NordenBladet — On Wednesday 11 April, the Global Child Forum 2018 was held at the Royal Palace of Stockholm. More than 300 participants from around the world came together to discuss children’s rights issues.
This was the tenth Global Child Forum on children’s rights. The participants represented global businesses, financial institutions, the UN, academia and the Swedish Government.
The day began with The King welcoming the participants with a speech in which he emphasised the fact that the children’s rights perspective needs to be a feature of all operations:
“Business impacts on children. And therefore, we must let children impact on business. Leaders of the corporate and finance sectors are in a unique position to protect and advance children’s rights.”
The King also emphasised the importance of cooperation between different sectors:
“For children’s rights to be truly realised, collaboration is necessary. Companies, governments and civil society must work together, side by side.”
Speakers during the day included CEO and Executive Director of the United Nations Global Compact Lise Kingo, Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands, whose Missing Chapter Foundation works to give children a voice in society, and Minister for Enterprise Mikael Damberg.
Two young Indonesian representatives from the Time to Talk! organisation, Fauza Ananda and Ruth Kesia, spoke about their experiences of child labour.
The day concluded with a speech by The Crown Princess about how the UN’s 17 global sustainable development goals, for which The Crown Princess is an advocate, are all linked to children’s rights.
“Goal number one, no poverty, is for the child who is married off because her parents can’t afford to say no. […] Goal number 16, peace, justice and strong institutions, is for all the children whose childhoods are taken away from them by violence and persecution. I could go on. But I think you see my point: that all Global Goals are, in fact, children’s rights goals.”
The Global Child Forum
The Global Child Forum was initiated by the Royal Family in 2009, and is an independent platform that brings together world-leading players for in-depth dialogue and to raise awareness of children’s rights. The aim is to identify solutions to the most pressing issues when it comes to businesses’ opportunities to influence children’s rights.
One of the speakers at the conference was Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands. Photo: Henrik Garlöv/royalcourt.se
Princess Sofia speaks with participants during the round-table discussions. Photo: Henrik Garlöv/royalcourt.se
Prince Daniel takes part in one of the Global Child Forum’s round-table discussions, or ‘Action Labs’. Photo: Henrik Garlöv/royalcourt.se
Featured image: The King and Queen with Ruth Kesia and Fauza Ananda from Indonesia, who represented the organisation Time to Talk! at the Global Child Forum 2018. Photo: Henrik Garlöv/royalcourt.se
Source: Swedish Royal Court Find us also on Twitter: @NordenBladet
NordenBladet — The Academy’s statutes do not include any rules on the conditions for resigning from a seat. Up to now, the Academy has considered that this prevents the election of new members to replace those who no longer participate in its work.
It is natural to assume that a member who no longer wishes to keep their seat should be able to resign. The number of members no longer actively participating in the Academy’s work is now so great as to jeopardise the Academy’s possibilities to carry out its important duties.
The current interpretation of the possibilities to elect new members in this situation thus prevents a necessary reconstruction of the Swedish Academy.
Statement by His Majesty The King
“It is my intention to supplement the statutes of the Swedish Academy in a way that makes it clear that it is possible to resign from the Academy. Furthermore, any member who has not participated in the work of the Academy for a period of more than two years will be considered to have left the Academy, even if that member has not formally submitted their resignation.
It is a given premise of Swedish and international law that any person who no longer wishes to be a member of an organisation must be allowed to leave. This premise should also apply to the Swedish Academy.
I have initiated a consultation with the Swedish Academy on the specific details of the statutes with respect to resignation.”
NordenBladet — On Saturday 7 April, The King and Queen and The Crown Princess Couple marked the anniversary of the terror attack on Drottninggatan in Stockholm.
At lunchtime, The King and Queen attended the national memorial service held at Adolf Fredrik’s Church in Stockholm. The church is near Drottninggatan, where the terror attack took place on 7 April 2017.
Relatives, victims, emergency services staff, volunteers and representatives of official Sweden were invited to the service.
The service was led by Annika Millde, rector of Adolf Fredrik’s Church. Archbishop Antje Jackelén, Bishop of Stockholm Eva Brunne and representatives from Stockholm’s multi-faith council, Iris, also took part.
