See pages 19-20.
ORGANISED
for the sixth occasion, Helsinki's annual Chinese New Year festivities will be taking place in Lasipalatsi Square this Sunday, 22 January. More commonly known as the Spring Festival in China, its date changes each year, as it is determined by the Chinese lunar calendar. 09 689 67422 Read more about Helsinki Times ready-to-use English lessons at www.helsinkitimes.fi/htep. DocPoint is the only Finnish festival dedicated solely to documentaries, and this year audiences can enjoy a variety of brand new movies, classics, a masterclass with Israeli documentary filmmaker Eyal Sivan and a special selection of documentary films for children. "To this day, I still suffer from the memories of that night and I am still not able to put it behind me," Fournier said. A Finn and an Englishman, who know how they like their beer, have endeavoured to bring you the finest in British real ales and ciders. Finnish Finance Minister Jutta Urpilainen has refused to take such a step. Seeking a taste of Chinese cuisine. C O R D HEL SINKI TIMES
Foreign students loving Finland The numbers of foreign students in Finland, studying through the English language, are on the rise. Finland avoided a downgrade, and so is one of only four top-rated countries
left in the eurozone. In addition, you will also get a Gummerus Finnish-English-Finnish pocket dictionary! Contact us now and we will send you the first English learning package free of charge by email! Contact us at opetus@helsinkitimes.fi or tel. The festival will be completed by a fireworks show above Töölönlahti Bay.
Chinese New Year Celebration 22 January, 14:00-18:00 Lasipalatsi Square
EDUCATION
Greek bailout on knife edge as Finland refuses more aid
DAV I D J . Furthermore, for those missing home, celebrations being held in Beijing will be broadcast live. A lawsuit filed in US District Court in Manhattan against Starwood Hotels says, that the "visibly intoxicated" man claimed that he was Fournier's husband and had been locked out of his hotel room. The nation does not have the money to make a 14.5 billion euro bond payment due on 20 March. We've found the overwhelming view is that they are enjoying their time here, and believe the system of learning compares very favourably with their home countries. "The two individuals involved in the matter appear to have been from the same group," Palace Kämp's CEO, Aki Käyhkö told STT, somewhat understating the seriousness of the case.
Helsinki Times English Programme
Teach and learn in English with Helsinki Times
Helsinki Times has created an English-language learning package, the Helsinki Times English Programme, to provide English teachers with inspirational teaching material for their lessons.
Take 8 Helsinki Times subscriptions with this special offer and you will get 8 ready-to-use English lessons during 2012 sent to you by email free of charge. The man was given a room key by the receptionist without his ID being checked. "So it won't be a surprise when the Greek default actually happens and we expect it, one way or the other, to be relatively soon." Over the past several days the Standard & Poor's rating agency downgraded a host of European countries and the EFSF bailout fund. At this event, marking the start of the year of the dragon, visitors can en-
joy a number of performances such as lion and dragon dances and activities for children. "The so-called private sector involvement, for us, would count as a default," Edward Parker of Fitch ratings agency told Bloomberg. Fournier said the man entered her room at 4 am, took his clothes off, climbed into her bed and began groping at her. after she alleged an employee at the front desk gave her key to a stranger who claimed to be Fournier's husband, on 15 January 2011. Read more on page 17.
Hotel Kämp sued in sexual assault case
DAV E DU N N E HEL SINKI TIMES
If you're looking to celebrate the Chinese New Year, there will be lots of on offer in the centre of Helsinki to mark the occasion.
Happy New Year, again!
J A M E S O ' S U L L I VA N HEL SINKI TIMES
EAT & DRINK
Real ale festival kicks-off Tonight is the start of the Real Ale Festival at The Gallows Bird pub in Niittykumpu, Espoo. "If you want the same price and lending capacity... For more education articles, see pages 11-16.
THE SECOND bailout for Greece is teetering upon failure as some creditors balk on its terms. Well, be sure to arrive with an empty stomach, as there will be numerous food stalls serving a variety of different dishes. ECB head Mario Draghi told the European Parliament that top-rated nations may need to add more money to the bailout fund. Alison Fournier, 31, is suing Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. "I don't want this to happen again to any woman travelling for her career." Starwood, which is based in the US, said in a statement: "We are taking this allegation seriously and are working with the hotel in question to understand the facts and any breach of security that may have contributed to this very unfortunate event." The case was examined by the Finnish police briefly last year, but was dropped because both parties were US citizens and neither lived in Finland. "This has been our position for a long time, and we will stick to this principle."
A FORMER New York investment banker has filed a lawsuit against the Hotel Kämp in Helsinki after she claimed they gave her room key to a drunken man who entered her bedroom and sexually assaulted her. "We will not lift Finland's guarantee liability," she said. you have to have additional contributions from AAA countries," he explained. The EU and IMF will not
release the next tranche of aid to Greece unless a deal is reached. The English excercises are based on selected Helsinki Times articles. Remember to take note of which foods are traditionally meant to bring good luck when eaten at the turn of the year,
and ensure yourself a future of happiness and success! Aside from tickling the taste buds, visitors can also try such therapies as acupuncture. This week Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos is in talks with representatives of private lenders, who he hopes will voluntarily take at least a 50 per cent loss on their loans. She said she was terrified of being raped during the assault and grabbed a bathrobe and fled the room. ISSUE 3 (2 34) · 19 25 JANUARY 2012 · 3 · W W W.HEL SINKITIMES.FI
L E H T I K U VA / V E S A M O I L A N E N
CULTURE
Making a point onscreen Continuing the growth it has enjoyed since its 2001 inception, Helsinki's DocPoint Festival in its 2012 incarnation sees the screening of some 133 documentary films from all around the world on 24-29 January. The incident has caused her to end her career in New York and move to Florida to be close to her family
That is our most fundamental asset; we would do well to hold fast to it.
P.S. However, renewal of the country's seriously dilapidated infrastructure is a major challenge, as
to cooperation with students and running student exchange programmes, there are also plenty of reasons to develop exchange programmes for Russian and Finnish admin-
IT IS also in Finland's interest to help in ensuring that the proposed visa-free deal between Russia and the EU comes to fruition. During this two-year appointment, he was involved in negotiations surrounding the 2006 Darfur Peace Agreement and the peace process it spawned. They don't need our charity, but we can respond by giving them what they're looking for: accommodation, high-quality Finnish organic produce, security, unspoiled nature and genuine Finnish egalitarianism, according to which the dignity of the individual is not dependent on the size of one's wallet.
RUSSIANS have always been amazed, and even impressed, by the deep-felt belief in equality in this country. It is not for nothing that President Dmitri Medvedev has spoken of Russia's urgent need for modernisation. However, there are better ways for countries like Finland to help than simply telling our neighbours how they should do things. In the recent parliamentary elections, the 3,000 independent electoral inspectors of the Golos organisation reported a total of around 4,500 infringements in the campaigns, and in voting procedures themselves. IN ADDITION
istrative staff, governmental advisors, and others. He was then appointed the EU's Special Representative in Sudan and Darfur. The business start-up programme at Helsinki's Aalto University does a lot of work with young Russian entrepreneurs, and their Finnish counterparts are doing unbelievably important work in cooperation with them.
RUSSIA has long been considered a difficult place to do business, partly on account of inflexible bureaucracy. Now many Russians are coming across the border in Lamborghini and Maserati luxury sports cars, and again we're in a dilemma: how should we respond in the face of Russian wealth. After a 12-year break, Haavisto returned to Finnish politics, re-entering Parliament in 2007. Neighbourliness lives in booth our languages also.. It has been estimated that removing visa requirements would increase the level of mobility between Finland and Russia by as much as 250 per cent, from eight million border crossings a year to 20 million. Many of my Russian friends have been highly critical of the Russian Parliament, which they see as operating as little more than a puppet that provides superficial approval of decisions made elsewhere. Haavisto was replaced as party leader in 1995 and didn't retain his ministerial position after the 1999 parliamentary elections. 2
19 25 JANUARY 2012
VIEWPOINT
This week's contribution ends our Viewpoint series written by presidential candidates.
HELSINKI TIMES
Introducing Pekka Haavisto
One of only two presidential candidates with experience from working in international organisations outside the EU, Pekka Haavisto (Greens) has taken many by surprise with his strong showing in recent weeks' opinion polls. Russia's WTO membership will be instrumental in opening up new prospects for investment, something that is of great value to Finnish companies.
1990s, one of Finland's major fears was an impoverished and degenerating Eastern neighbour.
WE FEARED
THIS time round I followed them through the Golos nongovernmental activist or-
economic growth has been exceptionally strong in recent times, largely due to the high price of oil. THE WIDESPREAD protests in Russia over electoral fraud
during the recent elections seem to be largely channelled through the Communist Party, which has increased its popularity. It would have an enormously beneficial impact on the Finnish economy. After casting their ballot, voters joined the dance; the elections were a national celebration. These gentler methods would allow Finland to be part of the modernisation of Russia, and at the same time would allow us reap the many benefits that Russian culture and society have to offer.
THE NEWLY elected Russian Parliament will also be taking the final decision on the country's proposed membership of the World Trade Organisation, when the agreement is ratified and adopted as part of Russia's legislation. Golos' activities also provide us with a reminder that citizen activism is alive and well in Russia. In Russian the verb doema means to judge, to do, or make; these are activities that have a deep historical resonance in Finland. He remains an MP after being successfully re-elected last year.
Pekka Haavisto Presidential candidate for the Greens
A new Russia?
Russians no longer come to Finland as a threat, nor do they come for charity; relations between the two countries must proceed on equal terms, and will greatly benefit both, argues the Greens' presidential candidate, Pekka Haavisto.
I WAS AN elections inspector in Russia in 1993, during what were the first free elections in the country's history. My own favourite among Russia's political parties is the Yabloko party, which has been more active than any other in the country in keeping environmental concerns in the public eye. It wasn't long before the authorities closed down Golos' interactive website. During the
that masses of retrograde Russians would soon be storming across the border, and wondered whether it would be best to respond with ammunition or alms. He stands a fighting chance of making it into the second round of voting. It is in Finland's interests too that Russia be an active and heterogenous multi-party system. In 1987 Haavisto became an MP and in 1993 was made the party's leader. Of all the proposed means of increasing cooperation between the two countries, doing away with visas is the most important. BRASS
bands were playing, Lenin pendants had been polished up for the occasion, and tables were heaving with bottles of vodka in the voting stations that had been set up in schools. The first thing I noticed was that the chance to have a say in how the country was run genuinely motivated so many Russians, and that the ruling United Russia party was struggling which could be seen from the election outcome also.
WHEN it comes to politics, I assess Russia on its own terms: according to the country's constitution, it is a multi-party democracy. Since then I've always closely followed Russian parliamentary elections.
ganisation and the website of Moscow's Radio Echo. In my view, Golos does exemplary work in intervening in malpractice and potential electoral fraud. Rather, from 1999 to 2005 he worked for the UN, primarily in the organisation's UN Environment Programme, with which he worked in such places as the Balkans, Liberia and Iraq. Voters were flabbergasted that they had a choice between the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and other parties. An old man demanded to know why he wasn't allowed to cast votes for his entire family: "Are you trying to tell me I don't know how my family should vote?", he asked of the electoral officials. Unfortunately, it now looks like the party has less than the minimum seven per cent support it needs to secure a place in the Duma, the Russian Federation's lower house of Parliament.
RUSSIA'S
is the dwindling number of third-level students, the low number of patents filed in Russia compared to China, for example, and difficulties in getting high-tech industrial activity running smoothly in the country. We were travelling around the small villages in the vicinity of Dzerzhinsk, with snow covering the unlit country roads. Despite his failure to be re-elected in 1995, Haavisto was still named Minister of the Environment and Development in the post-election government, making him the first representative of a European Green party to hold a cabinet position
Research Professor Hannu Lauerma, a senior physician at Finland's Prison Mental Hospital, thinks it's possible that the way family murders have been handled in the media may have increased their occurrence. Financial worries, unemployment, different illnesses or, for instance, reliance on alcohol or some other type of addiction often eats into parents' energy resources. Nyberg rejects Nyman's charge that there is a connection between the contract and the rail maintenance investment. Also, the culture of parenting continues to idolise children's early independence and a culture of getting by alone. At that time Minister of Defence Jyri Häkämies (NCP), who is now Minister for Employment and the Economy, stated that it would be time to stop the debate on putting an end to VR's monopoly. This type of murder is more common than family murder. He doesn't think that the way the media deal with these killings necessarily has an effect. "In my opinion, the fact that these cases come in bursts suggests that there may be an element of media influence behind it," says Lauerma. "These allegations have been pulled out of thin air." VR's exclusive rights contract is based on EU legisla-
VR has invested a massive 40 million euros in track maintenance and repairs.
tion, he adds. There were seven family murders during 200311. Lehti says, for instance, that there are practically no assaults on children leading to death anymore." According to Lauerma, studying family killings is difficult. The man has admitted to the crime. Both types have decreased in recent decades. It's the responsibility of the authorities to offer parents services sometimes even force these services on them in order to ease everyday pressures," Heinonen points out.
