If you did not have a chance to join the event in the Esplanade Park, but you're anxious to know how the story "Building Public Trust – Hopes, needs and viewpoints of different building blocks in Nation-Building" was created, here are some video clips for you. These samples are a little peek into all the interesting performances we got to enjoy during that great and sunny day in the Esplanade Park.
Under-Secretary of State Juhani Turunen, Ministry of Finance
Country Information Researcher Antero Leitzinger, Finnish Immigration Service
General Manager Suvi-Anne Siimes, Pharma Industry Finland
Vice-president Eero Rämö, The Finnish Red Cross
Female refugee of the year Fatbardhe Hetemaj
Secretary General Laura Simik, The Union of Finnish Upper Secondary School Students
Chief Communications Officer Eero Waronen, The City of Helsinki
15 Jul 2009
Building Public Trust – Hopes, needs and viewpoints of different building blocks in Nation-Building
This year Finland celebrates the 200th anniversary of the nation-building event in 1809. At that time Finland’s 650-year connection with Sweden was broken and it became a Grand Duchy of the Russian Empire. Central government bodies were established in Finland. All this made Finns happy and optimistic about the future, because it meant that they could develop their country by themselves. So what did the Finns do, and where did those actions take them? Now, after 200 years, it might be a good idea to stop for a second and take a quick look at this Nation-Building process and how does it look like today.
It is obvious that the nation does not build itself just like that; it consists of many different building blocks with various hopes, needs and viewpoints. Despite the fact that their viewpoints might vary, the ultimate goal to build a wealthy and content nation remains the same. All of them are aware, that this goal can be reached only with a certain recipe: loads of functional interaction and a large amount of trust in each other. Hence, they all have their own ways of being a part of building this public trust that is needed in Nation-Building.
When you really pay attention, you can hear these different building blocks bringing out their own hopes, needs and even demands all around you. For instance, here are few examples that you can discover when listening carefully:
One of the most common hopes is openness. Openness is an essential part of building public trust among the citizens, politicians making decisions and civil servants drafting and executing the political decisions. It is needed when reaching for good governance, well-functioning public administration and uncorrupted civil service. Openness of the public administration does not any more mean just the possibility for the citizens and journalists to get a copy of a public document when they decide to ask for it, it is expected to occur everywhere as an operational principle.
The principle of openness is expected to have more and more effects in practise. For example, Finland is a democratic state. But if the institution of democracy is full of rules, codes, traditions, specialists and think-tank’s, it can be hard for all citizens to understand. Maintaining the principle of openness means, that also the principles of democracy should be adapted and developed along with the spirit of the time.
Another central point of view is to understand the value of internationalization; the fact that diversity is a privilege, not a burden. Being patriotic and showing respect towards ones home country is as its best when going hand in hand with valuing diversity. A person does not necessarily need to be a Finn by birth to be a true Finn. A man can also become a Finn by choice; to choose a new life and use it well. When taking a wider perspective towards the matter you can see also the global privileges: A nation that encourages immigration demonstrates to the world the value of its society and culture, by the fact that people are attracted to the idea of coming there.
In addition to immigration, internationalization can be considered from many other viewpoints. For example, the membership of European Union has become a part of everyday life in Finland. It has made the Europe and the whole world smaller, and the range of different possibilities wider. Finland as a country has got the chance to learn from others’ best practises, and a single Finn has got multiple privileges as an EU citizen. Doing business over borders is not such a big issue for companies either, when comparing with the former times. Universities co-operating over boarders enable the welfare of scientific knowledge that is crucial in modern societies.
Taking a good look at things happening in the world also reminds that all things should not be taken for granted. The rights of an average citizen, peaceful living conditions or clean water are things that a person born in a developed country can easily take for granted. The process from the very beginning to these standards of living has required lots of work, and the work is still continuing. There are still goals to reach, and also important things to bear in mind. One of the most important is to value the things already accomplished, and make sure that the precious heritages are passed on for future generations to cherish.
When coming back from the global perspective to the concept of diversity, there is still one important viewpoint to be considered. Diversity is not only about nationalities, it is also about all possible potential a nation has to exploit. Diversity might actually be a word to be left totally out of the picture, and use the term “potential” instead. Think about for example the potential that hides in the young; anxious to make this world a better place to live if they only have the ways to express themselves. Listening to different representatives of the society by giving everyone equal chances to speak out increases the trust among the nation and makes the nation itself stronger.