Memorial concert in Kungsträdgården
In Kungsträdgården, The Crown Princess Couple attended the memorial concert arranged by the City of Stockholm. At the concert, music was performed by Court Singer Malena Ernman, Stephen Simmonds, Menke, Sanna Nielsen and Lars Winnerbäck. Speeches were given by Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and eyewitness Martin Svenningsen.
On the stage, master of ceremonies Mark Levengood spoke with Finance Commissioner Karin Wanngård, Opposition Commissioner Anna König Jerlmyr and emergency services manager Viktoria Lenander.
The concert concluded to the sound of the bells ringing at St Jacob’s Church.
NordenBladet — On Tuesday 27 March, The King visited Motala and Linköping to find out about the work to increase stocks of certain fish species in the River Motala and parts of the Rive Svartån.
During his visit to Östergötland, The King found out about the project to restore lost species in the River Motala, such as the large brown trout, greyling and freshwater pearl mussel. The project also works to strengthen other fauna in the water system, such as the eel, vimba, chub and asp.
The King also learnt about long-term plans to create the right conditions for fishing tourism at the River Motala and the River Svartån.
NordenBladet – the City of Tartu Rowing Club SAK Tartu (Sõudespinning Estonia) member Hanna-Liisa Ennet (38) performed a world record result in the beginning of April, completing the indoor rowing ultradistance 1000 km – an accomplishment that in Estonian indoor rowing history has been achieved just once before by the Estonian sportsmen-tandem (athletes Rait Merisaar and Rainer Saad) – thereby being the one female rower in Estonia ever to have completed this extreme distance in a limited timeframe and furthermore, to have completed the distance individually as opposed to tandem, rowing the entire distance solo without shifts.
„The leading motivational prerequisite to cover the 1000 km distance is the person’s inner drive to do so. Once you have the necessary motivation, you just need to develop the habit of being seated on the erg, catching one meter after another – adapting your muscular and skeletal apparatus and advancing the overall endurance of the system. It is important to choose the optimal pace and setting, and distributing the work load timewise and muscle group engagement wise,” says ultrarower Hanna-Liisa Ennet to NordenBladet.ee.
„Completion of the Million Meter world record row is definitely the biggest and most exciting event in my life so far. The experience is rendered especially unique in the light that the international community of such „crazy” ultra rowers is very narrow and there are just a few who have successfully completed this particular challenge. The Million Meter community is small but supercool! Hereby I have to admit that it is difficult to achieve anything significant without a great team of allies – I have been lucky to have a great team in this enterprise and I wish to thank all the support team members for being there in order to help, supervise and encourage as well as just being there beside me,” added Ennet.
Who: Hanna-Liisa Ennet (38yrs) When: Monday, 2nd April 2018, 02.00 am until Monday, 9th April 2018, 01.00 am What: Individual Million Meters on Concept2 Indoor Rower Supervised by: Rait Merisaar, Rowing Club SAK Tartu Category: F30-39 Hwt
Excerpts from Hanna-Liisa Ennet’s Million Meter sports journal:
The idea of completing an ultradistance emerged perhaps in November last year, when our Rowing Club boss, coach and world record holder Rait Merisaar forwarded me a story about a recent individual Million Meter world record row, written down in a fascinating style by the ultra distance indoor rower David Plumb. On the one hand the story was of course extraordinary from the point of view of the accomplishment, and on the other hand the text itself was very enjoyable. So it happened that I read the story repeatedly until I started to wonder if I myself might actually be capable of accomplishing something like that, too.
By the end December last year I had been entertaining the idea for a while, in January I already took concrete steps to start moving towards achieving this goal – I participated in the Virtual Team Challenge and covered the distance of circa a thousand kilometres within 31 days. However, my target was something bigger. I wished to cover 1000 km in a narrow time frame. In February we had conversations with the coach about the optimal rowing schedule options and within February and the beginning of March we had a solid plan and detailed schedule on the table.
The ambitious plan (Plan A) was to row 1000 km in seven days. Counting calendar days it actually took a little bit of the eighth, too, but if we count start time then the assignment to cover 1000 km was completed quite exactly within seven days.
