News
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Finland
Rovaniemi’s Santa is on his own a lot this year
Dec 10, 2020
Christmas music plays on speakers everywhere. The sun sets around 1.30 pm. Santa Claus Village in Finnish Lapland is like a wintery Las Vegas, but far less busy.
News
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Finland
Elves, dogs and reindeer suffer as tourists disappear from Arctic Circle
Dec 10, 2020
There seems to be more visitors to the post office than anywhere else in Rovaniemi’s Santa Claus Village – despite the risk of infection. Auli Sihvo has worked there for 20 years and seen how Santa has improved Lapland's commercial pulling-power.
News
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Finland
War destitution created Lapland's tourism boom. It began here.
Dec 10, 2020
The tourism industry in Finnish Lapland has a lot to thank Eleanor Roosevelt for. The presidential widow’s visit to Rovaniemi and the Arctic Circle set in motion an international Lapland industry. This year is the 70th anniversary of her visit.
News
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Corona
Covid threat to Nordic “julebord” tradition and restaurant survival
Dec 10, 2020
Julebord is a Christmas office party on steroids and a major tradition in Norway and Denmark. This season is already a crisis for restaurants and food providers say enterprise confederations. But at least there will probably be fewer #metoo situations.
Portrait
Magdalena Nour: Raze barriers against international talent
Dec 10, 2020
Sweden lacks doctors, nurses, teachers and IT engineers, yet foreign-born job seekers struggle to access the Swedish labour market. If they make it as far as an interview, the experience often makes them feel surprise and frustration.
News
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ILO
Sweden’s century-long relationship with the ILO
Dec 10, 2020
Sweden has had a relationship with the ILO for 100 years. Yet the country never ratified the labour organisation’s first convention. There have been tensions behind the scenes from time to time – like when the conventions have clashed with the Swedish model for collective agreements.
News
A “Nordic”, independent Scotland post-Brexit?
Dec 10, 2020
The last time the Scots went to the polls to vote for or against independence from the United Kingdom, there was speculation whether an independent Scotland would seek to link up with the Nordic region. Next year things might get serious.
News
East meets Nordics in EU road transport show-down
Dec 10, 2020
The Nordic countries are celebrating that the EU has finally approved rules aimed at fighting social dumping in the international road transport sector. Meanwhile, a number of low-pay countries in the east have asked the EU Court of Justice to annul them.
Editorial
Towards happier times?
Nov 11, 2020
A Covid-19 vaccine with a 90% success rate was a longed-for piece of news as the Nordic region is facing the second wave of the pandemic. This crisis also impacts on the integration of newly-arrived immigrants.
In focus
Theme: A lost year for integration?
Nov 11, 2020
Will 2020 and perhaps even 2021 be lost years for integration of immigrants who have recently arrived in the Nordics? Will the consequences of the corona pandemic turn everything on its head?
News
Migration to the OECD nearly halved during Corona pandemic
Nov 11, 2020
As a result of the Corona pandemic, the number of migrants being granted visas and residence permits for an OECD country has fallen dramatically. During the first six months of 2020, the number fell by 46% compared to the same period last year, according to the OECD’s International Migration Outlook 2020.
News
Norway falling on integration index – or is it?
Nov 11, 2020
Over the past five years, Norway has lost its position among the top ten countries with the most inclusive and generous migration policy, according to MIPEX 2020. But what does that really mean?
News
Swedish employment law – a drama with many acts
Nov 11, 2020
The rules covering the labour market still create heated debate in Swedish politics. Time and again, this issue has challenged the government’s survival. It also highlights disagreements between the governing Social Democrats and the Swedish Trade Union Confederation LO.
News
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METOO
Danish drive against sexual harassment at work
Nov 11, 2020
Sexual harassment in the workplace must end, say the government and the social partners. Clearer rules for psychological work environments came into force on 1 November 2020.
News
Iceland starting to miss "overtourism"
Nov 11, 2020
Few countries have seen a more rapid tourism growth than Iceland. For many years, the number of tourists rose by 20 to 25% every year. This led to a debate over whether Iceland was a victim of “overtourism” like Barcelona and Venice.
News
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WELFARE
Vaasa wants to attract more people by making them the world’s happiest
Nov 11, 2020
The Finnish city of Vaasa was at the very start of a campaign to make it the happiest city on Earth. Then corona hit. Now it remains to be seen whether the city and its inhabitants can create greater happiness in the depths of a crisis and a pandemic.
Editorial
Life-saving communication
Oct 07, 2020
The Corona pandemic continues its impact on Nordic citizens, who so far have supported their own governments and other authorities. In Iceland’s second city Akureyri, party politics have even been put aside and all political parties have joined forces on the city council.
tema
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HSE
New challenges for work environments as technology and humans come together
Oct 07, 2020
The work environment of the future will be here sooner than we think, and it will be different from the one labour inspection authorities have been monitoring until now. A new Nordic report considers some threats that look like science fiction. Others are already a reality for many workers, yet we know little about these threats’ long-term effects.
tema
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HSE
Video conferences – from added bonus to necessity
Oct 07, 2020
You need more than Zoom or Teams. That has become obvious to many businesses as the pandemic has forced most meetings online. As people are getting used to the technology, newly gained experience becomes useful knowledge.
tema
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HSE
Extra power with robot gloves
Oct 07, 2020
The Stockholm-based company Bioservo marries medical research with new technology with their robot glove. It gives extra muscle power to people with reduced hand function and for those whose jobs put a strain on their hands. This summer they won NASA’s invention award.
a