It was the year 2004, when women's organisations, activists, researchers, policy makers and gender aware -projects in Oulu region started a new kind of co-operation. The aim was to set up a regional women's house, which later got its name SINNI centre.
(SINNI is a traditional woman's first name and means persistent, not giving up)
In the late 2005 the network got finance for three projects out of four (SINNI Start and SINNI women's business and later Girl's House) and thus planning the model and activities of SINNI centre was able to start.
SINNI Centre moved into the beautiful old house called Hermola in January 2007. Finally the dream of a "room of one's own", women´s own house, a common roof under which women can congregate - conceived already in the 1980s - has crystallised!
A month later (5th of Feb) four women´s organisations founded the SINNI Centre Inc. The brand new and innovative form of networking among women's organisations were born. The founding members are
- Oulun Naisunioni - The Feminists Union in Oulu
- The Oulu area Association of Women Entrepreneurs
- Saran naiset - The Female Researchers of Oulu
- Finnish Women´s League, Oulu branch
The elected chairperson of the corporation´s board is Taina Pitkänen-Koli, Leena Teräs >>>> was apppointed to a director of the centre.
SINNI Centre Inc. is a brand new modus operandi for women's NGOs. It functions on the basic idea of an incorporated company of joint benefits. Its activities pursue long-term, gender-aware regional development.
SINNI´s activities are built on the cooperation between female activists, NGOs and separately funded projects, through which SINNI is being improved and developed (see projects >>>>).
We are sorry to inform that Ministry of Labour refused to start national funding for women's resource centres. Thus SINNI is forced to down size free services for women's NGO's and women entrepreneurs. SINNI can offer only limited amount of consultation >>>>