VRLeaks: Rail company bought its monopoly
The website that has recently leaked sensitive information on VR is now alleging that criminality is involved in the state rail company's monopoly position.
ANT TI TIRI S T T HT
whistleblowing website VRLeaks has alleged that the state-owned rail company after which the site is named has a longrunning tradition of bribing politicians. December 2011: A man is suspected of having murdered his wife and his five-year-old and eightyear-old daughters in the Hakunila area of Vantaa. In Finland, it isn't easy to bring up the topic of help or the need for support. "All in all, the number of homicides where children have been targeted has clearly diminished. Martti Lehti of the National Research Institute of Legal Policy also thinks it possible that media influence has been at work. The man proceeded to set the family's apartment on fire.
Media headlines may affect family killings
Experts say that preventing the rare phenomenon of family killings, which once again reared its head last week, is difficult.
TOMI OR AVAINEN ST T ALL AN BAIN HT
Rash of family murders continues
Last week's incident in Helsinki's Laajasalo area is already the sixth such incident in just under a year in which children were murdered by a parent. "It could even work the other way round. April 2011: In Ikaalinen, a man shot his former partner and the couple's teenage son before committing suicide.
THE INTERIOR Ministry is set-
ting up a panel to study the recent spate of family killings, according to Yle. December 2011: A mother is suspected of having murdered her five-month-old and threethree-old daughters in Kouvola. Most of all, the perpetrator wants to kill the partner, not the children, who then also become victims." In those cases where children alone are killed, the perpetrator is most often a mother suffering from psychiatric problems. He killed them using a knife. "With its 40 million investment, VR bought itself a continuation of its monopoly over the en-
tire rail network in Finland for another ten years." Governmental Counsellor Mikael Nyberg of the Ministry of Transport and Communications was involved in drawing up the contract in 2009 that secured VR's exclusive rights to the operation of passenger rail services in Finland for the next decade. According to Yle, the panel is to collect and analyse data from all six attacks. "Family murders are quite often connected to prob-
lems between partners or a breakup. "It's been observed that publicity can cause increased in-
cidence of suicide. VRLeaks foundTHE INTERNET
er Mikko Nyman told news agency STT that the site is preparing to leak documents which, Nyman says, will prove that VR paid politicians in order to maintain its monopoly for the period 2009-2019. According to Lehti, these have generally involved a self-destructive man. "Parents don't always know when to seek help or support for themselves. Also, different services aimed at families with small children, such as play parks, have a significant role in organising ways for parents to create the necessary social networks. It will try to determine whether authorities could have intervened earlier, and how such incidents might be prevented in the future. A person may start to consider getting help for their problems so that he or she doesn't end up doing the same thing to their own family."
Children rarely victims Homicide researchers define family killings as only those instances where the victims include both a partner and children. A few years ago the company invested around 40 mil-
lion euros in track repairs, including on the Oulu-Seinäjoki line. "We must be able to better help parents cope with parenthood regardless of the problems that existed before parenthood or ones that developed only after a child entered the family," emphaL E H T I K U VA / T I M O J A A KO N A H O
sises Hanna Heinonen, a project manager at the CUCW. It may also be mere coincidence that many children have been killed in the space of a few months. Lauerma also points out that family killings are rare, so even when conclusions are drawn there is reason to be cautious. November 2011: Two children died in a fire at their home in Tyrnävä. It's common for the perpetrator to also try to kill himself or herself in addition to his or her children and partner. October 2011: In Varkaus, a man murdered his wife and 10-year-old son. It's feasible that it's the same here as well, yet the amount of family killings is still small," Lehti emphasises. Weeding all this out is an impossible task, but the probability of murders being committed is reduced when depression receives the right attention and with help being provided quickly for families experiencing a crisis."
Services for adults key to preventing family killings, says child welfare union
HEL SINKI TIMES ALL AN BAIN HT
THE CENTRAL Union for Child Welfare (CUCW) estimates that, almost without exception, behind each individual family murder lies deep depression, which, if it had been treated properly, could have prevented such a tragedy occurring. The CUCW thinks that it's more important now than before to, for exam-
ple, make it easier for family support service workers to meet with families often enough and without any rush. The man who stands accused of committing the murders has admitted to carrying them out. Last week's tragedy in Helsinki's Laajasalo was the fifth in four months. The woman has admitted her guilt. Of one to 14-year-olds, a few become the victims of homicide each year. The father of the family, who received serious injuries, admits to having started the fire. "In December 2009 the Public Transport Act came into force, according to which monopolies cannot be directly legislated."
VR Group's exclusive right to operate passenger rail services in Finland was actually removed from the railway laws, says Nyberg.. "Parents starting a family may nowadays lack, almost entirely, the sort of natural communality and support given by networks that were part of our culture previously," Heinonen says. "Preventing rare incidents is difficult when we're dealing with a person who withdraws from the world. "Perpetrators are often people who are so depressed and desperate that very few of them are able to analytically process what they read and hear." Markku Eronen, a senior physician at Vanha Vaasa hospital, doesn't believe that publicity increases the incidence of family killings. The victims were the family's one-year-old and four-year-old children as well as the man's wife. A sixth occurred earlier last year. HELSINKI TIMES
DOMESTIC NEWS
L E H T I K U VA / M A R K K U U L A N D E R
19 25 JANUARY 2012
3
L E H T I K U VA / M A R K K U U L A N D E R
Locals left flowers and candles where two children and their mother were found dead, murdered by the father of the family in Helsinki's Laajasalo district on 10 January. In Nyman's view, in effect this amounts to a tacit admission that the sizeable investment in rail maintenance earned the company a monopoly position
In one incident, a man in Kannelmäki received serious injuries after being pushed in front of a moving train. In conjunction with the campaign, several measures are being taken to improve the safety of drivers and passengers. Two young men attacked him in Elielinaukio in Helsinki. "The next comes when the teams
and press book their accommodation. They could even cause a longer peak in sales than the ice hockey. Leisure travel is also beginning to pick up as summer approaches. "High demand is driving prices up. The Savonlinna Opera Festival Plaza which acts as the event square has been set as the heart of the fair, showcasing a mixed bag of performances ranging from opera to African percussion music and even a medieval fashion show.
Nordic Travel Fair Helsinki Exhibition & Convention Centre 19-22 Jan Fri 12:00-19:00 Sat-Sun 10:00-18:00. It's a different story in Helsinki, where the most recent serious assaults related to public transport happened on Monday of last week. there is less business travel due to summer holidays. Usually there is plenty of room after midsummer in the Helsinki area hotels, because
19 January the Helsinki Exhibition & Convention Centre will open its doors to people eager to start planning their next vacation at the biggest travel fair in Northern Europe. Event organisations, teams and press always book their rooms in good time. "At first I really wanted to return to work, but I'm sure I'll adjust to the way things are now," he says. Buses will also be fitted with a plastic barrier in front of the driver's booth. "There are more teams in the athletics championships, and Finns tend to show a lot of interest in athletics. Finland is the defending world champion in the Ice Hockey World Championships, and so the event is expected to draw large numbers of visitors to the capital. In the other, a mildly disabled boy was severely beaten with a truncheon after an angry exchange on the metro.
The incidents occurred a day before Helsinki public transport operators began a campaign for greater safety on public transport. Other large towns have far less troubles of this sort: in Turku, Tampere, Oulu, and Jyväskylä, troublemakers are an occasional problem on night buses, but so far they
have caused relatively little damage. The proposed security measures are due to be approved this week, and most of them will be implemented within the year. The doctors took a different view however, judging that Segercrantz's injuries rule out a return to work. "Things could be a lot better," he admits, adding that what he hopes for most is that his former colleagues do not suffer the same fate, and that passengers show more respect to bus drivers. What's more, Finns have not enjoyed much success in athletics in recent years. Helsinki has a total of about 15,000 hotel beds. "We get the first sales peak when the events are announced," explains Tirri. There will be lots of visitors to Helsinki from across the country," says Tirri. Increasing demand is pushing prices up, so anyone intending to follow these sports events in Helsinki, should book early. Even without the tournament, May is usually a busy time for hotels in the Helsinki area as it is a popular month for conferences and meetings. The campaign emphasises everyone's equal right to use public transport without fear of violence or other disturbance. But the S Group is confident that the athletics will draw the crowds. In contrast, the European Athletics Championships have been called a "class B" event because the Olympics are also taking place this year, in London. +358-9-616 621, info@hotelanna.fi
Visitors will flock to Helsinki this year for international ice hockey and athletics championships.
www.hotelanna.fi
L E H T I K U VA / M A R K K U U L A N D E R
THE
ICE HOCKEY World Championships and the European Athletics Championships will take place in Finland this year, and this is already showing in hotel bookings. We need more tolerance and helpfulness, and less indifference," she said. "Since I don't remember what happened, it's hard to know what to think of the whole thing." The father of two naturally misses his family, but there is as yet no prospect of his being able to return home from hospital. 4
19 25 JANUARY 2012
DOMESTIC NEWS
L E H T I K U VA / RO N I R E KO M A A
HELSINKI TIMES
Injured driver unable to return to work
M I N N A K A R K KO L A S T T HT
All buses operating in the Helsinki region are to be fitted with an alarm button in the event that the driver faces a threatening situation.
More security on the way for bus drivers
A range of new security measures are underway for buses and bus routes in the Helsinki region.
RIKU ROSLUND, MINNA KARKKOLA STT HT
ASSAULTS ON
bus drivers and passengers, and drunken slobbery are frequent occurrences on buses operating in the Helsinki region. Segercrantz has no memories of the attack, nor of the time shortly before and after it. The European Athletics Championships take place between 27 June and 1 July. "There's no shortage of crazies around."
L E H T I K U VA / S E P P O S A M U L I
Former bus driver Mikael Segercrantz.
A chance to scratch the travel itch
JENNI TORISEVA HELSINKI TIMES
ON FRIDAY
Major sports events filling up Finland's hotels
TUOMAS ARKIMIES STT HT
The biggest travel fair in Northern Europe begins this Friday.
L E H T I K U VA / S A R I GU S TA F S S O N
Cosy hotel in the heart of Helsinki
Annankatu, 00120 Helsinki tel. The simple fact is that when you book early, you will get a room at a lower rate than booking at the
last minute," says Timo Tirri, sales director for S Group hotels. According to director of Helsinki Region Transport Suvi Rihtniemi, heightened security is not enough: passengers' behaviour is the decisive element. All buses op-
erating in the Helsinki region are to be fitted with an alarm button in the event that the driver faces a threatening situation. "I don't expect Helsinki's hotels to be full for too many days because of the ice hockey. Lasse Lindevall, commercial vice president at hotel operator Restel says a very large share of the bookings related to the ice hockey and athletics championships have already been made. Both perpetrators were sentenced to four and a half years' im-
prisonment for aggravated assault. The Nordic Travel Fair will encompass four super blocks of over 400 square metres, showcasing different themes in the newly built sleek extension of the exhibition centre.
The fair features a Dive Village where the brave may try what the underwater world really feels like, while those who prefer dry land can pamper their bellies with exotic treats at the Tasty Travel theme-area. Then there are the latecomers, of course." The Ice Hockey World Championships take place during 4-20 May. "Mannerliness needs to make a comeback. Segercrantz developed serious brain damage and epilepsy as a result of the vicious beating, which occurred on 10 January 2011. "They might stay in Hämeenlinna or Lahti, even Turku," says Tirri.