The million meters total was eventually built up from 21 km units: morning sessions comprised 3 half marathons and evening sessions comprised 4 half marathons. A half marathon is 21097m in distance and it normally would take up to 2 hours to row one (my times are mostly 1:40 … 1:50). the Million Meter schedule had foreseen seven halfies to be completed every day – except for Day 4 when the schedule had foreseen half the working load, and Day 1 when the schedule had foreseen 8 half marathons (4 full marathons) during the day. When doing longer distances it is predictable that the times deviate a bit from one’s usual standards, since the pace of rowing 1000 km (47 half marathons) cannot remain the same as it is when you pop in the gym for just one half marathon with fresh and relaxed muscles.
The start time was 02.00 am on April 2, 2018. From then on the start times were 03.00 am every day. By the end of Day 1 I was planning to cover 168 km, by the end of Day 2 I was planning to cover 315 km, by the end of Day 3 I was planning to cover 462 km, by the end of Day 4 I was planning to cover 546 km, by the end of Day 5 I was planning to cover 693 km, by the end of Day 6 I was planning to cover 840 km and by the end of Day 7 I was planning to cover the full distance 1000 km. I was able to stick to the plan during the entire week, therefore it didn’t scare me for once that it might perhaps turn out necessary to reschedule the row in the middle of the week, or that it might turn out inevitable to discontinue at some point. It occurred just once that we had a serious 10-minute dispute and discussion with the supervisor about how to proceed with the plan, since towards the end of Day 3 the day’s final 21km unit was lagging behind schedule. I had been wondering to myself whether it were reasonable to build in some modifications to the week’s plan. However, the plan remained exactly as it had been printed out before Day 1, thanks to the experience and convincing arguments from the supervisor Rait Merisaar – so I proceeded by covering the final unit that same night and never brought up the question of possible rowing schedule modifications later that week.
Still, there was this one exception concerning the final day, when the starting time 03.00 am was postponed 1,5 hours due to falling asleep later the previous evening – I went to sleep at around midnight and didn’t wake until half past 3 am; besides, yet an additional delay in the starting time was due to my wrists and fingers – after having rowed many hundreds of kilometres my hands had become spastic and numb at the same time so that freshly after waking I couldn’t get them anywhere near fine working order before a 30-minute stretching and stimulating massage.
The most grievous point was the one day before it all began. The previous week had dashed by, full of preparations, always in a hurry, getting everything ready, thinking it all through, purchasing the final products. Lunchtime was gone before I noticed and instead of building up the energy reserve I lost a few kilos – due to involuntarily skipping meals and permanently rushing and perhaps worrying more than usual. Two days before the start I was also supposed to refrain from training, so I didn’t move as much as usually and as a result the system reacted to these interruptions: I developed a slight fever and had a running nose. Both manifestations I attribute to performance anxiety and therefore I didn’t contemplate any modifications or trade-offs to the rowing schedule.
—
During the first week of April I completed individual million meters (1000 km) on the erg. Indoor rowing ultra distances have earlier been pushed just once by Estonian sportsmen – by the tandem Rait Merisaar and Rainer Saad. The extreme distance is a strain for the body as well as the mind, assuming preparations and planning, and also quite a bit of courage to choose the road less travelled, to put it figuratively.
Among the more interesting questions for me about this eneterprise is the question of motivation: why would one choose to spend an entire week seated on the erg, pulling the handle? It could perhaps be thrilling to spend an hour in the gym, or to train two hours, ten hours, maybe even as long as 24 hours – but why remain on the erg for a week?
One option to answer this is to ask back: why not?
Why wouldn’t you want to challenge yourself with a task more difficult than the average and why wouldn’t you wish to learn your boundaries and your possible reactions in extreme situations? When facing a strange and voluminous task we oftentimes exaggerate the importance of the task and frustrate ourselves with mere thoughts about it, not acting upon it. Looking back it often happens that the enterprises that used to seem weighty at first somehow later seem quite ordinary or at least sufficiently manageable and the discrepancy between perceiving the magnitude of that what is still ahead and what has already passed is the obstacle keeping us back from trying new things, dreaming big, and planning accordingly. We tend to automatically put the label „Of great magnitude and risk” to a task, instead of dividing the assignment into building blocks and milestones, and getting things done „one day at a time”, not being excessively disturbed by the volume of the entire enterprise along the way.
