NordenBladet — On 26 November 2020, the Government appointed a new Board of Directors to the Natural Resources Institute Finland for the term 1 January 2021–31 December 2023. The Board of Directors is chaired by Tuomas Salusjärvi, Executive Vice President at Valio, and the vice chair is Saara Kankaanrinta, Chair of the Board of the BSAG Foundation.
The task of the Board of Directors is to support the management of the Natural Resources Institute Finland, present initiatives for the strategic guidance of the operations and promote cooperation with stakeholders. The Board of Directors decides on the budget proposal of the Natural Resources Institute Finland, approval of the financial statement and deputies for the President and CEO. The composition of the Board of Directors:
Chair: Tuomas Salusjärvi, Executive Vice President, Valio Vice chair: Saara Kankaanrinta, Chair of the Board of the BSAG Foundation
Members
Timo Karjalainen, Managing Director, Laitakarin Kala Kristiina Kruus, Dean, School of Chemical Engineering of the Aalto University Jorma Länsitalo, Head of Forest Assets, Stora EnsoHeli Siitari, Entrepreneur, Villilä LuontoThe Board of Directors has one member elected from among the staff. The election of the staff representative is currently under way at the Natural Resources Institute Finland.
NordenBladet — The Government proposes a legislative amendment concerning the support and compensation paid to food and beverage service sector businesses. The amendment will reduce the administrative burden and costs of small companies by simplifying the accounting obligations regarding compensation. The amendment is based on the European Commission’s decision to relax the State aid rules.
A small company would no longer be required to prepare a special financial statement on the results of the closure period and the reference period, as required by the Act in force now. As a result, a small company would avoid the additional cost of preparing such accounts and auditing them.
The amendment does not require any special measures from food and beverage service businesses. It is sufficient that the financial statement indicates the company is a small enterprise within the meaning of the amendment. Food and beverage service businesses, which have already been granted compensation, could also make use of the relief in preparing their financial statements, as the amendment would apply to them too.The Government submitted the proposal to Parliament on 26 November 2020. The Act is expected to enter into force as soon as possible.
Administrative burden and costs have arisen from EU State aid rules
Restaurants were closed to customers between 4 April and 31 May 2020 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. When approving the restrictions, Parliament required compensation for reasonable costs and measures to mitigate the effects of the restrictions. The act on support for job retention and re-employment in the food and beverage service sector and on compensation for the restriction of activities entered into force on 5 June 2020.
The entry into force of the Act was conditioned on the European Commission approving the aid scheme contained therein under the EU State aid rules. The Commission required that the compensation granted to a food and beverage service sector business is at most the amount by which the losses accrued during the closure period exceed the result of the reference period. Because of this requirement, small companies would also have had to include special profit and loss accounts in their financial statements for the closure and reference periods. The preparation of such accounts requires exceptional computational work, which means that preparing the accounts and their auditing would have caused significant costs for small companies in relation to the compensation they received.
However, the European Commission amended its rules on State aid on 2 July 2020. It is possible to waive the requirement to provide special accounts in the financial statements by amending the Act so that the new EU rules will apply to small and micro-sized food and beverage service sector businesses.
Most of the food service businesses granted compensation are small and micro-enterprisesThe KEHA Centre has granted compensation for the restriction of business activities to 7,000 companies totalling approximately EUR 90 million. The majority of them are small and micro-enterprises, to which the legislative amendment will apply.
NordenBladet — The COVID-19 situation has worsened almost throughout Finland but particularly in the Greater Helsinki area and the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa. New restrictions and recommendations have already been introduced and will be introduced not only in the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa but also elsewhere in the country. However, in South Savo, for example, transmission chains have been kept well under control.
During the period of 16–22 November, the number of cases increased sharply, and new infections were reported in all hospital districts. The majority of new cases were reported in the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa where the number of infections has been the highest since the epidemic started.The total number of new cases in the last two-week period (9–22 November) was 4,176, which was 1,315 cases more than in the preceding two-week period. The incidence of new cases was 75 per 100,000 inhabitants, while in the preceding two-week period it was 52. One fourth of those infected were in quarantine when they tested positive for COVID-19The majority of the new cases continue to be of domestic origin. Cases where the virus was contracted abroad accounted for about 3% of all new cases, although there was a lot of variation between hospital districts (ranging from 0% to 36%). Less than 1% of all cases were infections caught in Finland that came from people who had contracted the virus abroad. One fourth of all new cases were reported among people who were already in quarantine when they tested positive for COVID-19. In the previous week, such cases accounted for one third of all cases.