BUS DRIVER Mikael Segercrantz set about going back to work last autumn after recovering from a serious assault that occurred on the job. Some of the visitors to the sports events will be prepared to find accommodation further afield if there is no room in the capital. In fact, I expect the athletics to attract more people. The amount of security cameras and security personnel will be increased in troublesome areas, and night buses will begin their routes from bus terminals, where boarding can be monitored. Also, some of the ticket packages include accommodation
Left Alliance leader Paavo Arhinmäki and Social Democrat candidate, former Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen have about 6 per cent support each, according to the same poll. Men undergoing treatment also have a higher than average susceptibility to these problems. In presidential elections prior to that, the new President was
chosen by a 300-member electoral college. Tulppala estimates that the psychological strain manifests itself as reservedness and an inability to speak about certain topics. The public voted by proxy, that is, by giving their mandate to some member of the electoral college. "Old feelings come back strongly when those in their age groups begin to become grandparents." Over 70 per cent of couples express a desire for psychological support during fertility treatment, although a far smaller proportion go on to accept treatment, Tulppala says, since friends and family provide sufficient support for many. For women in particular, the difficulties of the early stages can be a strain on personal relations. "Children sense these things, and it's bound to play on their minds." According to a study published last year the majority
L E H T I K U VA / S A R I GU S TA F S S O N
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
A new Guggenheim Museum, focusing on architecture and design, has been proposed for Katajanokka, on the eastern edge of downtown Helsinki. According to fertility specialist and psychotherapist Maija Tulppala, couples who drop treatment usually do so at an early stage. Over the duration of the study, half of the women had become divorced, and all the women except one reported that childlessness had a longterm negative effect on their sex lives. There were around 26,000 households without any income in 2009, according to the report. On top of all that, at each stage there's the fear that the couple will nonetheless remain childless," Tulppala says. However, the votes were then redistributed by a complicated procedure, so in practice voters had little if any guarantee that their vote actually went to their preferred candidate.
Infertility treatment takes a heavy toll
ANNUKK A KOSKEL A ST T HT
APPROXIMATELY one quarter of couples who begin fertility treatment abandon it, usually because of the psychological pressures involved. STT, HT
and 3,350 received only accommodation support. "Many of the women undergoing treatment have said that they find it emotionally difficult to keep in touch with friends who have no difficulty in getting children."
Far-reaching sorrow According to a study carried out some years ago, child-
lessness usually has a longterm negative effect on a woman's quality of life. HELSINKI TIMES
DOMESTIC NEWS
COLUMN
19 25 JANUARY 2012
5
Väyrynen and Haavisto neck and neck, latest polls show
ST T, HT
ACCORDING to separate opinion polls conducted by the Helsingin Sanomat (HS) and the MTV3 channel, Centre's candidate Paavo Väyrynen and Green's candidate Pekka Haavisto are tied for second place behind the firm favourite to be the country's next President, Sauli Niinistö of the National Coalition Party. The Finns Party leader Timo Soini was placed fourth in both polls, with nine per cent support in the HS poll. Many of those without income were people living alone. Christian Democrats candidate Sari Essayah and Swedish People's Party contender Eva Biaudet are trailing far behind, at three and two per cent respectively in the HS poll.
L E H T I K U VA / P E K K A S A K K I
Three per cent price rise in electricity during 2011
The price of electricity for household use rose by 2.9 per cent over the course of 2011, according to the Finnish Energy Market Authority. Neither did he forget to give a nod to his own pet project, a high-speed rail connection between St. Of these approximately 10,800 received only the basic income guarantee,
Present presidential electoral system more democratic
RISTO JUSSILA STT HT
OVER THE past two decades, citizens of Finland have gradually become accustomed to the practice of directly electing the President. STT, HT
HS: FinnishRussian relations `clearly improved' under Halonen's presidency
The Helsingin Sanomat reported today that in her last meeting as President with Vladimir Putin, her Russian counterpart praised Halonen's two terms in office as a time in which relations between the two countries "have strengthened considerably." As examples of this, Putin mentioned the large increase in trade and in direct investments that have taken place between Russia and Finland since Halonen took office in 2000. Many polls conducted over the past month or so show a notable drop in Niinistö's popularity ratings, making it highly likely that he will not get the absolute majority needed to win on the first
round this Sunday. This improves the child's ability to make informed decisions about having children later in life.
Mäkäräinen managed to dramatically pull away from Lena Neuner is the last loop at Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia in March, after some flawless shooting, which meant she skiied over the line with more than 20 seconds to spare on the German. The average household expenditure on electricity over the course of the year rose by 23 euros, and by 48 euros for electricity-heated homes. STT, HT
Presidential candidates Sauli Niinistö (left), Paavo Väyrynen and Pekka Haavisto. According to Tulppala, surveys have shown that half of women and one-fifth of men consider fertility treatment to be the greatest challenge they have yet faced in their lives. The feelings should be come to terms with during the fertilisation treatment process, she recommends, otherwise they can be a strain on the child as well as on the parents themselves. Yes 42.2 % The majority of couples who undergo some form of fertility treatment get a child. Her floods of tears as she crossed the line amply showed how much the title meant to her. · Between 55 and 60 per cent of childless couples apply for fertilisation treatment. The study examined 14 women over a period of 20 years, all of whom had remained childless even after fertility treatment. Under the
present system, which came into effect only with the presidential election of 1994, voters can at least be sure that their vote will go actually to the candidate they vote for, which is not something that can be said of the
electoral college system it replaced. If none of the eight candidates receives a majority of the votes cast in the first round, a new election is held on 5 February.
Increasingly many without basic income guarantee
News agency STT and the Helsingin Sanomat reported on Tuesday that a growing number of adults in Finland are not only completely without income, but also without the basic income guarantee (toimeentulotuki in Finnish), due to tightened social security regulations. Parents need time and support in going through this if it is to be done without being traumatic for the child, Tulppala says. The first round of elections are held this Sunday. These facts came to light in a report just published by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela). "If parents are okay with the fact that they needed treatment, it's hard to see
any reason why they should hide it from the child." Tulppala urges parents to inform the child of his or her origin at the appropriate age at least in those cases where there are relevant hereditary factors involved, such as weakened sperm quality. Most fertility treatment a success · Between 20 and 30 per cent of women undergoing fertility treatment experience depression and self-destructive thoughts at some stage of the process. After that there's a wait to see if even one of them takes to fertilisation. Many fear being stigmatised by seeking professional help. Halonen, for her part, counted that she had visited Russia a total of 27 times during her two terms in office. Should Helsinki have the Guggenheim Museum built. Many elements make the process emotionally draining, such as the slow pace of the treatment, with high uncertainty at every stage. · In Western countries, between 10 and 15 per cent of couples are unsuccessful in the first year of trying for a child. According to the specialist, it has been noticed that even when fertility treatment is a success, the experience of childlessness hangs over couples for a long time to come. Petersburg and Helsinki. "The first step with in vitro fertilisation is to determine whether egg cells can be collected. But the number also included families with children: in November of last year, according to the report, around 2,560 under18-year-olds were living in households with no form of income. The electoral college system was last used in 1988, in combination with the new direct voting system. · There are an estimated 60,000 involuntarily childless couples in Finland, with the number rising by about 3,000 couples a year. Then there's the worry of whether the cells successfully split and multiply, and so on. · Between 70 and 80 per cent of couples who undergo some form of treatment get a child.
Sources: Fertility specialist and psychotherapist Maija Tulppala; Terveys 2000 study.
No 57,8 %
View details and this week's question at www.helsinkitimes.fi.
L E H T I K U VA / M A R T T I K A I N U L A I N E N
Who: Kaisa Mäkäräinen From: Ristijärvi Famous for: being named Finnish Sports' Personality of the Year 2011 after last year winning the biathlon World Chamionship and World Cup.
of prospective parents who undergo fertility treatment do not intend to ever tell their child how he or she came to be. As well as her sport's success Mäkäräinen is also studying to be a physics teacher at the University of Eastern Finland in Joensuu.. "Friendship is always a two-sided thing," she told Putin. If not, there will be a second round between the top two candidates on Sunday 5 February. The trend came to an end only towards the end of the year, when prices dropped slightly because of a reduction in the wholesale price of electricity
The way in which the leak had been timed to coincide with the last week of presidential election campaigning wasn't lost on Satakunnan Kansa or Kouvolan Sanomat, with both papers appreciating that Sauli Niinistö (NCP) could be negatively affected by the news while Paavo Väyrynen (Centre) could benefit from it. They had been transferred to their native Sweden to serve their prison sentence. `The museum would hardly be closed, even if it were making a loss,' Pääkkönen tells Taloussanomat. `Sentences in Finland are longer, so in practice criminals serve the same amount of time as in Sweden. Helsinki Times will not give the information to third parties. Why not use these important new public buildings to activate the new districts. The prices will be lowered by a few hundred euros.
L E H T I K U VA / M A R K K U U L A N D E R
Helsinki doesn't believe in Helsinki
Price of cars rises Breakup of eurozone
would lead to a serious recession
"ACCORDING
Due to the tax change, the least polluting cars will become cheaper.
The limit is 110 grammes of carbon dioxide per kilometre. Writers should include their name, address and possible daytime telephone number. The city is constantly growing and new districts (Jätkäsaari, Kalasatama, Hernesaari etc.) are being built in prime locations. The Guggenheim foundation will receive 24 million euros in the next 20 years by charging for the licence the right to use the Guggenheim name and from planning costs of exhibitions. `So, the profits the foundation would make are currently estimated to be about 50 million euros in total. Why should these big and rare public buildings be squeezed into "the centre". Avoiding the rise is still possible if the new car is registered before the beginning of April. In Sweden, it has been noted that this doesn't work for professional criminals, as holidays can make committing new crimes possible,' Ristola explains. According to him, economic analysis is also political analysis nowadays. `We must think about the common good, not just our own interests,' van Nieuwenhuijzen says. Pseudonyms will be accepted only in exceptional cases. For cars polluting less than that, it is best to register them from April onwards."
TURUN SANOMAT 15 January
Bank robbers apply for asylum in Finland
"SOME
READER'S LETTERS
Helsinki Times wants your views on current issues and comments on news articles as well as anything of interest from a multicultural perspective.
Comments should be no longer than 2,000 characters with spaces. Helsinki is already polycentric, a city of networks and nodes. Stabilisation will come to an end when the problems spread from the periphery to the rest of the zone. The tax change, implemented for environmental reasons, will make the least polluting cars cheaper. Helsinki is bringing forward, albeit in different ways, two ambitious public projects: the Guggenheim Museum and the Central Library. `Also, if visitors to the museum no longer visit its main competitors, which are for the most part funded by the state or the City of Helsinki, we will simply be taking money from one pocket and putting it in another. Helsinki Times reserves the right to accept or reject submissions, and to edit and shorten all submissions chosen for publication.
Comments can be sent by e-mail to: info@helsinkitimes.fi
of the people sentenced for robbing the Bank of Finland's old Turku regional office in 2007 have sought asylum in Finland. It is already too big to be considered as having just one centre. The building costs of the proposed Guggenheim museum (140 million euros, or, according some calculations, as much as 300 million euros if interest is included) would be the responsibility of the City of Helsinki. The Guggenheim and the Central Library are powerful and rare cornerstones that are able to activate a district and to increase its value, both socially and economically. Do we really think that the new Central Library will be less used if it were three metro stops from the Central Railway Station and not just hidden behind it. In other words, from the taxpayers' pocket to the pocket of the Guggenheim foundation,' she writes.