For me personally, besides the rowing part itself, the planning of the million meters row was equally exciting. One of my role models, the successful British Olympian Sir Steve Redgrave has emphasized the benefits of visualization: when getting ready for a competition it is equally important – besides proceeding with the regular training routine – to imagine the situation of the competition and be mentally in the process of the competition in full detail. For example: to visualize having been seated on the erg for the entire day, for two days, for three days – what kind of thoughts I might be having, what kind of desires, what kind of mood, what I might like to eat, what I might wish to do during the breaks. Once I have these answers ready in advance I will have all the time uniquely for focussing on the task of covering the distance. Also, by excluding possible surprises the level of anxiety and fright would be lower, knowing that there is no significant obstacle potentially impeding the accomplishment of the enterprise or perhaps even coercing me to stop.
The preparation period was actually very brief, yet thanks to the pressing urge that overwhelmed me, a practical action plan materialized and over these few months I also pulled myself together to the best emotional and physical condition or quite close to that. I also managed to get ready with the logistics and the technical preliminaries. January had been the month of another challenge, so in February I mostly took it easy and rather than tiring myself more, tried to monitor my individual peculiarities of recovery, keeping in mind that the end of an enormous effort is not the finish line but instead the end of the recovery phase. I visited the sports doctor in order to have my health checked and to avoid possible hazards – the test showed wonderful results and that added to my self-confidence and pleasant excitement concerning the project. In the beginning of March I trained more intensely after the transition period, towards the end of March continued with the usual training routine, aiming to save energy and maintain a balance between fitness and fatigue. A week before the Big Row I took a holiday from work, to peacefully ponder the rowing schedule and the week’s agenda, to aquire and own it, and attain readiness to contribute the maximum to this goal, knowing that if everything goes as planned I would be enjoying the fruits of the work in a week’s time. Early enough I had already prepared many pairs of sporting kits – training shirts and leggings, sports shoes, etc. Also I had packed an exhaustive first aid suitcase for any possible complaint (and didn’t use it), I had the drinking bottles and sports drinks all ready and the food list compiled.
Two days before the start I catered the meals for the week. The amount of food was plenty and so there was at once one worry less: at least I wouldn’t be hungry during the week! Since I had carefully planned my healthy meals during the preparation period, eating at least one warm meal every day, including meat and dairy products, then during the Million Meter row I had intended to kind of take advantage of that preparation. During the million meter row I mainly consumed liquids, mostly sports drinks. During one half marathon (21097m) I usually consumed about 500ml of liquids. During the breaks I also preferred fluid food – strawberry/banana protein drinks, rhubarb kissel. Not once during that week did I crave for the salty or the normal food – I only ate tiny bits out of a sense of duty. Regarding all the extreme physical activity I wouldn’t have been able to eat an entire plateful at a time anyway.
Very special thanks: Rait Merisaar – for preparations, good advice, and being an example
The Million Meters support team: Rait Merisaar, Piret Väljaots, Anneli ja Jüri Ennet, Liisi Toom, Ardi Sažko, Marian Hiire, Eve Külasalu, Rachel Kõllo, Maris Kaurov, Vahur Soosaar
Also, my acknowldgements to people who have earlier and in various ways inspired me and have been my idols, friends, training partners, companions and role models in sports: Olympic gold medalist Sir Steve Redgrave, David Plumb, Ian Holmes, Tiina Kapten, Rainer Saad, Markel Pärnsalu, Kevin Kriisa, Aleksei Lipintsov, Andres Siiman.
NordenBladet — Today in Stockholm, the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of Denmark Lars Løkke Rasmussen, the Prime Minister of Finland Juha Sipilä, the Prime Minister of Iceland Katrín Jakobsdóttir, the Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg and the Prime Minister of Sweden Stefan Löfven held a Summit hosted by Swedish Prime Minister and Indian Prime Minister.
