NordenBladet — Finland and Estonia are launching a yearlong study aimed at further developing relations between the two countries. This was decided when Prime Minister Sanna Marin and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas met today in Helsinki. Today’s visit was Prime Minister Kallas’ first official visit abroad, which reflects the good and close cooperation between Finland and Estonia.
“Finland and Estonia have an excellent, special relationship. That said, we can still develop and strengthen our joint efforts in many areas. A long time has passed since the last report was published on this subject in 2008,” said Prime Minister Marin.Former ministers Anne-Mari Virolainen from Finland and Jaak Aaviksoo from Estonia have been appointed to lead the study. Foreign policy institutes in both countries will support their work. Topics to be addressed in the study include digitalisation, trade, education, contacts between citizens, and security issues.
In their talks, the Prime Ministers also discussed the situation with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures in place to manage it. They also addressed topical EU issues such as climate policy, EU–Russian relations and the themes of next week’s videoconference of the European Council. Topics on the agenda for the videoconference of EU leaders include the COVID-19 pandemic and security and defence cooperation.During her visit to Helsinki, Prime Minister Kallas also met with President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö.
NordenBladet — The Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA) has granted EUR 2.17 million to Finnish civil society organisations’ (CSOs) development communication and global education projects in Finland in 2021–2022. In this application round, project support was granted to 19 CSOs.Support for development communication and global education is used to finance projects carried out by Finnish CSOs. The aim is to enhance awareness and knowledge of global development questions in Finland and to encourage citizens to advance sustainable development and to participate in efforts to resolve related challenges. The support is granted from the development cooperation appropriations for Finnish CSOs’ development cooperation.
The support will be used to promote the achievement of the goals set in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Special attention is paid to target 4.7 of the SDGs, which aims to ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development.
“CSOs’ development communication and global education projects in Finland strengthen the capacity to advance global justice and responsibility. The objective is to enhance people’s awareness and engagement so that everyone can promote socially, ecologically and economically sustainable development in their everyday lives and ensure that no one is left behind,” emphasises Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari.
In this year’s application round, the MFA granted support to 19 CSOs. The supported projects will focus on wide and comprehensive communications on the SDGs, on global education at different levels of the education system and in liberal education and on the promotion of responsible business conduct as part of sustainable development.
The themes of the supported projects include, for example, addressing discrimination, discussing questions related to climate change, and promoting equality, human rights and peaceful and well-functioning societies in line with the objectives and priorities of Finland’s development policy. The projects will involve collaboration with diverse target groups in different parts of Finland. The projects will be carried out in 2021–2022.In the call for applications, which ended in late 2020, the MFA received applications from 27 Finnish CSOs. The total amount of funding applied for was approximately EUR 2.8 million. The EUR 2.17 million granted is about EUR 770,000 more than was granted in the previous round in 2018. The support is granted for the organisations’ activities in 2021–2022.
NordenBladet — The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has granted EUR two million to Finnish civil society organisations (CSOs) linked with the UN for their basic operations and development communication and global education activities. In this application round, support was granted to six CSOs.
The objective of the support is to raise awareness and knowledge in Finland of the UN and its specialised agencies and their goals as well as of Finland’s activities in the UN as part of the international rules-based system. Through the support, the organisations will advance the objectives of Finland’s development policy in a number of sectors. The support is granted from the development cooperation appropriations for Finnish CSOs’ development cooperation.
“Finnish CSOs linked with the UN play an important role in disseminating information about how the international system, and Finland as part of it, contribute to sustainable development goals and foster human rights. Organisations also offer people channels to take part in the promotion of global issues and in efforts to resolve various challenges,” says Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari.
In this application round, support was granted to six CSOs, mainly for their development communication and global education activities in Finland. The organisations will implement communication campaigns, produce information and learning materials and visit schools. Many activities target children and youth and strengthen their inclusion and participation.
Organisations also raise awareness of the importance of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, foster peace and security, and promote non-discrimination in Finland. Several organisations also campaign for women’s and girls’ rights and sexual and reproductive health and rights. In the call for applications, which ended in late 2020, a total of approximately EUR 2.5 million was applied for. The EUR 2 million granted is EUR 600,000 million more than was granted in the previous application round in 2018. The support is granted for the organisations’ activities in 2021–2022.