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assessment. One of the criminals involved in the robbery has written a book in which he explains that weaker security measures as well as less harsh sentences influenced the gang's decision to act in Finland."
to Valentijn van Nieuwenhuijzen, the investment company ING Investment Management's chief economist, the Nordic countries will be faced with a serious recession if the eurozone breaks up. `Gross domestic product would contract by at least 25 per cent or perhaps even more,' van Nieuwenhuijzen said on Thursday in Helsinki. In Finland, those serving a prison sentence are usually put on parole after serving half of their sentence if they hadn't been in prison during the previous three years. The City is, for the time being, the only funder of the project, so, as it has the right to collect taxes, it is the taxpayers who will shoulder the risk. The price of more ordinary cars will go up by something in the region of a few hundred to a few thousand euros. A difference of 10 per cent in three days. Not to mention that Jätkäsaari and Hernesaari are much closer to where the Baltic cruise ships dock than Katajanokka. The City of Helsinki's bid to host a Guggenheim Museum garnered some attention in newspapers around the country in the week following last Tuesday's announcement that a yearlong feasibility study into the matter yielded a positive
Väyrynen on 13 per cent and Haavisto on 12, while Helsingin Sanomat's poll had both candidates on 17 per cent. For example, Ilta-Sanomat's poll put frontrunner Niinistö on 49 per cent, whereas Helsingin Sanomat said 39 per cent. Do we think of Jätkäsaari as being part of the suburbs or part of the city centre. The City of Helsinki or the Finnish state would cover any possible yearly losses, meaning that, at the end of the day, taxpayers would cover the costs. Pori's Satakunnan Kansa adjudged Minister of Public Administration and Local Government Henna Virkkunen's (NCP) working group's map to be "natural and logical" while Keskisuomalainen labelled it "an impossible option" that would harm local democracy. The influential news magazine Suomen Kuvalehti's disclosure on Friday of a leaked map detailing how the government's proposed municipalities reform may rearrange the current system was another story regional papers had something to say about. At the same time, the willingness of the European core to share the burden will drastically decrease. Do we really think that if the Guggenheim were located in one of those new districts it would be too far away for tourists after they have travelled thousands of kilometres to come here. The chief economist sees three possible futures for the eurozone. 6
19 25 JANUARY 2012
FROM THE FINNISH PRESS
T R A NSL AT IONS B Y A INO B A IN
HELSINKI TIMES KAUPPALEHTI 13 January. SATU HIRVELÄ
MAASEUDUN TULEVAISUUS 14 January
The year has started with two pieces of apparently very good news. Interestingly, these supposedly authoritative, vital opinion polls could only really agree on what the five weakest candidates were polling. Some of the criminals involved in this robbery have been trans-
ferred to Sweden, where the sentences they were given in Finland won't be halved,' explains outgoing detective superintendent Teijo Ristola of the National Bureau of Investigation. These Finns certainly are a fickle bunch, if you believe the country's canvassing-crazed media. `Politics is harder to predict than the economy. For these cars, the price may go up by more than 10,000 euros. At that point, several countries will quit the euro, and the euro will continue to weaken for another three years. In Finland, prisoners have more freedom. The conditions for professional criminals in Sweden are tougher than here. Which brings us on to media speculation about this Sunday's presidential election, especially following Ilta-Sanomat's MC-Info and Helsingin Sanomat's Gallup opinion poll double whammy published on Saturday and Tuesday, respectively that identified Väyrynen and Pekka Haavisto (Greens) as the main challengers for a place in the second round with Niinistö. On top of that, annual administrative costs of two million euros have to be added. Let's dare to build a new, better and Greater Helsinki! Francesco Allaix
"CAR PRICES will rise in April. The first poll put
Allan Bain allan@helsinkitimes.fi
NO ONE theme dominated the editorial pages of the Finnish press over the weekend and into the first half of the week. The ugly scenario is that the eurozone breaks up. Sweden has ended this practice, and those sentenced usually serve two-thirds of their sentence. In the best possible scenario, the Greek `haircut' works, banks manage to get their capital in order, and the EU's stability mechanisms together with action taken by the European Central Bank will bring about stability. Such an excellent moneymaking let alone investment opportunity would be impossible to find elsewhere!' Pääkkönen writes. Let's learn from examples like the National Library in Paris and the new Opera House in Oslo; both public buildings built far from the historical centre and both able to thrive in those areas with just their activity and flow of people (plus they have even been able to increase those neighbourhoods' /m2 value). According to Pääkkönen's calculations, the project wouldn't make any profit for the first 20 years, and even after that the continuation of the licence would have to be negotiated. What we need now is political leadership, but we haven't seen any in Europe,' he thinks."
TALOUSSANOMAT 13 January. In my opinion, Helsinki does not believe in those projects and is not using them as cornerstones of Greater Helsinki. ELINA RANTA
Finland handed all the risk with Guggenheim bid
"Economist Jenni Pääkkönen is criticising the Guggenheim feasibility study for allowing the Guggenheim foundation the possibility of embarking on a risk-free venture. These cars are also usually more expensive. These are two big and rare opportunities to create new gathering places, social and cultural magnets and, also, new faces of Helsinki to both its citizens and the world. In the most likely scenario, the decisions made at the latest EU summit aren't sufficient for bringing about
stability, with this leading to a downward spiral in markets, the economy and politics. Yet the news hasn't been pored over in the same way as in the metropolitan area despite editorials on the subject appearing in papers such as Turku's Turun Sanomat, Jyväskylä-based Keskisuomalainen and Joensuu's Pohjalainen. Car tax will be higher for those cars that pollute more. The paralysed situation would continue. For all you pollsters out there, though, here's one sure-fire method of avoiding such disparity that has a proven track record of generating data you can trust wait for Election Day! Analysing actual results is far more worthwhile than boring the country with your analyses of data that will become obsolete in a few days' time.
Katajanokka is where the Guggenheim foundation would like to see one of its museums built.. That's why sales of expensive and heavily polluting cars will be lively this year. `This kind of "heads, I win, tails, you lose" scenario has, regretfully, been made famous by the bonus systems of bankers, where the latter get all the profits while taxpayers cover the losses,' Pääkkönen writes in her blog. `This isn't the most likely alternative,' van Nieuwenhuijzen points out
Rolbin-Ghanie said that she "was sceptical that the Canadian government would allow the UN inquiry to go forward." "I think that Canada wants to get out of the humiliation it would face if a UN inquiry was actually conducted, because then it would be very clear that human rights are being violated," she said.. "There are many things he could have done to close Guantánamo." Guantánamo is also only a place, Kassem added. More than half of those housed at the prison have been approved for transfer or release. But Ramzi Kassem, a professor of law at the City University of New York who represents seven men detained at Guantánamo, claims there is plenty of blame to go around. In a 16 December press release, however, the UN Committee specified that it had to-date only asked the Canadian government "to cooperate in the examination of information received" on the issue, and to submit observations with regard to such information." The Committee also stated that it has yet to deter-
mine whether it will conduct a visit of Canadian territory, which, in any case, would need the approval of the Canadian government before going forward. Maya Rolbin-Ghanie is a Montreal-based activist with Missing Justice, an organisation that works to draw attention to the issue of missing and murdered Native women.
A United Nations inquiry would prove embarrassing for the Canadian government.
Epidemic problem "There's a lot to indicate that the number is way higher and likely in the thousands. A group of prominent attorneys and retired military officials including Admiral John D. Human rights groups agree. Huston and Lawrence Wilkerson, the former chief
WIK ICOMMONS / GRY FFINDOR
of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell likewise called on Congress and the Obama administration to close a facility they said undermines the rule of law and acts as a recruiting tool for terrorists. If the Committee does conduct a full inquiry, it would be only the second investigation of its kind, with the first conducted in Mexico five years ago. "We're hoping that after this UN commission investigates, that Canada will wake up and say that we have to do something positive," Corbiere Lavell said. HELSINKI TIMES
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
19 25 JANUARY 2012
7
A decade in the purgatory called Guantánamo
Hundreds of protesters, dozens outfitted in orange jumpsuits and black hoods, took to the streets outside the White House last week to demonstrate against torture and indefinite detention on the 10th anniversary of the opening of the US prison facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
declaring them too dangerous to be released even as it concedes it lacks sufficient evidence to try them. Nonetheless, the Obama administration has maintained that congress is to blame for the fact the Guantánamo detention facility remains open three years after the president issued an executive order declaring his intention to close it. Rather than push back against this expansion of indefinite detention, lawmakers in the US congress have instead codified it, passing a bill, the National Defence Authorization Act (NDAA), which allows the military to imprison without charge for the duration of the war on terror anyone accused of a terrorism-related offence, including US citizens. He said the prison's continued operation was an indictment of the US government as a whole. In late 2010, congressional Republicans and conservative Democrats successfully passed a measure blocking the White House from spending any funds transferring prisoners at Guantánamo to facilities in the United States. It's an epidemic problem," Rolbin-Ghanie said. The ongoing situation, the organisations argued, constitutes a severe violation of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and hasn't been properly addressed by the Canadian government.
MONTREAL CANADA
JILLIAN KESTLER-D'AMOURS IPS
"WE'RE HOPING that by having this inquiry, it will come up with some positive initiatives, like support services for the families who have lost a relative, a daughter or a sister," explained Jeannette Corbiere Lavell, the president of the Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC). Outside the White House, meanwhile, protesters withstood rain and cold to decry what they labelled a bipartisan assault on human rights, with over 60 protesters outfitted in Guantánamo's trademark orange jumpsuits and black hoods encircling the White House to demand the facility be closed.
Among those joining the protest was Morris Davis, the former chief military prosecutor at Guantánamo from September 2005 until 2007, who resigned after objecting to the use of evidence gained through torture. To date, NWAC has documented over 600 cases of Native women who have disappeared or been murdered over the past 30 years in Canada. Though said by the likes of former Vice President Dick Cheney to house the "worst of the worst", many of those imprisoned at the facility without charge or trial for alleged ties to terrorism 775 at its peak have been found to be completely innocent and subsequently released. More troubling are the legal principles it represents principles that have been embraced wholeheartedly by the president. "Congress has failed us, the president has failed us," Davis told the crowd. Yet despite pledging to shut the facility, President Barack Obama has instead institutionalised the practice of indefinite detention, his administration asserting the right to detain at least 48 of the remaining 171 men at Guantánamo indefinitely without so much as a military tribunal,
Protesters wearing orange prison jump suits and black hoods on their heads march during a demonstration against holding detainees at the military prison in Guantánamo Bay. In 2010, for instance, the Canadian government discontinued its funding of Sisters in Spirit, a NWAC programme that since 2005 had documented the number of missing and murdered Native women. At Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, around 2,600 men are currently imprisoned without charge, with human rights groups reporting they are subjected to Guantánamo-like conditions such as routine sensory and sleep deprivation and other techniques condemned as tantamount to torture. "It's up to the people to demand our government do the right thing."
United Nations to probe missing and murdered Native women
As a UN committee initiates an inquiry procedure into the alarming number of missing and murdered Native women across Canada, human rights groups are hoping that an on-theground investigation by the international body will finally help stem systematic violence against Native women.
In January and September 2011, NWAC and the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action appealed to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women a group composed of 23 international experts on women's issues to launch an investigation into missing and murdered Native women in Canada. "I think Congress shoulders a share of the responsibility, but it's also the president's fault," Kassem said. "The men indefinitely detained at Guantánamo have been abandoned by all branches of government," the Centre for Constitutional
LEHTIKUVA / AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB
GUANTÁNAMO CUBA
CHARLES DAVIS IPS
SINCE OPENING in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the detention facility at Guantánamo has been mired in controversy. "It's not just about Native women being targeted, which they are, but it goes way deeper, and it's in Canada's interest to keep it under wraps." She explained that instead of encouraging research and
raising awareness on the issue of violence against Native women, the Canadian government under Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper has cut funding to organisations helping Native communities. Instead, the government said it would devote 10 million dollars to a new police
centre for missing persons, which will include a database that is only expected to be operational in 2013 and won't solely be dedicated to missing Native women. It is also estimated that Aboriginal women experience rates of violence 3.5 times higher, and are five times more likely to die violently, than non-Aboriginal women. The protest took place in front of the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC on 11 January.
Rights declared, "but the primary responsibility for the prison remaining open lies with President Obama." Amnesty International also issued a statement decrying the prison's "toxic legacy", while Human Rights Watch sent a letter to President Obama criticising his embrace of indefinite detention and urging him to reaffirm his commitment to closing Guantánamo. "We're hoping that this violence will stop, that the police will be more aware and that the perpetrators will realise that they can't continue to target Native women, because they won't be able to get away with it," she said.
Policing services "The government didn't seem to be doing very much to really investigate the issue, and see what had happened and what was currently going on, and how the policing services could be educated and made to realise that this is an issue that must be dealt with," Corbiere Lavell explained about why NWAC approached the UN
S&P's move was widely-expected, and the markets reacted mildly. They are not supranational organisations. A housing price bubble could be best prevented, according to PTT, by measures such as ensuring that reserved sites are actually built on. A CREDIT
According to Minister of Housing and Communications Krista Kiuru, some 3,500 state-subsidised apartments may be built this year.
