Finland
Podcast – Finland’s fight against Russian cyber attacks
Fake news and cyber attacks are helping undermine democracy, legitimise extremist views, push groundless conspiracy theories and provide cover for propaganda by rich individuals and states. But one country is fighting back. And winning. A study by the European Policies Initiative puts Finland top of 35 countries in ‘post-truth’ resilience. Denmark was second and Sweden fourth. The UK was 10th. What’s their secret? Jussi Toivanen is a former adviser to the Finnish PM on media literacy and was recently appointed Head of Communications at Finland’s National Cyber Security Centre. He’s the main speaker in this podcast, produced from an online NH meeting in October 2022. We also hear from Chris Silver – a researcher and PhD student on memory and the Scottish press – and Claire...Read More
PODCAST; Finland – the future is cooperative
While Britain struggles with sky-high bills, and private water, electricity and oil companies make record profits, Finland relies on a unique system of economic shock absorbers. Cooperatives deliver everything from water and electricity to luxury hotel breaks. They started in the late 1800s and there are more cooperative memberships today than Finns – or saunas. How does it work? Lesley Riddoch’s been to Finland to find out. NB The picture shows the wooden wash-handbasins and baths that feature in the Solo Sokos Hotel in Lahti. It may be part of the huge S-Group cooperative with more than 3 million members but is still a uniquely local operation. With thanks to Risto Turanen, Kari Huhtala, VisitFinland, Finnair and Sokos Hotels.
Podcast; Jean Sibelius – Finland’s musical genius
This is a Nordic Horizons podcast with a difference. It isn’t about policy, politics, climate change or kindergarten – it’s about culture. And the enduring cultural impact of a very exceptional Finn. Some clues. Which famous composer heard different musical notes when he glimpsed different colours? Which composer was at the heart of his country’s successful bid for independence but grew reluctant to have his early work performed to avoid being dismissed as ‘just a romantic nationalist’? And which composer inspired the creation of Finland’s largest wooden concert hall and the world’s first orchestral live-stream? The answer is Jean Sibelius, 1865-1957. This special podcast was recorded and produced by Nordic Horizons Director Lesley Riddoch on...Read More
PODCAST: NATO membership for Finland & Sweden – the end of Baltic neutrality??
This podcast was produced after a fascinating online Nordic Horizons meeting in March 2022, eight weeks before the Swedish and Finnish premiers announced their intention to join NATO. It explores their fears about Russian intervention during the accession process when both states might be vulnerable to attack, their reasons for not originally joining NATO along with neighbours Denmark and Norway in the 1950s and fears that a change in US President might make NATO a less stable long-term bet than it currently appears. Nordic Horizons · NATO, Nordics and Russian Aggression Our speakers – 3 Nordic experts and one Scot discuss opinion polls suggesting most Swedes and Finns want to join NATO and predict whether that will happen. They consider how well Nordic non-alignment has worked for 7...Read More
Nordic Horizons guide to Celtic Connections 2020
So many fabulous Nordic performers are appearing at Celtic Connections in January 2020, it seemed a good idea to list them. Each year, Scotland’s largest traditional music festival presents a “showcase Scotland” partnership with a different nation. This year’s it’s Finland … so there are loads of performances featuring Finnish artists playing with top stars of the Scottish Trad Music scene. Get booking folks. Norway Jan 19th 7.30pm Mitchell Theatre Scots fiddler Sarah-Jane Summers is based in Norway, and is reprising Owerset, her New Voices commission that’s themed around Scots and Gaelic words originating in Old Norse. It features a six-piece ensemble on fiddles, trumpet, accordion, guitars and double bass. Sarah-Jane is playing with the fabulous Scots pianist, flautist and composer Hamis...Read More
Have the Finns Ended Homelessness?
