Theme
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Image of macho Northern Swedish man must go to secure recruitment
A gun on his back, snus tobacco under his lip and a misogynistic worldview, he drives around on his scooter. This image of the primitive Norrlänning – a person from Sweden’s northernmost county – became ingrained with the 1996 movie The Hunters. Now Northern Sweden is hunting for people to carry out the so-called green…
7 minutes
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The train to Russia stopped running. Lappeenranta limps on.
The borderless Nordic region turned out to be an illusion during the pandemic. It hit the Øresund region, border trade between Sweden and Norway and the citizens of Haparanda and Tornio. But Finland has an eastern border where traffic has ceased because of the pandemic. Today the war in Ukraine has made the situation even…
7 minutes
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Russians in Finland “not fooled by Russian propaganda”
Maria Taina-Parviainen is one of many Russians who have moved across the border to Lappeenranta. 21 years ago she moved from the Leningrad region to take up an apprenticeship in Finland.
4 minutes
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Fast track for refugees took opposite directions in Sweden and Norway
“Fast track was imported from Sweden, but came to Norway to die!” That is the subtitle of a chapter in a new book about how Norway’s welfare agency NAV has worked with inclusive workplaces, learning and innovation.
4 minutes
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Young, smart and excluded from the Swedish labour market
It is not enough to be smart. For many young people, the door is still shut to large parts of the labour market. The organisation NU – Nolla Utanförskapet (End Exclusion) – works with businesses to open the door to those who are excluded. But is it exclusion or inclusion we should be discussing?
7 minutes
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Finnish EU Green Capital kept the transition going
Many cities are fighting for the honour of becoming the European Green Capital. In Lahti, which held the title in 2021, the environmental work and green projects continue apace.
6 minutes
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A fish beer, anyone? The Finnish brewery that went green
Beer and the environment might not be obvious bedfellows. But the little brewery Ant Brew in Lahti uses waste products that would normally have been thrown out in order to create new and exciting beers.
2 minutes
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Reindeer herders want Norwegian wind farm demolished
Europe’s largest onshore wind power plant, built near Trondheim in Norway by Fosen Vind, could face dismantling after a supreme court win by indigenous reindeer herders.
4 minutes
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The male role in the Nordics – in crisis or developing?
Two authors from Denmark and Sweden have written books on the male role – one concluding it is in crisis, the other believes it is evolving. Yet both underline the importance of jobs and highlight the negative consequences faced by men who cannot find one – especially among immigrants.
7 minutes
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The hole that must be filled: the energy crisis and EU’s green transition
There had never been so much money for the green transition in Europe as there was in February 2022. But then Russia started its war against Ukraine. Europe answered by cutting the import of gas and other fossil fuels from Russia. How will this impact on the green transition? Will it speed up or must…
9 minutes