Economic slump narrows housing price gap
Pellervo financial research institute has predicted that apartment prices will drop by around two per cent over the course of 2012.
ANNU M AR JANEN S T T HT
downgrade isn't the end of the world. When America was downgraded, investors responded by frantically purchasing even more US debt.
OVER time, though, these credit ratings have become enshrined in much of the financial system. The City of Oulu has been more successful in this regard than other local governments, Lahtinen says. This may be a painful year.
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There are no major risks on the horizon that have a realistic chance of materialising in the present economic climate," the minister says. After all, the credit ratings agencies are simply companies whose job is to give opinions. Widespread apprehension over the country's economic situation is also leading to a higher demanding for rental housing. The evening out does not take place overnight, and may only be seen clearly after the present year is out.
L E H T I K U VA / S E P P O S A M U L I
gal and Spain. But we are stuck in the eurozone, and we will suffer along with it. According to the Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland ARA, the corresponding figure for 2011 was just around 2,000 apartments. Our finances are much better than average, and even better than the average of the other AAA-rated nations. Our cost of borrowing actually decreased last Friday.
According to Lahtinen, house prices in Helsinki, for instance, are under greater downward pressure than had been predicted. Moody's and Fitch did nothing. So these ratings are very important. Local conditions have a lessened effect on prices in light of the far more consequential effects of the ongoing crisis in the eurozone. Markets often ignore them. At the moment, probably not much. PTT predicts that rental contracts made this year will rise by an average 4.2 per cent throughout the country. S&P was the only agency that issued the downgrades. to use these ratings. This might seem unfair, because we are, in fact, in pretty good shape. They have no official power whatsoever. They are not arms of government. According to housing market analysts at the Pellervo financial research institute (PTT), the economic slump is likely to bring about a two per cent drop in housing prices this year.
"The prices in different towns and cities are now very close to each other," says PTT's research director Markus Lahtinen. In addition, they downgraded Austria and France, which used to be top-rated at AAA. Standard and Poor's downgraded the credit ratings of seven eurozone countries. But when the uncertainty clears, quite rapid housing price rises could be in store. Cord david@helsinkitimes.fi The writer is a journalist and columnist for Helsinki Times. He is also a private investor with over ten years of experience.
Spared, for now
EVERYONE knew it was coming, but we still acted as if we were surprised. "The more rental housing we get onto the market, the greater will be the moderating effect on price increases," Kiuru says. This series of downgrades was a warning to all of us.
THERE I BELIEVE that there are only three paths out of this mess: 1) default and devaluation of some countries, 2) monetisation of debt by the ECB, or 3) a true fiscal transfer. Finland could still be downgraded. We are stuck in For instance, they may decide only to invest in the eurozone, AAA-rated debt. For the moment, Finland was spared the humiliation of a downgrade, but we have been warned. Even and we will suffer governments have come along with it. As many as 3,500 statesubsidised apartments may be built this year, Kiuru says. The long-running upward pricing trend came to a halt throughout the country last July. According to PTT, a price crash is unlikely given the number and diversity of factors that contribute to keeping prices buoyant: incomes continue to rise, the unemployment rates remains small, and mortgage interest rates are going down. Small companies, who can't afford to hire large research staff, often rely upon ratings. The dynamic is simple: those unwilling to take the risk of burdening themselves with mortgages are opting instead to rent. We haven't been taken to the chopping block yet, but we haven't been released from the slaughterhouse, either. Europe wants it to be AAA, and the fund's rating is dependent upon the ratings of its contributors. ARA analysts say that interest in state-subsidised housing is so high among municipal and corporate organisations such as SATO that the target of 3,500 has a good chance of being met.. It would be wonderful if our government would advocate one of these options, but they either seem too terrified to say anything useful, or else can only spout out 1950s-era class warfare rhetoric. 8
19 25 JANUARY 2012
BUSINESS
HELSINKI TIMES
L E H T I K U VA / J A R N O M E L A
David J. The city's well-functioning site development policy has led to the happy situation of housing price developments remaining in line with average income levels. If the fund is downgraded, it is conceivable that we will ask to contribute more, since we are top-rated, or else the fund must lend less.
Minister of Housing and Communications Krista Kiuru.
Preventing the bubble According to Minister of Housing and Communications Krista Kiuru (SDP), PTT's predictions are in line with other research findings. In the minister's view, in the past the state made two major errors in its handling of the housing sector: there was far too little building of new statesubsidised housing, and rental apartments have generally been designed and built too large. "The development on the housing market should remain very stable this year.
is a chance that Finland will be downgraded. Now there are only four countries left in the eurozone with the best ratings: Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany and Finland.
WHAT
does this mean for Finland. Local price differences are also evened out by the uncertainty brought by the financial crisis. Central banks may announce that only debt of a certain level will be accepted as collateral. Kiuru says that the state is endeavouring to forestall the risk of runaway rental prices, however. But now there are only a handful of top-rated contributors to the fund. Despite the uncertainty, prices are currently remaining stable. These same developments have been noticed also by analysts at the OP-Kiinteistökeskus estate agency, who have predicted a good year for housing sales.
A BIG question is the future of the European Financial Stability Facility, the bailout fund. NOW S&P has downgraded Cyprus, Italy, Malta, Portu-
THE VARIATIONS in housing prices between different parts of the country are likely to become less marked this year if the present economic uncertainty continues
"The growth in the country's largest airport, Helsinki-Vantaa, was the strongest of all Northern European airports. Domestic flights also became more plentiful last year, with a total of 5,468,000 passengers 22.4 per cent more
than in 2010. In Kuopio, Ikea and the new shopping centre will be about the same size as Jumbo in Vantaa, which is the fourth biggest. "Only a proportion of these projects are actually consistent with town planning provisions," says senior expert Pekka Normo from the Ministry of the Environment. The figure is an increase of 16 per cent on the previous year, and is to a large extent due to in-
creased supply: direct routes to Singapore and Chicago were opened, and Norwegian increased its number of routes out of Helsinki by a large amount. They comprised over five million square metres of new floorspace, which was about 30 per cent of the entire floorspace in the retail trade. The idea is to prevent them being constructed on the fringes of built-up areas. "The increase in the number of passengers was partly the result of new operators such as Norwegian coming to the Finnish market. And Ryanair also increased the amount of international flights it operates out of Finland," Ruotsalainen said. Many older shopping centres are also being extended and renovated. 2011 also saw a number of airlines serving Finland for the first time. The Ministry of the Environment refused to confirm the land use plan, since the shopping centre would have been too far from the main urban centre. HELSINKI TIMES
BUSINESS
19 25 JANUARY 2012
9
New shopping centres still actively being built
Older shopping centres also being renovated and extended.
R I I T TA S I L L A N PÄ Ä S T T HT
Companies may also have to consider more carefully before deciding on leases. The most frequent European destinations last year were Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, and of longer-distance destinations Japan, China, and Thailand came out tops. The hottest holiday destinations in Europe were Greece and Spain.. In Oulu, the shopping centre projects in the city centre depend on the construction of underground parking; they are delayed by an objection to the City's decision on the underground parking. The number of renovation and extension projects is likely to be greater than the number of new construction projects. A total of over 19 million passengers travelled through the 25 airports of the Finavia network. "The pace of construction slowed slightly in 2010, but has now started to pick up again," says managing director Juha Tiuraniemi from the Finnish Council of Shopping Centres. One of the big issues for the future of shopping centres is the role and significance of online shopping, which is clearly on the increase.
L E H T I K U VA / P E K K A S A K K I
Some projects facing difficulty Some of the major shopping centre projects, such as Eteläportti planned for Jyväskylä, are facing difficulty. The total number of international passengers was 13,620,000, an increase of 13.7 per cent on 2010. The Ratina shopping centre in the centre of Tampere has also been delayed because of objections and difficulty finding enough tenants. Among the shopping centres completed this year, three will be among the ten biggest in the country. We are now investing heavily in our services, the goal being to maintain our leading position," said Finavia's acting director of customer relations Kimmo Ruotsalainen. The other two additions to the top-ten list will be the shopping centres in Tervaskangas, Kouvola, and in Hyvinkää. According to new legislation, shopping centres have to be primarily located in town centres. The project has not been buried yet, however, and the City of Jyväskylä considers it still very feasible. "If the parking area construction starts this year, the new shopping centres and underground parking could open their doors in early 2015," says town planning manager Matti Karhula from the City of Oulu.
Three of the shopping centres completed this year will be among the ten biggest in the country. The construction of Ideaparkki in Lapua, for example, has been postponed by six months due to the gloomy economic outlook.
"We are now having to consider the impact of this on the need for physical retail premises," Normo says.
NEW SHOPPING
centres are still actively under construction, with an estimated average of four per year springing up across the country in the next few years. The Finnish Council of Shopping Centres estimates that the financial crisis will delay some of the projects.
Nearly two hundred projects in hand The latest study by the Ministry of the Environment, conducted in 2008, showed that nearly 200 retail projects of regional significance were being planned at the time. Shopping centres are no longer just for shopping but also for meeting people and passing the time," says Tiuraniemi. Many shopping centres in the heart of Helsinki are also due for renovation in the coming years, such as City-Center and Forum. They also incorporate an ever wider variety of services. Demand for long-distance flights became more popular too, with the most important holiday destinations being Thailand, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates. A total of 14.9 million passengers flew into and out of Helsinki-Vantaa last year, 15.5 per cent up on the previous year and an alltime record for the airport. Pictured: Willa's constructions site in Hyvinkää.
Record number of flights in Finland last year
HEL SINKI TIMES
2011 WAS
a record-breaking year for Finnish airports. "The average size of shopping centres has been growing all the time
today announced that Kauppalehti.fi have subscribed to its Homepage Decision Support Platform. They have hardly any high school dropouts or failing schools, and they have scored at the top of international tests for more than a decade.
INVESTMENT EUROPE 13 January
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE 16 January
THE FINNISH education system, however, transmits a conception of "the ideal Finn." For a very long time, the ideal of the agrarian society was the independent and hard-working labourer. This includes learning to understand one's own identity, and obtaining a basic level of understanding about cultures other than one's own.
Finland sets a tough national curriculum, required master's degrees for all teachers, spends $3000 less per student than the US education system, and publicly funds education all the way through college, including graduate school.
Enrique Aleman Jr., Education Leadership and Policy Studies researcher at the University of Utah believes that Utah can take a lesson from Finland by placing a higher value on education, particularly that of minority students..."
"VISUAL REVENUE, Inc. Very few people I knew travelled abroad. The Platform provides recommendations based on the value, engagement and trajectory of an item of content ensuring that the most relevant and valuable stories are correctly promoted for the right period of time..."
THE ENQUIRER 10 January. Historian Laura Kolbe has pondered the question of Finnish self-understanding in her book Ihanuuksien ihmemaa ("The Wonderland of Ideals"). Greece's loss of -8.4 per cent means that Finland has outperformed the worst index constituent by about 10 per cent in just the first 11 days of the calendar year - or the equivalent of a daily 1 per cent loss against the best performing market for any investors in Greece..." ISP Elisa, had begun blocking the web site at the order of Finland's High Court. Kauppalehti.fi is the leading Business and Financial News destination in Finland and deployed the Visual Revenue Platform to help increase the website's overall audience engagement. The threat and experience of violence has shaped our culture, our mores, and how we educate our children. FINLAND and Finnishness have changed radically in a short time. From these shared experiences there gradually emerges a common heritage, which brings its own responsibilities.
WHY DO FINNS find it so very difficult to consider themselves Europeans. Is our collective consciousness still stuck in the Finnish Dark Ages of the 12th century, when the European Bishop Henry entered Finland only to meet a bloody end at the hand of one of the natives. "Today we will focus on Finland and every country like it who has begun a campaign of censorship," he tweeted, adding, "To the Finnish government: Stop censorship or deal with the consequences..."
wins PBA World Championship
"FINLAND'S Osku Palermaa became the first international player and first two-handed-style bowler to win the Professional Bowlers Association World Championship, beating Ryan Shafer 203177 in Las Vegas in the first major championship of the season. On a family trip to Istanbul, as I read up on the history of the city's Hagia Sophia mosque my ten-year-old asked: "Mom, what's Allah?" "DON'T THEY
Yet another overseas researcher has drawn attention to the lessons that can be learned from the Finnish education system.
