21. Sustainable and welcoming rural areas
The 2024 Finnish–Swedish Rural Parliament (Landsbygdsriksdagen) was held on 23–24 October in Vaasa, Finland, under the theme of ‘Sustainable and Welcoming Rural Areas’. This biennial event, which circulates across Finland, offers the country’s Swedish-speaking minority a means of building and strengthening their networks.
It should also be noted that a Finnish-speaking rural parliament was arranged for 2024 (during September), pointing to the vibrancy of the NGOs active in Finnish rural areas. See www.ruralparliament.fi/.
The 2024 Landsbygdsriksdagen programme encompassed, among other events, a fishbowl panel featuring an EU coordinator and Finnish national officials; a youth panel made up of NGO representatives; workshops on storytelling, crafts and podcasts; and fieldtrips to Replot Island and the Kvarken archipelago world heritage site.
For more details on the programme, see: https://bya.fi/sv/landsbygdsriksdagen/tidigare/landsbygdsriksdagen_2024/.
Nordregio was honoured to be an invited speaker, with Senior Research Fellow Elin Slätmo elaborating on how the organisation contributes to the vision of Nordic sustainability. Specific topics included the three thematic groups set up to implement the Nordic collaboration programme, and their involvement in supporting policy migration, within which policy praxis from one Nordic country can migrate from one country to the other, and Nordic added value. Results from some of the research projects funded by the thematic group were also discussed in the keynote presentation.
For further information on these projects, see: Tillgänglighet till service; En rättvis grön omställning; Samverkande regionalt ledarskap; Distansarbete och multilokalitet; Färdplan för landsbygden; Smart anpassning till befolkningsminskning; and Arbetskraftsbrist.
Elin was also asked to comment on the other speakers’ presentations, especially concerning how to ensure just transitions. Here, discussion topics included procedural justice (who should be involved in processes and hearings); outcome justice (how to ensure the results of a decision are sustainable and just); and restorative justice (how to include a reparative perspective in the Nordics’ nature resource planning). These observations spurred further debate, the general consensus being that while there is much to be proud of in terms of Nordic sustainability, it remains an ongoing process.