Understanding the moments of success and failures in the past is crucial, but what is even more crucial is to learn from them. So let’s learn from the past and have faith in the future. Because without faith in it, there will be no future.
It is obvious that the nation does not build itself just like that; it consists of many different building blocks with various hopes, needs and viewpoints. Despite the fact that their viewpoints might vary, the ultimate goal to build a wealthy and content nation remains the same. All of them are aware, that this goal can be reached only with a certain recipe: loads of functional interaction and a large amount of trust in each other. Hence, they all have their own ways of being a part of building this public trust that is needed in Nation-Building.
When you really pay attention, you can hear these different building blocks bringing out their own hopes, needs and even demands all around you. For instance, here are few examples that you can discover when listening carefully:
One of the most common hopes is openness. Openness is an essential part of building public trust among the citizens, politicians making decisions and civil servants drafting and executing the political decisions. It is needed when reaching for good governance, well-functioning public administration and uncorrupted civil service. Openness of the public administration does not any more mean just the possibility for the citizens and journalists to get a copy of a public document when they decide to ask for it, it is expected to occur everywhere as an operational principle.
The principle of openness is expected to have more and more effects in practise. For example, Finland is a democratic state. But if the institution of democracy is full of rules, codes, traditions, specialists and think-tank’s, it can be hard for all citizens to understand. Maintaining the principle of openness means, that also the principles of democracy should be adapted and developed along with the spirit of the time.
Another central point of view is to understand the value of internationalization; the fact that diversity is a privilege, not a burden. Being patriotic and showing respect towards ones home country is as its best when going hand in hand with valuing diversity. A person does not necessarily need to be a Finn by birth to be a true Finn. A man can also become a Finn by choice; to choose a new life and use it well. When taking a wider perspective towards the matter you can see also the global privileges: A nation that encourages immigration demonstrates to the world the value of its society and culture, by the fact that people are attracted to the idea of coming there.
In addition to immigration, internationalization can be considered from many other viewpoints. For example, the membership of European Union has become a part of everyday life in Finland. It has made the Europe and the whole world smaller, and the range of different possibilities wider. Finland as a country has got the chance to learn from others’ best practises, and a single Finn has got multiple privileges as an EU citizen. Doing business over borders is not such a big issue for companies either, when comparing with the former times. Universities co-operating over boarders enable the welfare of scientific knowledge that is crucial in modern societies.
Taking a good look at things happening in the world also reminds that all things should not be taken for granted. The rights of an average citizen, peaceful living conditions or clean water are things that a person born in a developed country can easily take for granted. The process from the very beginning to these standards of living has required lots of work, and the work is still continuing. There are still goals to reach, and also important things to bear in mind. One of the most important is to value the things already accomplished, and make sure that the precious heritages are passed on for future generations to cherish.
When coming back from the global perspective to the concept of diversity, there is still one important viewpoint to be considered. Diversity is not only about nationalities, it is also about all possible potential a nation has to exploit. Diversity might actually be a word to be left totally out of the picture, and use the term “potential” instead. Think about for example the potential that hides in the young; anxious to make this world a better place to live if they only have the ways to express themselves. Listening to different representatives of the society by giving everyone equal chances to speak out increases the trust among the nation and makes the nation itself stronger.
Understanding the moments of success and failures in the past is crucial, but what is even more crucial is to learn from them. So let’s learn from the past and have faith in the future. Because without faith in it, there will be no future.
9 Jul 2009
The Conference is now officially opened
Wednesday 8th of July was the day we had been waiting for - the IIAS 2009 conference was finally officially opened! On the morning of the first day we had 285 pariticipants registered, which made us very happy.
At the opening session of the Minister of Public Administration and Local Governmnet Mari Kiviniemi welcomed the participants to the conference together with the professor Dr. Franz Strehl the President of IIAS, Mr. Rolet Loretan, The Director General of the IIAS and Ms. Katju Holkeri the President of the Organising Committee. We also had a possibility to enjoy the speech of our first keynote speaker the Honorable Jocelyne Bourgon as well as the introduction to the conference themes by the Professor Christopher Pollitt (in the picture) , the Rapporteur General of the Conference.
The afternoon of the first day was filled with the first sets of workshops and the host contry panel. People participated the sessions actively and seemed to be learning their way around the venue also. In the evening we were invited to the reception at the Helsinki City Hall. I think we all enjoyed the good company and the nice summary buffet, which gave us all a nice opportunity to relax!
Johanna.