During the Summit, the Prime Ministers pledged to deepen cooperation between the Nordic countries and India and focused their discussions on key issues related to global security, economic growth, innovation and climate change. The Prime Ministers reaffirmed the importance of free trade as a catalyst for achieving inclusive growth and realising Sustainable Development Goals.
The Prime Ministers acknowledged that innovation and digital transformation drive growth in an interconnected world, which underpin a growing engagement between the Nordic countries and India. The role of the Nordic countries as global innovation leaders was underlined. The Nordic approach to innovation systems, characterized by a strong collaboration between public sector, private sector and academia, were discussed, and synergies were identified with India’s rich pool of talent and skills.
The Summit emphasized the Indian Government’s strong commitment to innovation and digital initiatives as key to prosperity and sustainable development, with national flagship programmes such as Make in India, Startup India, Digital India and Clean India. Nordic solutions in clean technologies, maritime solutions, port modernization, food processing, health and life-sciences and agriculture were mentioned. The Summit welcomed the Nordic Sustainable Cities Project aimed at supporting the Smart Cities Program of the Government of India.
The Prime Ministers noted that the unique strengths of India and the Nordic countries offer immense opportunities for trade and investment diversification and mutually beneficial collaboration. During the talks, the importance of the rules-based multilateral trading system as well as open and inclusive international trade for prosperity and growth was underlined and the Ease of Doing Business practices were emphasised as a priority for both the Nordic countries and India.
The Prime Ministers acknowledged that terrorism and violent extremism are major challenges for the international community. They discussed global security, including cyber security, based upon their shared values of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, and their commitment to uphold the rules-based international system. They also discussed export control and non-proliferation. The Nordic countries welcomed India’s application for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group and reaffirmed their commitment to work constructively within the Group with the aim of reaching a positive outcome at the earliest opportunity.
The Prime Ministers reaffirmed their support for the UN and the Secretary-General’s reform efforts to ensure a UN fit to support Member States to deliver on Agenda 2030 and took note of his proposals to strengthen the UN, including in the areas of development, peace operations, peacebuilding and conflict prevention. The Nordic countries and India reaffirmed the need for reform of the UN Security Council, including its expansion in both permanent and non-permanent seats to make it more representative, accountable, effective and responsive to the realities of the 21st century. The Nordic countries agree that India is a strong candidate for a permanent seat in a reformed Security Council expanded with both permanent and non-permanent members.
The Prime Ministers reaffirmed their full commitment to implementing the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development as well as the ambitious implementation of the Paris Agreement. They agreed to continue efforts to develop cleaner energy systems, renewable energy and fuels, increased energy efficiency and technologies for cleaner energy production. The Prime Ministers noted that women’s full and meaningful participation in political, social and economic life is key to inclusive development and agreed to promote the empowerment of women. The Prime Ministers agreed that a strong partnership can help spur innovations, economic growth, sustainable solutions and mutually beneficial trade and investments. The Summit emphasized the importance of a strong people-to-people contact through education, culture, labour mobility and tourism – all areas where both the Nordic countries and India see a continuous increase in both interests and numbers.
NordenBladet – Åland (in Finnish Ahvenanmaa and in Swedish Åland) is an archipelago consisting of over 6500 island in the Baltic Sea that forms a self-governing Åland province. The population of Åland is Swedish-speaking and the only official language is Swedish. Åland belongs to Finland, except a part of the island of Märket, and it is autonomous. Åland has its own laws, citizenship and stamps. Fasta Åland is the largest island in the archipelago. It is surrounded by smaller islands. There is the Sea of Åland in the south, South Kvarken in the west and the Gulf of Botnia in the north. There is a notional border between Åland and Åboland archipelago.
We often do not have much time on our trips, and we have to decide what to take and what to leave. Here are 10 most interesting sights that you should definitely visit on this amazing island. Let’s start with Mariehamn.