At present, the testing capacity of laboratories is about 26,000 samples per day. In addition, some regions have started using antigen tests. During the period of 16–22 November, around 7,000–18,000 samples were analysed daily. Of them, 2.6% were positive. This represents an increase of nearly one percentage point from the previous week.
Source of infection can be identified in about half of casesAt the national level, the source of infection was identified in about half of the cases as in the previous week. In the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa, the source of infection was known in about one third of the cases.
Number of cases increasing among older age groups
The majority of all cases, that is about 75% of them, were reported among people under 50 years of age and some 40% among people under 30 years of age. Over the past few weeks, the number of infections has also increased among older age groups. People over 60 years of age now account for more than 12% of the cases, which is a few percentage points higher than a couple of weeks ago. What is worrying is that in the past few weeks the percentage of people over 70 years of age has risen by about three percentage points to approximately 6%. People over 70 years of age have an elevated risk of developing a more serious form of the COVID-19 disease so it is essential to protect them from contracting the virus.
More and more people requiring hospital care
The number of patients requiring hospital and intensive care has been increasing since October. On 25 November 2020, a total of 134 patients were receiving hospital care due to the COVID-10 disease, and 21 of them were in intensive care. It is estimated that about 16,800 people, which is over 70% of all confirmed cases, have recovered from the disease. The total number of confirmed cases in Finland now stands at 22,652. There have been 388 deaths related to the disease.
NordenBladet — The EU ministers responsible for competitiveness will discuss the future of the European Research Area (ERA) at their meeting on research and innovation on 27 November 2020. Finland’s representative at the informal video meeting of competitiveness ministers (research, innovation) will be Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä.
The ministers will discuss the research and development activities and innovation objectives of the Member States. The European Commission’s proposals on the future of the ERA will serve as a basis of the meeting.
“The ERA must be developed in such a way that it strengthens sustainable growth, employment and social development. Our national target for R&D expenditure is 4% of gross domestic product. We can only achieve this target through cooperation between the public and private sectors,” Minister Lintilä says.
Goal to develop research and development in all of EUIn autumn 2020, the European Commission published a Communication entitled “A new European Research Area for research and innovation.” The European Research Area (ERA) is an initiative launched in 2000 to link research activities in the EU area.
One goal that the recent communication sets is raising the EU’s research and development expenditure to 3% of Member State’s GDP. In spring 2020, Finland published a national roadmap for research, development and innovation activities, which sets the objective of increasing the share of R&D expenditure to 4% of its GDP by 2030.
NordenBladet — On 18 November 2020, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment appointed a steering group for the working life diversity programme, which promotes diversity and inclusiveness in working life from the perspective of immigrants, as per the Government Programme.
The aim of the programme is to ensure that companies and organisations benefit from diversity and that immigrants are able to find employment matching their skills and advance in their careers. “In addition to companies, central government administration should also reflect the diverse society. Diversity in central government can be increased, for example, by improving the diversity skills of the managers responsible for recruitment. Our image as employer should also be developed. For example, state job advertisements could include a sentence about diversity which would hopefully encourage people of different backgrounds to apply for work with us,” says Sonja Hämäläinen, chair of the steering group and Migration Director from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. The steering group includes representatives from ministries, public authorities and other key bodies. The term of the steering group will run from 18 November 2020 until 31 March 2022.
NordenBladet — How can digitalisation best serve the work against climate change? What should be done to reduce the ICT sector’s emissions? The final report of the working group on a climate and environment strategy for the ICT sector will be published on 30 November 2020.
ICT can deliver substantial environmental benefits by replacing products with services and through telecommuting. On the other hand, communication networks, data centres and smart devices consume electricity and materials.
On Monday, 30 November starting at 9.30, the Ministry of Transport and Communications will organise a webinar, where the working group’s recommendations for controlling the climate impacts and promoting the positive impacts in the ICT sector will be published. It is internationally pioneering work, and the report presents a vision of Finland as a leader in the use and development of sustainable ICT solutions.
Minister of Transport and Communications Timo Harakka will also give an address. Google’s European Energy Markets Lead Brian Denvir and Head of Environment at Nokia Pia Tanskanen will give presentations on how these companies have improved energy efficiency and increased the use of carbon-free electricity sources. Professor at the University of Helsinki Petri Myllymäki will speak about a study on the energy efficiency of machine learning.
Electric power consumption is the principal cause of greenhouse gas emissions in the ICT sector, which uses 4-10 per cent of the world’s electricity and generates 1.5-5 per cent of its greenhouse gas emissions, according to various estimates. On the other hand, the ICT sector has great potential to reduce the carbon footprint of other sectors. One example of this is the optimisation of industrial processes.
