| Name: | Harsh Barala |
| Year of birth: | 1992 |
| Municipality: |
Espoo |
| Town: | Espoo |
| Title: | Lawyer and entrepreneur |
| Email: | barala@harshbarala.com |
Harsh
Barala
Espoo
"Grounded in traditional values but daring to think beyond!"
An immigrant from India. Graduated in international law from the University of Lapland, and has been an entrepreneur based in Rovaniemi, Turku and now Espoo for over 7 years. With a profound experience with the Finnish Swedes in Ostrobothnia, I decided to join SFP and let other immigrants like me see the beauty of the Swedish language and people here in Finland. I have also been a semi-professional volleyball player in Northern, Western and Southern Finland.
Important political topics
Economy & Business
Espoo should be globally competitive to attract and retain talented workers. Entrepreneurship should be encouraged. Residents should be well informed about futuristic themes such as AI, how it will affect their lives and how they can find opportunities within them.
Municipal and urban vitality
The city and municipality's finances should be in order. There should not be too much debt, and a healthy financial balance should be observed. A healthy balance between all age groups and different economic sectors should be sought. Overall, a sustainable and balanced municipality and city is desired that ensures opportunities in all aspects of life.
Thriving citizens
The importance of family structure and values should be emphasized. The most vulnerable age groups and classes should be given extra attention. There should be zero tolerance and strict policies against destroyers of civil society such as drugs and violence.
Candidate's answers in election machine
1 / 14
We should build upwards rather than expand into new areas in Espoo.
It doesn\'t have to be either or. Efficiency comes when we build vertically, but for some people, peace of mind comes when we expand horizontally.
2 / 14
Espoo is a safe city to live in.
I can say this from my personal experience.
3 / 14
Espoo provides sufficient services and support for young people.
4 / 14
Early childhood education should be free for everyone.
5 / 14
Schools should prioritize traditional textbooks over digital learning materials.
There should be a balance between the two and both are important
6 / 14
One of the municipality’s most important tasks is to invest in sports facilities and opportunities for exercise and recreation.
As a biological creature, we feel at our best when we do what we are designed to do and that is to move
7 / 14
It is important to provide all residents with equal opportunities for cultural activities.
Local culture should be prioritized. Let the people of other cultures also witness the culture of the land they have immigrated to.
8 / 14
The municipality should introduce or improve opportunities for residents to influence how municipal funds are used through participatory budgeting.
This could be done on an experimental basis without compromising on the budgetary needs of the other sectors. We need to make sure all parts of the society actually participate
9 / 14
The municipality should invest in public transportation.
The public transport currently seems to be doing well. Maintaining what we have and investing more only if additional demand rises.
10 / 14
It should be possible to be a resident in more than one municipality, for example, through digital municipal citizenship.
If one is not enough, more will never be enough. There may be practical reasons for this, but let\'s not open the floodgates on this issue.
11 / 14
The municipality should better facilitate the expansion of renewable energy, such as solar and wind power.
Renewable energy is good but we should also make financial analysis and comparison to the existing models of getting electricity.
12 / 14
The municipality should mix more housing types in planning than is currently the case.
13 / 14
The municipality should introduce anonymous recruitment.
It is okay on an experimental basis.
14 / 14
If you could give a superpower to your future political leader, what would it be?
Let us be realistic. Learn from the past and keep getting better every day.