Have the Finns Ended Homelessness? – Event Details Have the Finns ended homelessness? ..and can Scots follow their lead? Speaker – Juha Kaakinen CEO of the Y-Foundation in Helsinki Venue – Grassmarket Community Centre 86 Candlemaker Row, Edinburgh EH1 2QA Tuesday 18 September Time 6-8pm The Finns have come up with a radical approach to tackling homelessness. They give homeless people houses without having to engage with addiction or mental health services first. Housing First is a national strategy to eradicate homelessness that’s been running in Finland since 2008. It’s built on cooperation between the government, local municipalities and NGOs and the simple notion that people can tackle social and emotional problems better if they have a secure home. Juha Kaakinen is the CEO ...Read More
Finnish Co-operatives
Finnish Co-operatives – Digital Notes “Co-operation in Finland” was the topic of the Cross Party Group on Co-operatives in conjunction with Nordic Horizons on Tuesday 23 February at 6pm in the Scottish Parliament, and was sponsored by Willie Coffey MSP. The speaker was Kari Huhtala, Director of co-operation with Pellervo, the Finnish co-op trade association. Presentation You can download a copy of Kari Huhtala’s powerpoint slides here. Vimeo Video Resources Kari discussed the scale of Finland’s 5,000 co-operatives across traditional agriculture, retail and banking sectors as well as the new wave of co-op start-ups as a response to the economic depression of the 90’s.’. Kari gave a short video interview which summarises many of his thoughts about c...Read More
Restaurant Day
Restaurant Day – Event Details Restaurant Day – Timo Santala Lecture Theatre Moray House, EH8 8AQ – 6pm 22nd October 2014 This year Nordic Horizons theme is democratic renewal – we thought that would be relevant however the vote goes on September 18th. The first event is a novel way to engage ethnic communities, cut through red tape and let people feel in charge of their cities. Three years ago some friends in the Finnish capital Helsinki had an idea. Tough health and hygiene regulations had stopped Antti Tuomola from being able to set up a city restaurant. So he called on friends Olli Sirén and Timo Santala for help. They discovered restrictions didn’t apply to “pop-up” restaurants which opened for one day only. Restaurant Day was born. After a brainstorming session, Fac...Read More
November meeting – ‘Small is Powerful’.
Small is Powerful – Event Notes Small is Powerful Åland Prime Minister, Ms Camilla Gunnell Sponsored by Mike Mackenzie MSP Scottish Parliament 6pm November 25th 2014 How does home rule in the tiny Åland Islands work? Almost seven thousand islands (most uninhabited) lie midway between Sweden and Finland in the Baltic Sea. Most of the 28 thousand Ålanders speak Swedish, but their territory is part of Finland. In fact, Åland is the only Finnish province with significant legislative powers granted through the Autonomy Act of 1921. The island group has its own regional assembly and executive with powers over education, health, culture, industry and policing (though not taxation) and elects a single representative to the Parliament in Helsinki. No Finnish parties compete on the islands and...Read More
The Finnish New Wave
The Finnish New Wave – Event Details Wednesday 19 March – Finnish New Waves Helsinki Waterfront Regeneration Wed 19 March Members Restaurant, Scottish Parliament 6-8pm Speaker Heikki Mäntymäki, City Planning Helsinki. Sponsored by Kezia Dugdale MSP Chaired by journalist and NH Director Lesley Riddoch The Background It’s the remotest European capital city with the least winter daylight and the hardest to learn language – and yet Helsinki has some of Europe’s most satisfied residents. How do they do it? Well it could be great city design. It could be the world’s best education system with the greatest use of public libraries. It could be because Helsinki council owns 66% of the land. It could be district heating for almost all. It could be having city beaches for Baltic midwinter...Read More
2012 – How the Finns emptied their prisons
Tapio Lappi-Seppälä, Director, National Research Institute of Legal Policy, Finland. MAY 2012 The open prison on the island of Suomenlimma near Helsinki is an astonishing place. The 100 prisoners living there learn stonemasonry and other skills to help keep the 19th century stone fortress intact. They’re paid a wage and the tiny municipality of 400 people voted to have them there. Some of the astonishing facts that confronted members of the Scottish Prisons Commission on a visit in 2008 – after which the Finnish Penal system formed the basis of the Community Payback system recommended by Commission Chair Henry McLeish and adopted by the Scottish Government. Finland had one of the highest prison populations in western Europe until the 1970s. Since then, the imprisonment rate ha...Read More