Recipients of grants in 2020Finnish Refugee Council EUR 600,000Finnish Committee for UNICEF EUR 470,000UN Association of Finland EUR 320,000UN Youth of Finland EUR 30,000UN Women Finland EUR 550,000
NordenBladet – Vivino, the world’s most downloaded mobile wine app and largest online wine marketplace — headed by founder and CEO Heini Zachariassen from Hoyvík, Faroe Islands — has closed a 155-million USD funding round, the company announced in a statement dated February 3rd.
With Swedish investment firm Kinnevik in the lead accompanied by Sprints Capital as a new investor and with further participants including GP Bullhound and existing early-stage investor Creandum, the round brings Vivino’s total funds raised to date to 221 million USD and includes a mix of primary and secondary investment.
The Vivino app and marketplace allows users to look up reviews and the general price range of any wine by scanning the wine bottle. Users are also able to order their wine through the app.
Vivino was founded in Copenhagen in 2010 by Zachariassen together with Theis Søndergaard. Zachariassen subsequently moved to San Francisco, California. In early 2018, he stepped down as CEO to be replaced by former StubHub President Chris Tsakalakis, who left the company already in 2019, with Zachariassen resuming his position as CEO.
In 2020, Zachariassen was named ’Entrepreneur of the Year’ at GP Bullhound’s Investor Allstar Awards.
Vivino has offices in the US, Europe and Asia, and almost 50 million users as of February 2021; its databases contain more than 13 million wines, 68 million reviews and 93 million ratings.
According to Vivino, the newly injected capital will enable the company to “improve its core technology and artificial intelligence platform to create better and more personalized recommendations for Vivino users. The company will also deepen its focus on select markets with the greatest potential for growth, including the US, Germany, the UK, Italy, Japan, and Portugal.”
“This is a testament to the remarkable work that our teams around the globe have done to build an extraordinary business,” Zachariassen stated. “This round has raised important capital for our rapidly growing company and drawn some exceptional new leaders to our board. The funding will enable us to continue to build on our core strengths, expand industry partnerships drawing more merchants and wineries to our marketplace, and support our continued global growth.”
Zachariassen credits Vivino’s success to the continued shift in consumer behavior toward online shopping. “Our user retention rates are high, and we’re seeing a steady conversion of app users to wine buyers,” he said. “That’s a good move in the right direction. By creating more value for our users, we also create more value for the company and industry at large.”
Meanwhile, Zachariassen told Danish business daily Børsen: “It feels surreal that what started in a basement on Amager, Copenhagen could grow into something so big.”
His sense of humor came to expression earlier this month on Bloomberg Quicktake when the possibility of an “Amazon acquisition” was suggested by the host. Zachariassen swiftly flipped the suggestion by responding: “We wouldn’t buy Amazon, no.”
NordenBladet – For years, the music of Høgni Lisberg a.k.a. Hogni, has been featured in TV shows, video games and ads all over the world. The musician, songwriter and composer from Leirvík — famous for hits like “Bow Down (To No Man)”, “Big Personality”, and “Soul Company” — has decided to use his own experience to help other artists get their music out there through his own music publishing company.
Mahogni Music Publishing, founded in 2019, is the first dedicated music publishing company in the Faroe Islands.
Said Lisberg in an interview with music promotion agency Faroe Music Export — fmx.fo: “After having many successes with my own music being placed in TV shows and ads all over the world for more than a decade, I was overwhelmed with the feeling that ‘If my music works for this type of work, the music of other Faroese artists will work too’. I firmly believe there is a market for the music from the Faroe Islands.”
He added: “20 years ago it was not common to think that a Faroese artist could make it on the international scene. Today there is no doubt that this is possible”.
Mahogni Music Publishing has already secured TV spots for artists like Elinborg and Jógvan, who’ve both had their music featured on Norwegian television.
Other Faroese artists who’ve signed up with the company, according to public broadcaster KvF, include Lea Kampmann, Marius Ziska, Son of Fortune, and Sakaris.
NordenBladet – A major arts and cultural venue that is currently being developed for the town of Klaksvík will open its doors in the summer of 2022, according to local authorities.
