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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
From modest environmental goals to the world's most sustainable region
Mar 25, 2022 23 March marked 60 years since the signing of the Helsinki Treaty in 1950. It came into force on 1 July that year and saw amongst other things the creation of the Nordic Council of Ministers – the Nordic governments' cooperation body.
tema
The hole that must be filled: the energy crisis and EU's green transition
Mar 25, 2022 There had never been so much money for the green transition in Europe as there was in February 2022. But then Russia started its war against Ukraine. Europe answered by cutting the import of gas and other fossil fuels from Russia. How will this impact on the green transition? Will it speed up or must someone pull the emergency brake? The answer might be both.
tema
Danish government green flights plan causes turbulence
Mar 25, 2022 The Danish government has promised that the first carbon neutral domestic flights will operate from 2025 and that all domestic flights will be carbon neutral from 2030. Industry giants will start large-scale production of green aviation fuel even sooner. All good but not enough, says environment think-tank.
News
Eliza Reid – Iceland's outstanding First Lady
Mar 25, 2022 On March the 8th, the book Secrets of the Sprakkar was published in the US after having first been released in Iceland in 2020. It deals with gender equality in Iceland, considered to be among the best in the world. Sprakkar is an ancient Icelandic word for “outstanding women”. A few of these outstanding women are interviewed in the book.
News
Renewed drive to fight work-related crime in the Nordics
Mar 25, 2022 All of the Nordics have intensified the fight against work-related crime. Norway’s new government has launched what it calls a spring clean of the Nordic labour market. Sweden’s deputy Minister for Employment Johan Danielsson has been tasked with coordinating the policy, and recently visited Oslo where he met his Norwegian colleague Marte Mjøs Persen.
News