Badhusberget, Mariehamn
The most beautiful view on Mariehamn can be enjoyed from the town’s oldest water tower – Badhusberget. You can drive a car up the hill. You are able to see the iridescent water from above, as well as old bridges, a church, a passenger port and a windjammer Pommern. The observation platform situates on the west side of Mariehamn, quite close to the passenger port.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLglJ3vMGX4
The Flying P-Liner Pommern museum ship
It is a unique over one hundred years old four-masted barque that has remained in its original form. Between the world wars, Pommern was one of largest windjammers belonging to Gustaf Erikson – a shipowner from Åland. He was the owner of the biggest sailing fleet in his time. There are exhibitions on the decks, and one can also watch a documentary about Pommern. There is the Åland Maritime Museum next to the museum ship where you can see a real pirate’s flag among other things.
The Pommern (formerly the Mneme was built in 1903 in Scotland) is a four-masted sailing and museum ship that is considered one of the symbols of Åland. The ship is anchored in the western harbour of Åland, and it is open to visitors in its original form. The ship was built as a cargo ship in 1903 in Scotland. The ship was used to carry saltpetre and later grain from Australia to England and Ireland and timber from Finland and South-Africa to Australia. The ship had the capacity of 49 000 bags of grain. Gustav Erikson bought the ship from Greece in 1923, and it was brought to Åland. Pommern made his last voyage in 1939. The ship has been anchored in Mariehamn’s harbour since the Second World War. The heirs of Erikson gave the ship to the town that restored it.
Finström church
The medieval church of Finström is located on the main island of Åland, 5 km from Godby. The patron saint of the church is Saint Michael. The church has preserved several medieval frescos that were whitewashed during the Reformation and have been cleaned out by now. There are very valuable wooden sculptures of various saints. A lovely churchyard and surroundings.
Borgboda
It is a village in Saltvik. Ida’s stuga: you can acquaint yourself with Ida Jansson’s a bit sad biography and her stuga. Water pelargoniums in return! Viking castle: Borgboda is the biggest of Åland Vikings’ fortresses. The path up the hill is lined with exciting wooden sculptures that are inspired by Vikings’ mythology. There are only the remains of the stone foundation. A magnificent view from the top of the mountain! The wooden sculptures show the way to the viewing site.
Getabergen – Geta mountains
Åland has two large mountains, Orrdalsklint and a mountain in Geta. Orrdalsklint is the highest point in Åland, it is 128 metres above sea level. There is a wonderful view over the tiny islands surrounding the main island that compensates for the difficulty of climbing uphill. Geta mountain is the second highest mountain in Åland, it is 99 meters above sea level. You can even see the coast of Sweden on a clear day. An observation tower, miniature golf, a café, a very good restaurant, cabin houses, as well as a hiking trail that gets past the blockfield and the cave Getagrottan. Pay attention to the signs on the cliffs not to get lost!
The ruins of the Bomarsund fortress
The fortress was constructed by the Russian Empire in the first half of the 19th century. It was destroyed in the Crimean War in 1854. The main fortress has the outer wall made of hexagonal red granite stones. You can drive a car to the ruins of two defence towers at the top of the mountain where once again you can enjoy a spectacular view over Djävulsberget and Notvikstornet. Read also the article about Bomarsund. More information, videos and a computerised reconstruction of the fortress HERE.
Kastelholm
Kastelholm is the main tourist destination of Åland as several most visited sights are situated there. Kastelholm castle is the only medieval castle in the Åland Islands. It is partly refurbished. You can visit the Outdoor Museum Jan Karlsgården next to the castle that introduces the farm culture of Åland in the 19th century. Furthermore, there is a prison museum Vita Björn. In this old prison, you can see how the cells have looked like in Finland at various times in the past. More information and videos about Kastelholm you can find HERE.
Färjsundet
Färjsundet is a place near Godby with one of the most splendid views in Åland. Here is a road tunnel made in the granite cliff (by detonating). The road tunnel leads straight to the high bridge but there is a café and an observation tower on the large cliff mountain above the tunnel. Färjsundet bridge connects the communes of Finström and Saltvik.
Käringsund
Käringsund is a lovely village by the sea, located in Eckerö, the westernmost part of the Åland Islands. The wildlife safari is an experience for the whole family. In 45 minutes it is possible to see various species of deer, boars and ostriches. We highly recommend it! The rustic boathouses and the pier and the natural yachts’ harbour next to the latter is the scenery that brings inner peace. There is suitably also a fishing and hunting museum in the village.