Next steps
The final report will be sent out for comments on 30 November 2020. After that Finland’s first climate and environment strategy for the ICT sector will be finalised at the Ministry of Transport of Transport and Communications.
The webinar can be viewed on Monday, 30 November 2020 at 9.30-11.30 via the following link: https://lvm.videosync.fi/ict-alan-ilmasto-ymparistostrategia
NordenBladet — More and more false and harmful information is deliberately disseminated especially in electronic information networks. The intentions behind dissemination of disinformation are varied: to undermine faith in democratic institutions, to sow discord between population groups, to put blame on and discriminate against minorities, to silence researchers and journalists, to win elections, and to gain personal or economic benefit. Unfortunately, the list is long and expanding.
The Freedom Online Coalition (FOC) is a partnership of governments that are committed to the promotion of an open and safe internet. A Joint Statement on the dissemination of disinformation and human rights, prepared under the leadership of Finland and the United Kingdom, was published in november 2020. “The FOC aims to fight the use of disinformation in order to erode human rights, democracy and the rule of law,” says Ambassador for Human Rights Rauno Merisaari, who has been among those responsible for the preparation of the Joint Statement.
Collaboration as a way to best results
The Joint Statement underlines that, in their fight against disinformation, governments should not only refrain from becoming guilty of disseminating disinformation but also respect human rights norms. Businesses operating in online communications and social media platforms have a special responsibility in this respect. From the point of view of freedom of expression, removing online content is not a straightforward matter; distorting information is not criminal as such, but may cause great damage. The best way to reach results in the fight against disinformation is to collaboration between governments, companies, organisations and researchers.
“Matters relating to fight against disinformation and cyber security issues will be on the agenda also next year, when Finland will chair the FOC,” says Janette Sorsimo, who is responsible for the preparations for Finland’s Coalition Chair year. Finland has expertise in identifying cross-border disinformation activity as well as in digital and media literacy. The Freedom Online Coalition is a human-rights organisation of 32 member governments, which promotes free, open and safe internet. The FOC creates global norms, exercises influence on global forums, and raises awareness of the objectives relating to human rights online. Finland will serve as the Coalition Chair in 2021. Finland will focus on equality and development, the impacts of artificial intelligence, and challenges related to authoritarian regimes.
NordenBladet — Finna.fi search services, which brings together Finnish cultural and scientific material, now offers new opportunities for learning. Educational resources are available for use openly and free of charge. Finna is funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture.
The millions of treasures on Finna.fi now include open educational resources. Anyone can use these to increase their knowledge of artificial intelligence or the development of working life, or to improve their language skills. The educational resources are freely available for use. Users can utilise them for improving their own skills, in studies or in the work of a teacher. Much of the material can be edited for personal needs.
– The availability of pedagogically produced information, independently from time and place, is increasingly more important as people develop their own competencies. The open study material serves all those thirsting for knowledge and meet the needs of continuous learning, says Special Adviser Tomi Kytölä from the Ministry of Education and Culture.
Educational resources are produced by individual teachers and members of projects financed with public funds. The material is collected in Finna from the continuously supplemented Library of Open Educational Resources, the service used for sharing and storing the material.
Searches are easy Users can search for educational resources in two ways. They can be browsed on a specific tab that includes diverse features for narrowing your search. Searches can be directed according to all levels and subjects of education, degrees and qualifications or fields of science.The study material can also be found with a search on the front page, which displays the full offering of Finna.fi at the same time.
Finna is an even more comprehensive learning service than before
As a search service, Finna includes an abundance of material for learning and teaching.The service can be used to study university theses and scientific articles available online. The search also helps users find plenty of historical material, such as videos and freely available photographs and maps. People interested in literature can check the availability of books at various libraries in one go.Teachers have already been able to use the Finna Classroom service aimed at comprehensive schools and upper secondary schools. Material packages in Classroom are based on a selection of museums and archives, as well as pedagogic assignments prepared by teachers.Educational resources and other material can be taken into use in different learning services, such as learning platforms, by utilising Finna’s interfaces.
Further information:
– Head of Development Erkki Tolonen, National Library of Finland, erkki.tolonen(at)helsinki.fi, tel. +358 29 414 4588
– Special Adviser Tomi Kytölä, Ministry of Education and Culture, tomi.kytola(at)minedu.fi, tel. +358 295 330 293
What is Finna.fi?
