee, freelancer, manager, friend.
We need healthy adults for healthy children. To strengthen our mental health, we must:
- Be able to trust that all Helsinki residents are treated equally and equitably, make transparent decisions and have a clear equality policy, where bureaucracy does not hide the goal.
- Guarantee functioning healthcare for everyone. Young people with eating disorders or other mental illnesses should quickly receive care.
- Guarantee the possibility of daycare placement close to home and have long-term plans for daycare and school centers regardless of language.
- Have a functioning education system with enough resources for staff.
- Encourage equal and non-discriminatory recruitment practices, for example through anonymous or partially anonymous recruitment.
- Make long-term climate-smart decisions where the goal is a healthy environment with diversity and faith in the future.
- Have a strong cultural field that offers unique experiences where one can experience strong emotions and gain new insights.
- Invest in integration by creating safe spaces for women with immigrant backgrounds.
- Have community activities that strengthen the sense of belonging for young people.
- Invest in preventive and restorative work in, for example, counseling, and deepen the work around multicultural communities.
- Share knowledge about preparedness.
ENVIRONMENT
Circular economy, supporting innovations, carbon-neutral Helsinki, functional infrastructure, waste management, a clean Baltic Sea, climate-smart urban development.
The environment is important to me; I grew up by the sea and have always spent time in forests and fields. This is, however, about something else. It’s about giving children and young people faith in the future. If we adults don’t take climate change seriously and act accordingly, how can we demand it from a young person?
We need to consume smarter and less, without decreasing our welfare. We do this by:
- Strengthening the circular economy by establishing a vocational school in Helsinki for education that promotes circular thinking – shoemakers, clothing caretakers, repairers, light-traffic repairers, expertise in house renovation, craftspeople.
- Encouraging and supporting innovations that develop carbon dioxide and methane emissions reuse.
- Working for a carbon-neutral Helsinki and creating solutions for smooth use of light and public transport, lowering public transport prices, continuing to expand bicycle and pedestrian paths, creating functional bicycle service points.
- Investing in infrastructure for electric car charging.
- Reducing methane emissions by reviewing waste management and supporting the development of capturing methane emissions.
- Becoming better at utilizing solar energy.
- Exploring the possibility of small nuclear power plants.
- Critically examining the electricity consumption of AI.
- Developing environmentally friendly building materials and investing in climate-smart land use and construction.
- Continuing to work for a clean Baltic Sea through the purification of stormwater.
- Take the Baltic Sea into consideration for urban planning.
- Renewing sewage systems for vessels and continuing to reduce phosphorus emissions.
- Encouraging less consumption and more reflection.
CULTURE
I have been an actor and musician since 1997 and have done over 1000 performances. During my 27 years as a performing artist, I have been permanently employed for 1 year, freelanced for 6 years, and an entrepreneur for 20 years.
I see that art and culture help us understand society and ourselves. Art and culture question, enlighten, provide perspective, and strengthen. Art and culture give us the opportunity to imagine a possible future, help us process emotions, and strengthen our humanity.
We can strengthen the position of culture by:
- Making culture accessible to everyone and continuing to support events that strengthen community, open up new insights, strengthen integration.
- Having reasonable admission fees and an accessibility plan for people with comprehension difficulties.
- Taking diversity and equality into account.
- Offering open spaces for art experiences.
- Involving cultural practitioners in societal debates.
- Increasing contact with the international cultural scene.
- Promoting Finnish cultural exports.
- Inviting cultural practitioners into dialogue about the city’s future.
Independent.