KSL.COM 15 January
teach you anything about Islam at school?" I asked, astounded.
Education should focus on minority students, value, researcher says
"THERE is a country where students spend less time in class and rarely have homework or tests. Schools play a crucial part in the civilising project, but that whole project faces the enduring problem that the world changes faster than people and their values change. They allow discrete individuals to experience a sense of collective honour and shared sacrifice. The 28-year-old Palermaa survived two elimination games to advance to the
L E H T I K U VA / M A R K K U U L A N D E R
ONE FUNCTION of primary and secondary-level education, in addition to their civilising function and equipping children for adulthood, is to set them on the road to becoming good citizens. It is not "Finnish" to be a victim, one might say. "I got destroyed a few times and today I felt from the beginning that I had a really good chance to take a title..."
L E H T I K U VA / A F P P H O T O / G R E G W O O D
Jarkko Nieminen of Finland celebrates after defeating Julien Benneteau of France in the men's final at the Sydney International tennis event on 15 January.. FINLAND is one of the many states that came into existence after the emergence of nationalism as a coherent ideology, according to which a distinctive culture, language, and ethnically differentiated people were held to be essential foundations of any self-respecting State. The index is currently showing just five markets have made positive returns - led by Finland's 2.3 per cent
- but that eight markets have lost money. It is imperative that the basic level of education should inculcate a working knowledge of and respect for the rights and responsibilities that are essential to a decent society. The news was not taken well by Anonymous, which responded by hacking its `enemy'. KOLBE argues that, over the course of history, nations and
Finland top performer Finland's of 2012 so far, says Russell Osku Palermaa
"THE RUSSELL
Developed Europe index performance since the start of 2012 suggests Finland is the region's strongest country, with Spain, Italy and Greece the worst performers. The challenge before us now is to adapt these inherited values to the new multicultural reality, and to redefine Finnishness accordingly.
Anonymous declares war on Finland
"THE HACKTIVIST group Anonymous apparently has declared war on Finland after the country began blocking access to the filesharing web site Pirate Bay. THERE is no doubt that war and deprivation have left a deep mark on the Finnish mindset. In the 1970s, the Finnish school system became politicised, and we are still in the shadow of this legacy. When I went to see an exhibition of paintings from the Golden Age of Finnish art in the National Gallery of Finland, I was taken aback by how they failed to stand out as being in any significant way distinct from the German, Dutch, and French paintings in their midst. How conscious is the communication of values in schools nowadays. It was reported that the large Finnish
final at South Point Casino. The win was Nieminen's 12th career final and his eighth singles match that week.
sudoku
SOLUTION ON PAGE 22
"I don't have a good record in the finals, but I felt like I haven't really done anything wrong," Nieminen said. In not one of the seven different schools I attended during my own years of basic schooling was there a student of foreign background and this was in the capital region. SO WE NEED to think: what is the cultural glue that holds native and new Finns together in the world we live in now. Anonymous Sabu, one of the more vocal members of the group, said. Palermaa earned $50,000 (40,000 euros) for his second PBA title..."
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD 16 January
Nieminen's wicked finish breaks tour drought at last
"JARKKO NIEMINEN of Finland earned his first ATP championship win in six years on Sunday with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Julien Benneteau of France. DAVE NEAL
Osku Palermaa won the PBA World Championship in Las Vegas.
other collectives have used common crises as a source of social cohesion. 10
19 25 JANUARY 2012
FINLAND IN THE WORLD PRESS
L E H T I K U VA / M A R T T I K A I N U L A I N E N
HELSINKI TIMES PRWEB.COM 11 January
Finland's Leading Business and Financial News Website Deploys Visual Revenue
Päivi Lipponen is a Member of Parliament with the Social Democratic Party and holds a doctoral degree in education.
History and identity
AS A HISTORIAN by training, it has been my aspiration to be able to pass on at least something of what I know to my children. Throughout history Finns have had to fight and suffer, either in other countries' armies or in defending their own country. Because of the Finnish willingness to fight, enslavement has never been part of our history and indeed, Professor Kolbe notes that victimhood does not feature significantly in the Finnish collective identity
The Finnish education system is world-renowned and viewed with a great deal of respect, and indeed a little jealousy, by some of the planet's major industrial and technologically advanced nations. My master's programme was fully in English and therefore I didn't face any problems. HELSINKI TIMES HELSINKI TIMES
EDUCATION
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Positive views from foreign students
Find an international flavour in Finland's higher education institutions.
DAV E DU N N E HEL SINKI TIMES
THERE HAS hardly been a bet-
ter time to study in Finland in the English language. Finland's education system is very flexible and hence one can choose subjects from different faculties according to one's interests. "To be able to sit in a multicultural class is also a huge asset. Our admission for 2012 closes on March 1 2012.
EXECUTIVE MBA
The Hanken MBA is an accredited, two-year part-time Executive MBA programme with flexible structure. The School has
a nationally high proportion of international degree students and an increasing element of internationalisation among the researchers and teaching staff. Additionally there is more emphasis on application of theory into realtime scenarios such as project work and collaborating with local companies, which prepares students to deal with the challenges of working life," he says. Finland offers world-class education and I'm very happy to get an opportunity to study here," says Anju. I have noticed a favourable ratio of students to lecturers, compared to my home country. At present there are almost 550 study programmes in English offered by Finnish higher education institutions and Minister of Education Jukka Gustafsson (SDP) recently stated that Finland should attract yet more foreign students. Here it's kind of a circular and holistic learning process. Nearly 400 of these study programmes are degree level studies available in both universities and polytechnics and the remainder are mostly short courses, which can usually be taken as part of an exchange programme. You do a lot of written work, reading, excursions, presentations and critical analyses," says Manoj Bhusal, a 26-yearold from Nepal, who is doing a master's in Development Studies at the University of Helsinki and has previously studied in Diaconia University of Applied Sciences. The ability to design one's own curriculum is one of the most important aspects of studying in Finland. "I think when it comes to studying the social sciences,
it's very different compared to my home country. So how does studying through the English language in Finland compare to studying in the home nations of some our international students around the country?
World-class education Anju K Philips, aged 24 from India, is pursuing a Masters in Biotechnology from the Tampere University of Technology, but has been working on her thesis at University of Helsinki's Department of Medical Genetics for the past eight months. For us Spaniards to choose Finland I think is a bit strange, but I am very happy because of the decision I took, and thanks to that I am seeing a lot of different and new things, different ways of life," continues Javi.
Emphasis on application John Wideman, 24 from the UK, is a recent graduate with a Bachelor's Degree in International Business from Kajaani University of Applied Sciences. Hanken alumni work in more than 60 countries world-wide.
MASTER'S DEGREE PROGRAMMES Hanken offers seven Master's degree programmes instructed in English. Write for three hours continuously and pass a subject. In Nepal, we can do self-study and appear for final exams. This allows you to tap into the knowledge of those who have a vast array of experience in the subject fields. You learn about things such as naming ceremonies in Ghana to fishing culture in Iceland," explains Manoj.
L E H T I K U VA / M A R K K U U L A N D E R
INVEST IN YOUR FUTURE
HANKEN SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS
Get the keys to an international career at a leading internationally accredited business school with campuses in Helsinki and in Vaasa, Finland. "The main difference here compared to Spain is the classes. Also, in Finnish society, it is always encouraged to continue your studies at any point in your career, so it's never too late. I think here every class has an important practical part. The areas of specialisation are: service and relationship marketing, finance, and international management.
DOCTORAL STUDIES
Doctoral studies at Hanken offer research-based education of internationally high standard, preparing you for a career in academia, the corporate world or the public sector.
For more information on studying in Finland, see www.studyinfinland.fi
READ MORE AT WWW.HANKEN.FI
The English School
O P P O RT U N E I M P O RT U N E
Englantilainen koulu
Open Hou
se
Thursday February 2, 2012, from 4 to 6 pm Come and learn more about our international exams (SAT, AP, Cambridge A-Level)!
At our High School (lukio) you can:
take the internationally recognized PSAT, SAT, AP, and A-Level examinations for entrance into universities in Finland and abroad prepare for the Finnish matriculation examinations in bilingual classes complete the general upper secondary school diploma (lukiodiplomi) in Music and Visual Arts gain fluency in the English language and receive expert personal advice when applying to universities abroad
Applications:
Your guidance counselor must send The English School application form to us by March 31, 2012.
Contact persons:
Guidance Counsellor Seija Kiiskinen (seija.kiiskinen@edu.hel.fi) Assistant Principal Seija Nyholm (seija.nyholm@edu.hel.fi)
The English School, Mäntytie 14, 00270 , Helsinki , Tel 09 - 4771123
www.eschool.edu.hel.fi
CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL CENTRE. "As a Brit there are few limitations when studying in my mother tongue. In the country I come from it is basically that the teacher says and you write, and that's useless, boring," explains Javier Gómez, a 20-year-old from Spain studying translation of English and English courses in the University of Tampere.
"I would encourage future Erasmus students from Spain to come here to study to try something different, because, usually people choose another destinations. "Studying in Finland has been a great experience for me
It begins even before the children actually go to school, with high-quality early childhood education. Young children are driven hard under these systems, doing vast amounts of homework and taking incessant tests and examinations. From the inception of the programme, Finnish students have scored in the top five, and often topped the tables, in assessments of reading literacy, mathematical literacy and scientific literacy. Not all the news is good, though: the greatest concern is that reading scores have fallen, with a large gender gap developing. It is necessary in order to develop broader perspectives on the world, its history and contexts, and to gain the knowledge necessary to par-
ticipate responsibly and effectively in civil society. Beginning in 2000, it has produced country profiles every three years, assessing the outcomes for over 70 countries and economies. The government continues to invest heavily in education, and to adjust its policy; hopefully the 2012 results will show improvement.
Grounds for success Countries that have done less well are looking to the Finnish experience for lessons, especially since it offers an alternative model to that of the Asian successes. PISA assesses students who are near the end of compulsory education, to determine whether they have acquired the knowledge and skills that are essential for full participation in society.
These are measured in the three domains of reading, mathematical and scientific literacy.
Finnish performance By the PISA measures, Finland has done consistently well. 12 1919 25 JANUARY2012 12 25 JANUARY 2012
EDUCATION
HELSINKI TIMES HELSINKI TIMES
Not built in a day
The success of the Finnish educational system is the fruit of over four decades of concerted effort at all levels of society.
K E N N E T H QU E K HEL SINKI TIMES
A GOOGLE
search for the Finnish educational system pulls up dozens of news articles from around the world, lauding the performance of Finnish students in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), an ongoing study conducted by the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development). This enables educational authorities to compare their achievements both across different systems and over a period of time, helping to identify best practices and good policy. Indeed, Finland has scored either first or second among OECD countries in all categories since the 2003 report. The emphasis in daycare and kindergarten respect for the child's individuality, helping them to develop social and interactive skills and to learn to care for others. According to a press statement from the Ministry of Education and Science, one-third of young people do not read for pleasure at all. This is a worrying trend, as reading widely has a value far beyond the purely vocational. Contrast this with the Finnish school experience. PISA is an international study that evaluates educational systems worldwide by testing the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students. The Asian method is somewhat brutal: it places a lot of pressure on parents, teachers and, most cruelly, students. This fosters a strong sense of social responsibility from a very early age.
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KINDERMUSIK
Homework is minimal by Asian standards, in order to leave time for extra-curricular activities, family life and recreation. None of these factors exists in a vacuum. f i
Institute of Adult Education in Helsink i Tö ö l ö nt u l l i n k at u 8 , 0 0 2 5 0 H e l s i n k i. Even the most basic factors are not overlooked. School attendance is mandatory, and there are few private and no "gifted" schools. The social welfare system also plays an important part. Inevitably, technological proficiency has gained a strong cachet. Economic structures are also a strong motivator. HELSINKI TIMES HELSINKI TIMES
L E H T I K U VA / M A R T T I K A I N U L A I N E N
EDUCATION
Culture and society Aside from the school system itself, there are broader levels of support in society that help to boost performance. In effect, Finland already practices the reforms that Jamie Oliver famously wishes to make in US and UK schools.