Designed by Ósbjørn Jacobsen Architects, a Faroe Islands partner in Denmark’s world-renowned Henning Larsen Architects, the multi-function ‘Cultural House’ is based on a remodeling and expansion of an existing building in downtown Klaksvík that used to serve as local post office. The original structure was built in the 1960s, and expansion work for the new venue began in early 2020.
Despite some minor hiccups due to the ongoing health crisis as well as cold winter climate, the Cultural House is still expected to be completed on time and on budget, at an estimate total cost of 60 million DKK (8M EUR).
According to Dávur Winther, head of Municipality of Klaksvík’s office of cultural affairs, the building process is expected to become smoother now that the local branch of postal service Posta has vacated the premises.
Mr. Winther cautioned, however, that uncertainties are part and parcel of the process.
“We’ve only been working on the building for little more than half a year so we’ve still got another year-and-a-half to go,” he told news daily Portal.fo, adding that the workers will hopefully be able to catch up on any lost time, as there have only been minor disruptions.
“At one point, the construction site was turned into a quarantine site, as we had workers coming in from Romania. They were the only crew there at the time, although none of them were infected. But they were required to quarantine, so the decision was made to turn it into a place for quarantine. For the same reason, the work force was likewise affected around the Christmas holiday season.”
Once completed, the new arts and cultural venue will feature a large hall for theatre performances with an audience capacity of 380 seated. The hall can also be fitted with smaller tables for receptions or parties with the capacity to host up to 400 guests standing.
Intended to host a variety of arts and cultural events as well as conferences, seminars and more, the Cultural House will also include a designated café area.
NordenBladet — The UN Environment Assembly UNEA-5 brings together the UN Member States and representatives of the business sector and civil society organisations to a session conducted virtually on 22-23 February. The themes of the meeting are the role of nature in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals and green rebuilding and sustainable recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.The Finnish delegation is led by Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Krista Mikkonen, who will also participate in a high-level discussion on strengthening the role of the environmental sector in post-COVID-19 recovery.“Each euro can be used just once. With smart investments we can solve the COVID-19 crisis, while at the same time finding solutions to biodiversity and climate crises and boosting a genuine transition to a sustainable economy. The same formula will also help us prevent future pandemics. This requires broad cooperation and sharing of good practices between countries. Now UNEA offers us an excellent virtual opportunity for this,” Minister Mikkonen says.“We must look far enough into the horizon. For example, the investment cycles of industry are very long: we are now building a world of zero-emissions based on a circular economy in 2050. Jobs should not be created at the cost of nature and climate – and ultimately the people,” Mikkonen says.The UN Environment Assembly UNEA-5 is the first of a series of important meetings this year. In the autumn decisions are to be made on joint global targets to halt the loss of biodiversity in Kunming, China. The Glasgow Climate Change Conference in November brings together the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCCC to boost the global climate work. Instead of individual sectors or targets, UNEA will discuss comprehensive approaches and solutions to halt the decline of the state of the environment.“UNEA has an important role in mainstreaming environmental issues in the UN system. This is why Finland wants to strengthen the environmental agenda of the UN and is one of the major funders of the organisation,” Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Mikkonen says.The virtual session is to adopt the UNEP Medium Term Strategy 2022–2025 and work programme 2022–2023. Other negotiations on the resolution will take place in a resumed session of UNEA-5 to be held as an in-person event in Nairobi early next year. The UN Environment Programme will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year, and the festivities will be started at the virtual meeting.In connection with UNEA-5 a number of other events will be organised, including the Global Civil Society Forum, Global Youth Environment Assembly and UN Science-Policy Business Forum on the Environment.
NordenBladet – Vatnajökull National Park ranks second among Europe’s national parks in 2021 on TripAdvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best list, just issued, Morgunblaðið reports. Worldwide, it ranks 17th. Yorkshire Dales National Park in the UK, ranks first among European national parks and 11th worldwide.
At the top of the worldwide list is the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, followed by Jim Corbett National Park in India and Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.
“The largest national park in Europe, Vatnajokull combines thick blue ice caves, black sand beaches, waterfalls, and even lush green fields to create an otherworldly landscape that begs to be explored,” the review reads. “Ásbyrgi, a canyon known for its distinct horseshoe shape, is a must for those hoping to discover local woodland. Whether climbing Iceland’s highest peak, Hvannadalshnúkur, or hiking to the Detifoss waterfall, the country’s scenic terrain and breathtaking geological formations can’t be missed.”
