NordenBladet — Based on preliminary data, 52,615 persons cast their votes in Finland’s missions abroad in advance in the first round of the presidential election. This is the highest ever voter turnout abroad.

The number of votes exceeded that of the presidential election of 2012, when 47,524 persons cast their votes in the first round.  According to the Population Register Centre, over 250,000 persons with a permanent residence abroad are eligible to vote in the presidential election of Finland.

Advance voting was arranged in 89 countries with 242 polling stations in all. In addition, some Finnish vessels’ crew member had an opportunity to vote in advance on board and over 200 crew members used their right to vote.  Advance voting was also arranged at the bases of the Finnish crisis management forces in Iraq and Lebanon.

Advance voting was the most active in Sweden, where a total of 12,236 votes were cast in 35 polling stations.  The second highest voter turnout was recorded in Spain, where 10,351 persons cast their votes. The United States with 3,558 advance voters came in third place. Over three thousand votes were cast in both Germany and the United Kingdom.

Source: Finland.ee
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NordenBladet — The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland together with the Abilis Foundation will co-host the Global Action on Disability (GLAD) Network meeting in Helsinki, Finland, from 31 January to 2 February 2018. More than 90 important international partners and donors engaged in development cooperation and humanitarian aid will gather in Helsinki.

“Finland wants to highlight the rights and the needs of persons with disabilities in the context of humanitarian crises. There has been a dramatic growth in the need for humanitarian assistance in the recent years.

Persons with disabilities are disproportionately impacted by disaster and conflict. They face particular barriers in accessing life-saving assistance and are often exposed to targeted violence and exploitation”, says Kai Mykkänen, Minister of Foreign Trade and Development, who will open the meeting.

This is the second meeting of the international GLAD Network of donors. Its membership consists of states, representatives of the private sector, foundations, UN agencies and civil society organisations that are committed to promoting the position of persons with disabilities in connection with development cooperation and humanitarian action.  The following organisations will be represented in Helsinki: European Commission, UNDP, UNICEF, UN WOMEN, WHO, World Bank, International Committee of the Red Cross and World Federation of the Deaf. Also the Australian Minister for International Development Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, who co-chairs the meeting, will be present.

The network aims to promote the rights of persons with disabilities and the implementation of the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), to reduce inequality, and to ensure that the rights of persons with disabilities are a central part of global sustainable development goals (SDGs). The Helsinki meeting will focus on education, humanitarian action and social security.

For the past three decades, Finland has pioneered in international work aiming to improve the position of persons with disabilities through development cooperation and humanitarian assistance.  Finland supports not only the GLAD Network but also other international actors, such and the UN Partnership to Promote the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD). Finland is the biggest single contributor to this partnership.

Source: Finland.ee
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NordenBladet — Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini will continue his school visits, which focus on the prevention of violent radicalisation, by touring in the counties, too. On 29 January, Soini will travel to Nurmes and Siilinjärvi; he will visit the upper secondary school in Nurmes and the Ahmo comprehensive school and the municipal upper secondary school in Siilinjärvi, near Kuopio.

“Radicalisation that leads to violence does not take place on the spur of the moment, but means a series of events in which it is possible intervene. I want to encourage young people to be active and step in. It is also interesting to hear what young people think and what they want to ask about the matter,” Soini says.

The school visits’ aim is to enhance young people’s knowledge and awareness of how we can prevent violent radicalisation through foreign and security policy.

“I want to remind upper secondary school students about the importance of Finland’s foreign and security policy in the fight against violent radicalisation and terrorism. Finland works in various parts of the word to promote human rights, especially the rights of women and girls, seeks to reduce poverty in a sustainable manner, and takes part in crisis management. All this is important in efforts to reduce violence and marginalisation.

The Minister started the visits to schools last year at the Tikkurila upper secondary school. In 2017, Soini visited the Tapiola upper secondary school, Maunula Secondary School and Helsinki Math School.

Source: Finland.ee
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NordenBladet — The new visual identity of the Foreign Service conveys the message of an organisation that operates in a stable manner in a turbulent world and that works to make the world a better place. The special feature of the identity is the innovative utilisation of the logo in the visualisation of data.

The new visual identity of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the diplomatic missions is being taken into use on 18 January. The Global Cycles concept of the new identity illustrates an internationally credible, agile and innovative actor that operates in a stable manner and exerts influence in a tumultuous world. The undulations of the globe-shaped basic blue logo denote things that affect Finland and that Finland can influence through the Foreign Service. The identity is designed to be flexible for different uses and adapts to both dignified representation and marketing-oriented needs.

In a digital world the logo becomes functional
The globe image, a key element of the new visual identity, functions dynamically in digital environments. A specific user interface capable of receiving real-time data signals has been built for the globe of the logo. This enables the Foreign Service to communicate in a new way about themes important to it, and to visualise different aspects of world events. The dynamic logo can react, for instance, to statistics or sound. At the launch of the visual identity at the travel fair Matka 2018, the new feature is utilised to visualise travel information on a hemisphere bigger than two metres.

The functionality of the Foreign Service’s new visual identity is a concrete illustration of innovativeness and Finnish technological know-how. It also highlights the active nature of Finland’s foreign policy. The new visual identity was designed by Mikael Kivelä, Head of Design at the design agency 358, on the basis of the goals created jointly by the staff.

Source: Finland.ee
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