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H e l s i n g i n Ai k u i s o p i s t o. It was decided that the watchword for the educational system would be equality, so that each child would receive the same chances as every other, and the only differences would result from their own qualities, abilities and preferences. This is the result of a conscious decision made during the educational reforms of the late 1960s and 1970s. Rather than being taught, they are provided an environment that encourages exploration and experimentation, thus learning how to learn for themselves. This helps children to stay physically healthy, alert and eager for the time they spend in school. Which school a student attends has relatively little bearing on their ultimate performance, and reflects the very high minimum standards in the system. For all the romance of the agrarian life, Finland in the postwar era has been a strongly industrial economy. Schools are kept scrupulously clean and pleasant, to create a welcoming environment, and students receive school health care and a free lunch although every Finn will share stories of the horrors of institutional food, it is nevertheless ample and nutritious, which makes a difference especially to children from lowincome families. The Finnish success story in education is the result of an entire society making decisions to support, nourish and develop its youth.
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The children learn through playing. Its major driving sector is manufacturing. Education is free, even including the aforementioned school lunch as well as books, materials, and excursions. Teachers are fully unionised and highly professional.
Come and en joy learning t he easiest language in the world! Finnish for Foreign ers
Teaching is a respected calling, and standards are high. By the time they reach school-going age, they are strongly independent learners with some skill at acquiring knowledge. A Masters degree in education is the norm, and while teachers follow a state curriculum they have a great deal of autonomy in their methods of instruction. This theme runs through the following nine years of peruskoulu, or elementary school. Hence there are very few low performers to drag down the results, but the most important outcome is that children are not disadvantaged by lack of access to a superior school. Finnish schools and their students exhibit the lowest degree of variance among all the OECD countries. This allows parents to take an active role in bringing up their children, and relieves any pressure to take them out of school a hefty consideration for the poor in many countries, where children may contribute significantly to a family's income. Finnish society lauds scientists, authors and artists. Its greatest global brand is a technology company. One cultural attribute that is common to Finland and the high-performing Asian nations is respect for learning. Parents also receive a great deal of state support, not just monetary but in terms of legal protections involving time off for childcare
Between five and eight per cent of children have irregularities in their nervous system that are revealed through deficiencies in linguistic and motor skills. "Per for mance-related difficulties usually only become apparent at around ten years of age, when the child begins doing more demanding mathematics exercises in the third grade," Vanhanen says.
Medical help is rarely needed in coping with these problems, she adds. Parents should also be able to keep limits on the amount of time
Different paces It ought to be kept in mind, the neurologist adds, that so-called learning difficulties are in many cases just part of a person's own learning characteristics. Even if the learning difficulties can't be removed, with the appropriate sort of care they can usually be made easier to cope with." Sometimes the problems can pass by themselves in time. Vanhanen is sceptical about the idea that learning difficulties have become more common in recent years; it is more likely, she says, that diagnosis has just become better. However, competent and attentive teachers, a school psychologist, and an experienced school nurse are needed to spot these difficulties in time so as to ensure in cooperation with parents that the child gets the help he or she needs. For further information on the application process, please visit www.businesscollege.fi or contact Student Affairs Office, info@businesscollege.fi, tel +358 9 1489 0200 (ask for Student Affairs Office)
Helsinki Business College Business Campus (Pasila) Rautatieläisenkatu 5 FI-00520 Helsinki. This program is for students with upper-secondary dents upper-secondary r certificate. "A child has no time to recharge the batteries if there are after-school activities every evening. "Some children learn more slowly than others and require more repetition and revision, and support. "In some cases the teachers are
blamed for the child's learning difficulties." One problem however is that special needs groups are not always available, especially in smaller localities. The outcome can
be stifling for the children, however." According to Vanhanen, it is typical that parents want their children to attend normal classes even when it is evident that the child has learning difficulties and would benefit more from special needs classes. These children can benefit especially well from supported learning." Estimates of the number of school-age children with learning difficulties vary widely, between five and twenty per cent. "In such cases it's most likely a question of the child having difficulties in a specific sector rather than more generalised learning problems that are usually related to difficulties with reading and writing and problems with motor skills and attentiveness."
Vocational Qualification in Business and Administration
Helsinki Business College offers an international vocational n business program, which is taught entirely in English ht language. ministration · specialised vocational studies: Customer Services and Sales Sales e · duration 2 years Application period: 16.1.9.3.2012 The application form is on our website www.businesscollege.fi Entrance examination: 12.4.2012 Starting date: August 2012 For further information on the program, please visit www.businesscollege.fi program www businesscollege fi or contact Program Manager Ali Daher, ali.daher@businesscollege.fi, tel. "If parents or teachers believe that a child has learning difficulties, action should be taken without delay. Usually small adjustments are all that is needed to help the child." If further investigation is needed to determine the nature and scale of the learning difficulties, parents' most essential role is to encourage and motivate the child to undergo the studies. Another difficulty many children face, says Vanhanen, is that they are pressured into taking up an excessive amount of hobbies, leaving them tired at school. 14 1919 25 JANUARY2012 14 25 JANUARY 2012
EDUCATION
HELSINKI TIMES HELSINKI TIMES
Parental pressure can create learning difficulties, says child neurologist
L E H T I K U VA / M A R T T I K A I N U L A I N E N
their children and teenagers spend watching TV and using computers, and consequently to ensure they're getting enough sleep." Young children should get ten hours of sleep a night, and older children nine hours.
In many cases, what are thought to be learning difficulties are actually part of a person's own learning characteristics.
According to child neurologist Sanna-Leena Vanhanen, children of highly educated parents are most likely to be subjected to excessive and self-defeating pressure to do well at school.
A N N U K K A KO S K E L A S T T HT
UNREASONABLY high expec-
tations that parents place on their children to do well at school may be self-defeating and can even harm children, according to child neurologist Sanna-Leena Vanhanen.
Children of highly educated parents are most at risk of high expectations, Vanhanen explains, and these children are often among those who do least well in their studies. The program leads to the Vocational nal Qualification in Business and Administration (QBA). +358 50 573 5861. "These parents tend to put a lot of pressure on their children, because high academic achievement is a family tradition. "The child needs reassurance that he or she isn't sick, or abnormal
"All the proposed changes will adversely affect learning, and will also have harm-
Report: Reforms `have only slightly weakened' school achievement levels
AN INTERIM
Tenacity helps with study problems
A N N U K K A KO S K E L A S T T HT
A FOURTH-GRADE
girl had major difficulties with mathematics and English at school, and also had problems with tasks such as taking care of her belongings and doing her homework. The girl is now attending secondary school and is doing well, although the transition to more independent study took some getting used to. New tests carried out after the first two years showed
that the girl's linguistic and non-linguistic learning problems had disappeared, and she now had the level of competence in these areas that was normal for her age. Sari Kantelinen, at the time a neuropsychologist at Hyvinkää Hospital, met the girl there. The reforms have "only slightly weakened" the provision of basic education in primary- and secondary level schools and in vocational high schools, according to the report. She attended remedial classes at school during the same period. "Announcement systems, for example, are inadequate in many schools, as they often can't be heard all throughout the school premises." Much attention has been paid to school security in recent years following the fa-
tal school shootings in Jokela and Kauhajoki in 2007 and 2008 respectively. Kantelinen recommended that the girl be put on a one-toone programme in mathematics and English, with a slightly less demanding than normal level of content. According to Pitkälä, the current level of technical capability in Finnish schools for dealing with threatening situations is generally limited, with camera systems and other security equipment being either absent or outdated. STT, HT
ful social effects, and will eventually prove to be costly," Koski said. STT, HT
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> Information Technology Master of Engineering. Schools have generally been active in following the new requirements, Pitkälä says, but there is still room for improvement. She received neuropsychological rehabilitative care for two and a half years, which both strengthened her abilities in the areas she was most deficient and helped her to compensate for her difficulties in the areas where she was strongest. The protests follow the publication of a report last week by the Jyväskylä Educational Consortium, an educational institution owned by Central Finnish local authorities. The report included the proposal that the number of schools in the locality be reduced by closing Jyväskylän Lyseo and either one or two other high schools, and transferring the students and teachers to other high schools. Under the reformed law, every school must have detailed security and crisis plans. Levels of educational achievement were generally less negatively affected than had been feared, the authors of the report found, owing to decreases in class sizes. There was less of a reduction in the number of high schools, and no vocational colleges were closed. Legal reforms that came into effect last August imposed more precise guidelines than previously on the measures schools are required to take to ensure the security of pupils and staff. Over the period of the reforms the number of primary-level schools in the areas covered by the interim report were reduced by 15 per cent, secondary schools by 18 per cent, and specialised schools by 28 per cent. The matter came to the fore again recently, after one student stabbed another in a high school in the South Ostrobothnia town of Alahärmä. The number of schools have been most reduced in areas with declining population levels. STT, HT
Hundreds of youths protest proposed Jyväskylä school closures
SEVERAL HUNDRED young people participated in protests in Jyväskylä on Monday against the proposed closure of the Lyseo high school in the town. "Tests were done with the girl which showed that she had wide-ranging linguistic and non-linguistic problems," Kantelinen recalls. "I met the girl's mother about six months ago, and she told me delightedly that the class teacher had given very positive feedback on her daughter's progress at school."
report carried out at the University of Jyväskylä on the school reforms contained in the new local authority structure implemented by the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities (PARAS) has been published. Her ability to act on her own initiative and take care of herself and her belongings had also improved remarkably. According to Jyväskylä Students' Union board member Hanna Koski, over three hundred students joined in the demonstrations from various secondary schools in and around the town. HELSINKI TIMES HELSINKI TIMES
L E H T I K U VA / S E P P O S A M U L I
EDUCATION
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Excuses may hint at learning problems The following are some of the tell-tale signs that a child may have learning difficulties: · The child complains of school being too difficult · Reluctance to do homework · Homework takes an unusually long time to do · The child complains of headaches of stomachaches or the like, but only on schoolday mornings
Source: Hyvinkää Hospital child neurologist Sanna-Leena Vanhanen
Education ministry speeding up school security reforms
THE DIRECTOR of the Finnish National Board of Education Aulis Pitkälä has emphasised the need for greater urgency on legislation that would improve safety measures at schools, the Turun Sanomat, Kaleva and other media have reported. The tests also showed, however, that the girl had good mechanical reading skills and a good memory.
Most of all she had a positive attitude towards school and learning in general. She is now able to follow the normal curriculum in mathematics
Of the respondents who had summer work, half were either at an advanced stage of their master's-level studies or already doing a postgraduate degree. Only one per cent said they were self-employed over the summer. 415 33 560
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You'll love the way we print it. Around five per cent of respondents worked full-time over the summer. 415 33 530 STOCKMANN TEL. Eight per cent of respondents failed to find summer work last year, compared to eleven per cent in 2010 and sixteen in 2009. The same overwhelming majority expressed confidence that work during their study years will be beneficial to their careers later. The study shows that students who do not work part-time or only infrequently have completed between 46 and 50 study points' worth of studies on average in the 2010-2011 academic year, compared to an average of only 41-45 for students who do regular part-time work. The same proportion of students employed in summer work also reported having learned much during the work that they believed would be beneficial to them after graduation.
Summertime blues Students in the technical disciplines had better opportunities for summer work last year than in 2010, with over half reporting no major difficulties in finding work for last summer. Twelve per cent were employed in third-level education. Foreign work rare Three-quarters of respondents who had summer jobs were employed in the private sector. Four per cent received summer work from the state, and four per cent from local authorities. 16 1919 25 JANUARY2012 16 25 JANUARY 2012
EDUCATION
L E H T I K U VA / J U S S I H E I T T I N E N
HELSINKI TIMES HELSINKI TIMES
Around 5% of survey respondents worked full-time in the summer.
In addition to learning their own field, these respondents said that summer work allowed them to improve their interpersonal skills, teamworking and presentation skills, and also gave them problem-solving skills and other practical experience. An additional 14 per cent of respondents had full- or part-time jobs that continued over the summer. Just over half of the students doing summer work did not have jobs in the fields for which they are studying, the TEK survey showed.
AT THE START OF YOUR CAREER YOU'LL BE PREPARED OR MORE PREPARED
Work and study a tough but beneficial balance for technical students
A recent survey of students in technical fields suggests that a significant majority find working to support themselves during their studies to be a burden that pays off later.