The trip in the Åland archipelago
When you are already in Åland, you should not miss the opportunity to make acquaintance with the real milieu of the archipelago. You can go by ferry. Kökar, which is one of the areas with the wildest nature, is located in the south-east of the Åland archipelago and it is lots of people’s favourite. Franciscan monks constructed a monastery on the island of Hamnö in the 15th century. The ruins of the chapel are next to the church built in the 18th century. When you are pressed for time, you can take a ferry from the main island to Föglö island and spend some hours or more in Degerby. Ferries go there quite often and the trip is only 25 minutes.
NordenBladet – It does not matter where or who you travel with but do it safely. Here you can find some tips in order your trip will come to no good.
1. Think about your health: do not forget to take your European Health Insurance Card. Download the mobile app of the European Health Insurance Card, it is free of charge, and it will help you to get in touch with the medical institution of the country you are visiting. If you travel out of Europe or to the country where the European Health Insurance Card is not valid, get yourself travel insurance. You could also take along a basic first aid kit, like bandages, iodine, disinfecting tissues, etc.
You should visit your doctor before going to an exotic destination, to get your vaccines, if necessary, and to get information about how to protect your health in other ways.
2. Know your rights: it is not important whether you travel by train, plane, bus or ship in the European Union if any delays or cancellations occur or you have some special needs what concerns your mobility, the passenger rights of the European Union will protect you. Download the mobile app of the passenger rights.
3. Do not keep all your money in one place: do not keep all your cash and bank cards in the same place during your trip. Put at least one bank card and some cash somewhere else, preferably not into your pocket. If you lose some of your credit cards or it is stolen, inform the police and contact the card-issuing bank at the first opportunity to disable the card.
4. Do not keep your wallet in your pocket: put your wallet into your first or inner pocket, even better in the pocket that can be closed, to avoid being the victim of thieves.
5. Make electronic copies of your documents: scan your travel documents (identification card, passport, visa) and send them to your email address. So you can always access them in case you should lose the originals. If your identification card or passport are lost or stolen, turn to the local police and contact the closest consulate or embassy.
6. Be careful with the people you do not know: set certain limits on trusting strangers, such as, do not go with them to dangerous neighborhoods or take food or drinks from them. Likewise, do not take packages or presents from strangers.
7. Do not brag about your wealth: it is obvious that wherever you are (particularly in foreign places), it is not reasonable to wear expensive jewellery and clothes or a big and pricey camera. Therefore, try to avoid unnecessary attention not to be the target of thieves.
8. Do not leave your things unattended: it is also quite clear that while being in public areas you should not put your bags in front of your feet or hang them on your seatback. Your luggage should have your name and contacts while travelling and do not leave it unattended until it is registered.
9. Do not fight back: if you are in a situation where somebody is trying to rob you, just give your wallet, watch, telephone, etc. away. If you are trying to fight back, it is possible you will get hurt.
10. Be careful when using your credit card: there might be software saving all your keystrokes in public computers (for instance, in internet cafés) that enables someone else to use your passwords.
11. Be connected: contact your family regularly to keep them informed about your travel plan. So they will know where to find you in case something should happen. It is easier to be connected today as the prices of roaming and internet connection have been reduced almost everywhere.
12. Do your homework: read about your destination to be aware of all the possible safety problems, local customs, areas to avoid, etc.
13. Use public transport wisely: be careful in crowded subways, train stations, elevators, near tourist attractions, at the market and in other places where there are a lot of people. Do not draw attention to yourself and behave like you have been lost. Leave the impression of being confident, even when you are lost indeed. It is not recommended to use unofficial taxis.
Besides all the tips for safe travelling do not forget the most important – use your common sense!
NordenBladet – The Nordic Skiing 24-hour world record attempt finished at 10:00 am on Friday 13th of April in Levi, Finland. In men, Hans Mäenpää set a new world record, which is now 472 kilometres and 007 metres, i.e. almost 40 kilometres longer than the previous record of 433 kilometres and 459 metres. Anni Angria set a new world record for women, 375 kilometres and 564 metres, with the previous record being 333 kilometres, Levi.fi mediates.