The annual list is created by collecting reviews, ratings, and saves that travelers share from across the globe — and using that information to spotlight the very best.
NordenBladet — On 18 February, the Government decided to extend the current restrictions on entry into the country until 18 March 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, and there are not yet adequate measures available to replace internal border controls. For this reason, and to curb the spread of COVID-19 variants, both internal and external border controls will continue until 18 March. No substantive changes will be made to the decisions taken on 11 February 2021.
Internal border traffic refers to traffic between Finland and other Schengen countries. Finland currently restricts entry from all other Schengen countries except Iceland. The Schengen countries are Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden, which are EU Member States, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, which are non-EU countries.
External border traffic refers to traffic between Finland and non-Schengen third countries. Restrictions have been lifted for traffic arriving in Finland from the Vatican, and for traffic between Finland and Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand and New Zealand for residents of these countries.There will be restrictions on the opening hours of certain border crossing points on the western border in Lapland (starting on 15 February) and on the eastern border (starting on 19 February). The aim of these changes is to concentrate cross-border traffic mainly to daytime and evening hours. This will ensure that the health authorities have sufficient resources at the border. The objective is to guide all people crossing the Finnish border to a COVID-19 test, unless they can present proof of a sufficiently recent negative COVID-19 test, proof of recovery from COVID-19 or proof of COVID-19 vaccination. The limited opening hours do not apply to goods transport or to necessary passenger traffic with a justified reason to cross the border outside the opening hours.
Under the Constitution of Finland, Finnish citizens and residents of Finland always have the right to return to Finland, and everyone has the right to leave Finland if they so wish, provided that there is no legal impediment to this. However, the Government still recommends avoiding unnecessary travel to other countries, except for countries for which the restrictions on entry have been lifted. Travellers must be aware of the current entry and quarantine regulations of their country of destination.
For more detailed information on the restrictions on internal and external border traffic, see the Border Guard website and the press releases published on 22 January and 11 February by the Ministry of the Interior.
NordenBladet — Entrepreneurs and self-employed persons are entitled to labour market support because of the coronavirus pandemic under a temporary amendment to the Unemployment Security Act in force until the end of March. On 18 February 2021, the Government submitted a proposal to Parliament to extend the right of entrepreneurs and self-employed persons to labour market support until 30 June 2021. The aim is to ensure the livelihood of entrepreneurs and self-employed persons during the pandemic.
“The coronavirus pandemic is making it very difficult for entrepreneurs and self-employed persons to work, and unfortunately there is no quick relief in sight. It is clear that we need to continue their right to labour market support,” says Minister of Employment Tuula Haatainen.“Labour market support for entrepreneurs plays a significant role during the pandemic. In the autumn, on average 22,000 persons received the support per month,” says Minister Haatainen.
Last year, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela) paid labour market support to 44,000 entrepreneurs and self-employed persons for a total amount of EUR 165.7 million.What are the conditions for an entrepreneur to be eligible for labour market support?Labour market support is one form of unemployment benefits. Entrepreneurs and self-employed persons are entitled to labour market support under the temporary amendment whentheir full-time employment has ended orthe monthly income from their entrepreneurial activities is less than EUR 1,089.67 per each person engaged in these activities as an entrepreneur.
The end of the person’s full-time work or the reduction in income must be due to the coronavirus epidemic. Entrepreneurs and self-employed persons do not need to close down their business to be eligible for labour market support under the temporary amendment of the Unemployment Security Act. When entrepreneurs or self-employed persons close down their business, they became eligible to unemployment benefit under other provisions of the Unemployment Security Act.
The process of applying and receiving labour market support is as follows:
The entrepreneur registers as an unemployed jobseeker and provides an account of the termination of their full-time employment or decrease in income due to the coronavirus epidemic.The TE Office issues a labour policy statement to Kela.
The entrepreneur applies to Kela for labour market support.Kela pays the labour market support to the entrepreneur.
Epidemic-related exceptions to unemployment security to be extended
In addition to the extension of labour market support for entrepreneurs, the Government proposes to extend the increased exempt amount of the unemployment benefit and other exceptions to the unemployment security introduced because of the coronavirus epidemic.
The Government proposals are related to the first supplementary budget proposal for 2021. They will be discussed in Parliament alongside the supplementary budget proposal.
