Finland: Regional Ministers of the Nordic Council of Ministers: Multilocality to boost regional vitality

NordenBladet — The regional ministers of the Nordic Council of Ministers discussed multilocality and green recovery at the hybrid meeting held in Helsinki on 16 September 2021. The ministers decided to launch a research project to examine the economic, social and environmental impacts of multilocality in different regions.

The meeting was chaired by Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä.As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the significance of the place has been seen and discussed in a new way, both in terms of people’s daily lives and politics. The ministers see that multilocality means many opportunities that increase the economic and social vitality in the regions.

– Multilocality creates new opportunities for regional economies, business activities and for the availability of skilled workforce. Digitalisation and high-speed communications connections are key investments in the future of multilocality. At the same time, we need flexible, regionally differentiated ways of organising services that support the smooth running of people’s everyday lives, Minister Lintilä says.

Multilocation involves various societal and cultural challenges as well as economic and ecological sustainability challenges. Rolf Elmèr, Director of Nordregio, presented a new multilocation project, the launch of which the ministers decided to support.

Green recovery brings new business opportunities
The regional ministers also discussed the opportunities for green recovery in different regions and how to accelerate the green transition. In addition to achieving the climate targets, green recovery also means new livelihood opportunities. Professor of Economics Jens Suedekum at the University of Düsseldorf and Juha-Matti Saksa, Rector of the Lappeenranta University of Technology gave introductory speeches on sustainable growth.

– Green recovery offers new opportunities for environmental business, for instance, which has become a more important competitive factor in the global economy. One of the areas of Nordic cooperation could also be bio-based economy in sparsely populated areas. The bioeconomy plays an important role when we pursue the low-carbon targets and a resource-efficient society, Minister Lintilä says.