Home to cultural and scientific material in Finland.A comprehensive learning service.
Opened in 2014.Developed by the National Library of Finland together with 400 Finnish operators.
There are 16.5 million material items of which 2.1 million are available online.In addition to the nationwide Finna.fi service, there are 85 other search services of different archives, libraries and museums available.
NordenBladet — International community renews its long-term commitment to the people of Afghanistan with significant pledges at the conference. Afghanistan and international partners commit to shared development objectives for 2021–2024, and adopt a communique calling for an end to the war and a durable peace, stability and prosperity.
The 2020 Afghanistan Conference provided a strong expression of the international community’s enduring commitment to Afghanistan for the critical period ahead up to 2024. The donors pledged at least US$ 3.3 billion for the first year of the upcoming quadrennial, with annual commitments expected to stay at the same level year-on-year.
Afghanistan’s development partners remain firmly committed to backing Afghanistan through to 2024. All development assistance will be subject to annual joint review processes by the government and international partners with donors continuing to exercise their right to decide upon the level and modality of their annual financial support.
“We, the Afghans, want an end to the violence and are committed to finding a political settlement that can not only bring an end to the suffering of the Afghan people but strengthen, safeguard and preserve the gains of the past 19 years,” said Abul Hadi Arghandiwal, Minister of Finance. “Today’s conference must represent our solidarity in which our international donors and development partners can take decisive steps in continuing to support Afghanistan and its people.
”The renewal of international support comes at a pivotal moment with unprecedented Afghanistan Peace Negotiations ongoing, a dynamic security setting and humanitarian needs peaking as winter sets in and the threat of COVID-19 remains. The pledges are made as Afghanistan enters the final four-year cycle of its Transformation Decade.
“The challenges Afghanistan faces are truly daunting. But the tremendous commitment shown at the conference by international partners to Afghanistan’s development provides real hope for a better tomorrow,” said Deborah Lyons, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan. “The Geneva conference can be seen as mutually reinforcing with the historic Peace Negotiations in Doha – together they can provide solid foundations for peace and prosperity.”
“The significant pledges made at the 2020 Afghanistan Conference, despite a difficult year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, show that the international community continues to stand firmly with the Afghan people at this crucial time,” said Ville Skinnari, Finland’s Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade.
The Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, supported by its international partners, is committed to preserving and expanding on the economic, social, political and development gains that have been since 2002. Democracy, human rights -including those of women, children and minorities- are fundamental issues to be protected and further developed. Participants emphasized the need to address key challenges such as poverty reduction, institution building, good governance, anti-corruption and private sector development.
International partners welcomed the second version of the Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework which provides the Afghan government’s vision, strategy and plan for the next five years (2021-25). Afghanistan and the international community have entered a new phase of cooperation, as articulated in the Afghanistan Partnership Framework, marked by conditionality and enhanced joint review mechanisms to ensure results and impact for the people of Afghanistan.
The conference adopted a communique calling for an immediate, permanent and comprehensive ceasefire. Partners also called for a meaningful peace process with the participation of women and youth, as well as ethnic, religious and other minorities. The communique establishes a renewed partnership to strengthen a sovereign, unified, democratic and peaceful Afghanistan on its path towards prosperity and self-reliance for the benefit of all Afghans.
“The Conference echoes the demand of the Afghan people for an immediate ceasefire and a lasting peace that they deserve – these demands must not be failed,” said Pekka Haavisto, Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Around 70 countries and more than 30 international organizations, along with Afghan Government officials and civil society representatives participated in the 2020 Afghanistan Conference. The Conference was jointly organized by the governments of Afghanistan and Finland with the United Nations. Given the serious risks posed by COVID-19, all participants took part in the proceedings virtually, with the co-chairs located in the UN Palais des Nations in Geneva.
NordenBladet — The United Nations has designated November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The day begins an annual international campaign called 16 Days of Activism, which draws attention to this important human rights violation. During the day, well-known buildings around the world will be illuminated in orange – the colour chosen to symbolise the day. For the first time this year, the Government Palace will be lit up in orange too.
Violence against women is a significant problem in Finland too. The Government Programme of Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s Government is committed to reducing violence against women. As agreed in the Programme, a new programme for combating violence against women was published in October.
A survey made by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) reveals that one in three women has experienced physical or sexual violence since the age of 15. In Europe, this means 62 million women.
Finland promotes wide ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women (Istanbul Convention). Finland supports the accession of the European Union to the Convention.
The Government Palace will be illuminated orange from Tuesday 24 November at 18.00 until Thursday 26 November at 9.00.