tema
Green industry makes Swedish Luleå try to grow three times faster
May 26, 2022 There is a race on in Northern Sweden. Enormous investments in new technology give the largest of the Nordic countries the chance to compete with others to be the first to kickstart the green transition. It is a challenge for businesses and for civil society.
tema
Trailblazing development of green steel in Swedish Boden
May 26, 2022 Mass production of fossil-free steel is to be the arrowhead of the green transition in Northern Sweden. The initiative aims to mitigate climate change and meet the world’s needs for sustainability. With it come many new jobs and a need for new housing.
tema
Image of macho Northern Swedish man must go to secure recruitment
May 26, 2022 A gun on his back, snus tobacco under his lip and a misogynistic worldview, he drives around on his scooter. This image of the primitive Norrlänning – a person from Sweden’s northernmost county – became ingrained with the 1996 movie The Hunters. Now Northern Sweden is hunting for people to carry out the so-called green revolution, and that image has to go.
News
Arvika: Where EU temporary protection directive is turned into housing, jobs and schooling
May 26, 2022 By May 2022, 12.5 million Ukrainians were fleeing the war. 5.5 million have fled abroad and are covered by the EU’s temporary protection directive. 134 of them have arrived in Arvika in Sweden’s Western Värmland, which has now signed an agreement with the Swedish Migration Board to settle refugees long term.
News
After a couple of yellow cards – EU agreement on Swedish startup jobs
May 26, 2022 Sweden will be able to spend 404 million euro in state support for so-called etableringsjobb – or entry jobs – for newly arrived and long-term unemployed people. That is now clear as the European Commission has approved a completely new model for encouraging companies to hire people who find it particularly hard to access the Swedish labour market.
News
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BORDERS
Hopes dashed on the Finnish-Russian border
May 26, 2022 “Parikkala is a municipality people usually drive right past,” says Mayor Vesa Huuskonen, with only a hint of humour. Parikkala is an agricultural municipality with an ageing population in South-Western Finland, right on the border with Russia. Plans for an international border crossing have been scrapped because of the changed international situation.
News
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BORDERS
Border trade crisis: Zsar's luxury fashion tempts neither Russians nor Finns in Vaalimaa
May 26, 2022 Some of the shops in Zsar Outlet Village are having closing down sales. Most offer 30 to 70% discounts on well-known brands meant to tempt Russian tourists to shop right next to the border crossing with Finland.
News
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BORDERS
Parikkala goes for maids, whitefish and an unusual sculpture park
May 26, 2022 There is an old saying that "the maids from Parikkala and the whitefish from Simpeljärvi are better than anywhere else". The maid is now a sculpture in the city centre while the whitefish is swimming in the lake. But a sculpture park with 255 concrete statues doing yoga is by far the biggest draw.
tema
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Borders
The train to Russia stopped running. Lappeenranta limps on.
Apr 25, 2022 The borderless Nordic region turned out to be an illusion during the pandemic. It hit the Øresund region, border trade between Sweden and Norway and the citizens of Haparanda and Tornio. But Finland has an eastern border where traffic has ceased because of the pandemic. Today the war in Ukraine has made the situation even worse for Lappeenranta – the city with the closest links with Russia.
tema
Fast track for refugees took opposite directions in Sweden and Norway
Apr 25, 2022 “Fast track was imported from Sweden, but came to Norway to die!” That is the subtitle of a chapter in a new book about how Norway’s welfare agency NAV has worked with inclusive workplaces, learning and innovation.
News
Siri starts speaking Icelandic "in 12-18 months"
Apr 25, 2022 It is hard making small languages part of a digital environment dominated by a few IT giants. Icelandic authorities have fought to make Icelandic a part of the IT environment, which is increasingly important as more and more things are operated with our voices. Just ask Alexa, Siri and Bixby. Not in Icelandic though, they do not understand it.
tema
Young, smart and excluded from the Swedish labour market
Apr 25, 2022 It is not enough to be smart. For many young people, the door is still shut to large parts of the labour market. The organisation NU – Nolla Utanförskapet (End Exclusion) – works with businesses to open the door to those who are excluded. But is it exclusion or inclusion we should be discussing?
Editorial