8 Jul 2009
The IIAS National Event at Esplanade Park
Before the official opening of the IIAS2009 conference, a national event was organised at the Esplanade Park on yesterday afternoon. The aim of this free event was to provide citizens, tourists and passers-by a glimpse of what the IIAS2009 conference is all about.The event was organized in a form of a story, “Building Public Trust”, consisting of two-minute speeches. Representatives of different parts of the society participated in the story by reflecting their particular roles in nation building and in relation to Finnish public administration.
The speeches addressed the topic from various viewpoints. General Manager for Pharma Industry Finland, former Minister of Public Administration Ms Suvi-Anne Siimes represented the corporate side and encouraged the public administration to become even more transparent. Vice president for the Finnish Red Cross, Eero Rämö argued that in order to build public trust, young people should be seen as actors, not as passive audiences. Professor Turo Virtanen from the University of Helsinki compared the recently discussed reform of university legislation to a car, which can have multiple drivers - who should though draw their maps and driving routes together.
Several speeches touched on the topic of immigration and multiculturalism. Author and journalist Umayya Abu-Hanna had a clear wish for the Finnish administration: more action, less talk about tolerating diversity. Researcher for the Finnish Directorate of Immigration, Mr Antero Leitzinger pointed out the long history of immigration to Finland. Many of the brands we have today – such as Fazer, Stockmann or Paulig - are based on lifelong work conducted by immigrants. Ms Fatbardhe Hetemaj who was chosen as the Female Refugee of the Year 2009 in Finland claimed that it is not culture but misunderstanding and distrust that separate us from each other. She believes in multiculturalism and sees immigration as a way of creating new life. Ms Hetemaj also feels that the Finnish society is not intolerant but inviting to many.
Hostess for the event was journalist Maarit Tastula, and the innovative artist Zarkus Poussa was in charge of the music. Even though the weather showed the best and the worst of Finnish summer, the event gathered together a diverse audience.
If you missed this event, I might still have some good news for you: Who knows if we will see some video clips of the speeches in this blog later on...
Marja
7 Jul 2009
TED2
Yesterday our conference week started with the Trans-European Dialogue of NISPACee and EGPA at the University of Helsinki Main building. Also the registration for the IIAS conferenece opened and later in the afternoon the first Finnish parallell session tok place that the Parliament organised by its Futures committee and chaired by the chair of the committee Ms Marja Tiura.
Today the TED2 continues with another day of dialogue about the theme Citizens vs Customers. Today takes place also our national ecent at the Esplanade Park. So far the weather looks okay for that event, and we surely hope that te sun keeps shining. The event includes over 10 short 2 minute speeches/interviews and we would like also here to thank all of those volonteering in this IIAS National Section event.
Katju
5 Jul 2009
The conference is already around the corner
I’ve been living in Helsinki only for few months, so there are still lots of new places for me to visit. I got really excited when packing the material for the conference participants, because I noticed how many interesting things it included also from my point of view. Lots of interesting information and new ideas what to do and where to go in Helsinki! I got already anxious to try out all the possibilities that this beautiful city is offering, and I’m sure people getting the same material are going to think alike.
One of the best things about the material is that the packages they’re in are recyclable. Even though we get all these things that I’m so exited about, the principles of a green conference have not been forgotten. Being a part of organizing this conference has been extremely interesting, and taking the green aspects in the picture is making it even better. I’m really looking forward to next week and everything it includes!
All the best,
Marja
One of the best things about the material is that the packages they’re in are recyclable. Even though we get all these things that I’m so exited about, the principles of a green conference have not been forgotten. Being a part of organizing this conference has been extremely interesting, and taking the green aspects in the picture is making it even better. I’m really looking forward to next week and everything it includes!
All the best,
Marja
1 Jul 2009
Stands for you to visit during the conference
In addition to the other activities during the conference next week, there will be on stand area for the participants to visit during the coffee breaks etc. The stands will be located right next to the registration area and so they are easy to access when entering or getting out of the building.
At the stand area information by following organisations will be provided: IIAS, IIAS National section of Finland, Finnish Ministry of Finance, University of Helsinki, University of Tampere, OECD, Finnish Association of Local and Regional Authorities, Finnish Prime Minister's Office and the Finnish Institute of Public Management Ltd. In addition for tourist and other Helsinki information we will have a stand of the Helsinki Experts serving you with any questions regarding your free time in Finland.
Hope you will find interesting information and material also on the stands!
Best Wishes,
Johanna.
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