– I feel absolutely terrible, said Hans Mäenpää right after the extremely hard trial.
This was the first time that Hans Mäenpää, born in 1979, skied such an ultra-long distance. The Finn from Pietarsaari was able to keep a good pace throughout the 24 hours, even though the weather conditions on Thursday were very heavy. The daytime temperatures reached over 15 °C on the 400-metre-long track around the Tunturilampi lake in the centre of Levi.
– My energy levels were good throughout the journey. I set out to break the record, and I got what I came here for. Should I someday make another record-breaking attempt, it would have to be just me, i.e. skiing alone. Daniel Strand was skiing at a really fast pace, a little too fast at times. I would like to thank the best service team in the world, Team Mäenpää, as well as the organisers here in Levi, Hans Mäenpää said.
Thursday morning saw three men starting on the world record attempt: the then record-holder Teemu Virtanen from Finland, Team Mäenpää’s Hans Mäenpää and Daniel Strand from Norway. Teemu Virtanen retired on Thursday, with 7 hours and 15 minutes on the clock. The Norwegian lasted for approximately 13 hours.
– A really amazing performance from Hans. A real surprise. I could tell from the start that Hans was “on a mission” with his determined skiing. I didn’t have the kind of a day that I could have been able to ski against myself, so I stopped around the seven-hour mark, Teemu Virtanen says.
Daniel Strand had to drop out due to a repetitive strain injury on his arm.
Hans Mäenpää skied alone for nearly 12 hours, with his own teammates from Team Mäenpää skiing in front of him as “rabbits” at times.
– I won’t be competing in the Ylläs-Levi ski marathon on Saturday, with such Finnish skiers as Iivo Niskanen, Risto-Matti Hakola and Ari Luusua in the line-up. I’ll be in the service team! Now, I’m going to have a sauna, eat and sleep, said Hans after he finished his 24-hour run.
The new women’s 24-hour world record holder, Anni Angria from Iisalmi, Finland, was totally exhausted at the finish line. Angria, born in 1981, used every last ounce of her strength during the final few minutes, with the crowds cheering for her alongside the track.
– I’m nauseated and everything hurts. But otherwise I feel extremely happy. My goal was to ski at least 350 kilometres and I reached and surpassed that. Now I’ve got a world record to my name, Anni Angria smiled at the finish.
The world records of Hans Mäenpää and Anni Angria both still have to be accepted by the Guinness World Records before becoming official. This can take a few months.
NordenBladet —Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen will make a Team Finland visit to Germany from 17 to 19 April. Minister Virolainen and the accompanying business delegation will visit Berlin and Kiel, the capital of the state of Schleswig-Holstein.
The main themes of the visit will be digitalisation in healthcare and food exports. Germany is Finland’s biggest trading partner and an important export destination. The aim of the visit is to raise awareness of Finnish companies and Finnish expertise in the fields of health technology and food exports in Germany.
“Health technology is currently the biggest high-technology sector in Finland, representing approximately half of our high-technology exports. Germany, for its part, is Finland’s third most important export destination in the health technology sector,” Minister Virolainen says.
On Tuesday 17 April, Virolainen will open Finland’s stand at the ConhIT Connecting Healthcare IT exhibition and give the opening address at a bioenergy seminar presenting Finnish expertise in the area, organised at the Embassy of Finland.
The visit will be organised together with Finpro, which is part of Team Finland.
The following companies will accompany Minister Virolainen on the TF visit:
Health technology:
Abomics Oy
Oy Apotti Ab
Fujitsu Finland Oy
Genano Oy Ab
Innokas Medical Ltd.
Kauko Oy
Klinik Healthcare Solutions
Medigoo Oy Inc.
MediSapiens Ltd
Megical
Ninchat
Pedihealth Oy
Food exports:
Bryggeri Helsinki
Linkosuo Bakery
One Eyed Spirits
Raisio Nutrition Ltd
Teerenpeli Brewery & Distillery