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Master's Degree Programmes
Business · Business Informatics Health Care and Social Services · Health Business Management Technology · Business Informatics · Health Business Management · Industrial Management · Information Technology
Bachelor's Degree Programmes as evening studies
Technology · Information Technology Business · International Business and Logistics
ACCORDING to a survey commissioned by the professional and labour market organisation Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland (TEK), students in these areas consider part-time and summer work to be helpful towards finding work in their own field after graduation. 415 33 540 KAMPPI TEL. The survey also lends support to the unsurprising conclusion that study delays graduation, however. Only two per cent of respondents had summer work abroad.
ADLON TEL. Sixty-nine per cent of respondents were employed for only part of the summer, just one per cent more than in the previous year. The largest summer employment sectors for students in technical disciplines are the metals industry, the education and research sector, the energy sector, and the construction sector. Students
Application period 5 March 10 April 2012
Studies start in autumn 2012 For more information: www.metropolia.fi/apply See also: Specialisation Studies
B U S I N E S S · H E A LT H C A R E A N D S O C I A L S E RV I C E S · T E C H N O LO G Y
Ladies only
Have you noticed that some of our fitness centres are exclusively for women?
in full-time work, for their part, completed a far smaller amount of studies, collecting only 6-10 points on average. On the other hand, nine out of ten of the respondents who work full- or part-time said the work is at least partly relevant to the field they hope to enter on graduation
With memorable voice work by James Earl Jones and Jeremy Irons, by all accounts this 3D conversion only further enhances the viewing experience. Erik Rydvall plays the steampunk-styled keyed violin, a type of hurdy-gurdy played as a regular violin with mul-
tiple moving parts and a slightly eerie, reedy tone. Furthermore, a number of club events are being staged at Virgin Oil and Dubrovnik, and look out for the film doctor located on the Cultural Tram as it weaves around town on 25 and 26 January from 5 to 7 pm, dispensing advice as to what's on offer this year.
DocPoint Helsinki Documentary Film Festival 24-29 January http://docpoint.info/en
Canned Dreams (Finland) by Katja Gauriloff.
The best of Finland
J A M E S O ' S U L L I VA N HEL SINKI TIMES
The Swedish invasion?
ANTHONY SHAW HEL SINKI TIMES
THE SEASON
FANCY
catching a glimpse at a fair swath of Finnish talent from the music scene all in one fell swoop. But, if it's some good ol' fashioned entertainment you're after that overlooks historical accuracy in favour of explosions and ass kickin' thrills, then look no further than local boy Renny Harlin's latest Five Days of War to deliver the goods. HELSINKI TIMES
CULTURE
heads (2008), but with four Golden Globe nominations and some positive word-ofmouth, the future's looking pretty good for this film at the Finnish box office. When his cybermate begins to increase his influence on his life, what's our hero to do when the line between reality and the game becomes indistinguishable. Instrumentalists Nordic have their roots in world music, but playing two traditional Nordic folk instruments makes them strongly Swedish in character. Cellist Anders Löfberg fills out the bottom end with non-standard bass accompaniment and his compositions. Finally, in perhaps the most satisfying release of the week, The Lion King returns to the big screen, almost 18 years after its first release. After the disappointing collapse of his Mannerheim film due to financing issues, Harlin's attention instead has wandered further east to offer his take on Russia's war with Georgia in 2009. Accompanied by his cameraman Richard Coyle, he gets caught in the crossfire of an air strike and seeks to get their story about what's happening out of the country. Props too for some surprisingly tolerable Elton John songs on the soundtrack.
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By George!
J A M E S O ' S U L L I VA N HEL SINKI TIMES
HAS THE current presidential
race here got you in the mood for more politics. The mind-boggling array of different films can be found on the website. Finnish fiddler Suvi Oksala joins singer Josefin Peters and violinist/singer Anna Lindblad, both from Sweden. As a trio Pelios are more of an equal mix of fun and focus.
Nordic trio and Pelios 20 January Louhi Club Tapiola Arts Centre Espoo. Pelios play mainly their own compositions. And, for those who can't get enough of the talented singer-songwriter, immediately following the awards Chisu will hit the stage to belt out a 30-minute set at 10 pm. Will local audiences save it from occupying a dusty shelf up the back of your local Filmtown. The night commences with a performance by reggae heroes Jukka Poika and the Sound Explosion Band, turning a blind
The multitalented singersongwriter Chisu will be performing at the Barona Areena this Friday.
eye to the blanket of snow outdoors and kicking things off with the warmth of their amiable jams. Organised for the 26th time, the awards celebrate the past 12 months in Finnish music, with categories covering all genres and styles. Other films on offer include the best of Russian, Baltic and Nordic documentary films, a retrospective of photographer and cinematographer Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen, people rising up against the ruling class, 100 years of Estonian film, reflections on war, new Finnish documentaries,
lost Europe, nature in peril, families and a selection of award-winning documentaries from the past year. Leading the charge with some seven nominations is pop sensation Chisu, having enjoyed huge success in 2011 with her number one album
Emma Gaala 20 January, 19:00 Tickets 25/30 Barona Areena Urheilupuistontie 3 Espoo
of spring gigs kicks off in the airy but cosy environs of the Tapiola Arts Center with some virtuoso Scandinavian folk in the form of two tight young bands from Sweden. Like all three band members of Nordic, the three female musicians of Pelios also have experience of multiple other genres as well as folk, making their compositions
more appealing for a general audience. Having grown since its 2001 inception, the 2012 incarnation boasts a programme containing some 133 documentary films from all around the world, and is being held from 24-29 January. Probably not. Additionally, audiences can enjoy a wide range of seminars and lectures, along with a masterclass with awardwinning Israeli documentary filmmaker Eyal Sivan, targeted at film students, professionals and those interested in filmmaking Local film schools have the chance to have their work seen by a wider audience, Kun valaistun. The award-dispensing itself begins at 8 pm. Here Gosling hangs up the driving gloves and bloodstained jacket of last year's Drive and steps into the shoes of an idealistic staffer for a presidential candidate fresh on a campaign trail lined with dirty politics. Well, lucky you, as this year's Emma Gaala is being staged on 20 January at Barona Areena in Espoo. The Awards will also be televised live on Yle 2 and YleX's Areena at 8 pm.
and the diverse content sees in-depth analyses of issues facing a number of Arabic countries sitting alongside award-winning documentaries on Western rock stars Ozzy Osbourne, George Harrison, U2 and Sigur Rós.
The spice of life Furthermore, a special selection of films will be presented by DocPoint's Apollo award-
winning producer Iikka Vehkalahti, touching on racism in the American South, AIDS in Mozambique, the private life of Soviet Union citizens from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s and Werner Herzog's film of the life of eccentric actor Klaus Kinski. If you know the music of Gjallarhorn you will know that vocals sung in Swedish have a very different style from Finnish, but understanding the often obscure texts is not essential to appreciating this band either. American reporter Rupert Friend heads to Georgia on the suspicion that a large conflict is brewing. Well, lucky you! What better way to sate your whetted appetite than to spend a couple of hours this week in the relative comfort of your local multiplex and enjoy the eye candy of George Clooney and Ryan Gosling basking in the glow of a fictionalised American presidential campaign in The Ides of March. Set in a small town in Eastern Finland, Rat King sees the life of a high school student turning pear-shaped when his online friend introduces him to a game that assigns players tasks in real life. In this animated classic, a guiltridden lion cub is tricked into thinking that he has killed his father and flees into exile, abandoning his destiny as the future king. Mandolinist Magnus Zetterlund is Sweden's answer to our own Petri Hakala, wielding a Master's degree in his instrument along with an interest in everything rhythmic on eight or more strings. Clooney is back in the director's chair after the relative failure of his previous effort at the helm, Leather-
The Tiniest Place by Tatiana Huezo Sánchez (Mexico) is a dreamlike portait of the collective memory of Salvadoran Civil War survivors.
Documenting diversity
This year's DocPoint Festival offers a vast range of topics and themes.
J A M E S O ' S U L L I VA N HEL SINKI TIMES
AS THE SOLE
The Ides of March (K7) Release Date: 20 January Director: George Clooney Starring: George Clooney, Ryan Gosling Five Days of War (K16) Release Date: 20 January Director: Renny Harlin Starring: Rupert Friend, Richard Coyle Rat King (K16) Release Date: 20 January Director: Petri Kotwica Starring: Max Ovaska, Julius Lavonen Lion King in 3D (K7) Release Date: 20 January Director: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff Feat. Like much of Harlin's output, however, reviews have been poor-to-mixed, with the film enjoying only a brief release in the US and UK earlier last year. the voices of: Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones
festival in Finland dedicated to screening documentaries, Helsinki's DocPoint Festival certainly has a lot of ground to cover. The largest documentary film festival of all the Nordic countries, this year's festival promises a socially conscious cocktail of new movies and classics, along with DOKKINO, a series of documentary films for children that is also travelling around Finland. Other artists up for multiple awards during the evening include exNylon Beat singer Erin, glam star Michael Monroe, the late Topi Sorsakoski and rappers Jare & VilleGalle
c o m
Real ale should be hand-pumped by someone who knows what they're doing.
Real ale festival brings hopheads together
The annual real ale festival takes place this week in Espoo's Niittykumpu.
MIK A OK SANEN HEL SINKI TIMES
WHEN PETER OVELL ordered his first pints of 6X a real ale, Britain's top-fermented beer brewed in the traditional way back in Bristol in the early 1980s, he would probably have sneered at a clairvoyant telling him: "My son, a score and ten years hence you shall enjoy your real
ale in the frozen north and frequent a real ale festival there." But that was basically just how it went. 09 694 0750 Mon-Fri 11-23, Sat 12-23, Sun 12-22
www.ravintolatandoor.net. It's also less fizzy, because no carbon dioxide is artificially injected into it, which is the case for ordinary beers," Ovell explains. At the Gallows, we adhere to strict principles, including tasting the ales every day before serving them to make sure they are OK," says Thomas Aschan, proprietor of the Gallows Bird pub in Espoo's Niittykumpu. Others may wonder if the price of a real ale pint is high compared with average lager. And sec-
Salomonkatu 19, Helsinki Tel. Punters will run away at the sip of badly handled ale that is flat or developing a vinegar-like taste. So why do you enjoy real ale. A resident of Finland since the early 1990s, he has seen real ale reach our shores
and gradually win over new friends. "First of all, the price gap is not always very big. CAMRA provides information for its members, lobbies government, organises beer festivals in the UK and compiles local and national pub guides. "Unbelievably, a handful of Finnish pubs serve real ale imported from the UK, and the Gallows Bird, where the festival is, was among the first to do so," Ovell says. "If you serve real ale, you have to know what you are doing and how to take care of the product. "Real ale is not filtered or pasteurised; instead, it is left to slowly finish its fermentation in the cask, resulting in a much tastier product. HELSINKI TIMES
EAT & DRINK
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LET'S
ROLL
TO
Te n n i s p a l a t s i n a u k i o 4 - H e l s i n k i - o l u t h u o n e . I calculated the price per litre for real ale from the UK and a good lager from Finland, and the difference was just a tad over 10 per cent. And he's not making it up. He has built his knowledge over decades as part of the 100,000-strong membership of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, a consumer organi-
sation set up in Britain in the early 1970s to promote real ale. "Real ale, which is beer brewed and served the traditional way, was nearly killed off in the 70s by the giant breweries, but today people realise that it deserves its position as a heritage product, and today it has a respectable and growing market share," Ovell says.
The Campaign for Real Ale started in the 1970s.
Peter Ovell
Not guilty Some people are afraid of real ale tasting flat or not agreeing with them. At many bars, lager may even cost more than real ale at our place
KITCHEN 12-23
FREE WIFI
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Neben Spezialitäten aus den verschiedenen Regionen servieren wir Ihnen Deutsche Biere und Weine
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CL A S S ICAL F INNISH CUISINE
with a modern twist
Meritullinkatu 25, 00170 Helsinki. No such fear is imminent at the 2012 festival, though. We'll enjoy each other's company and great ales," he continues. For example, when you have guys handling the hops manually and putting them into the tank, as I've seen done at a brewery in London, you can't expect to match the price of mass-produced beer," Aschan explains. 00100 Helsinki, Finland Tel. KITCHEN 12-24 SUN 12-24 . For more info, see www.gallowsbird.fi
Newly opened Nepalese Restaurant
treats you like a royalty right in the heart of Helsinki City center.
Lunch A la carte Mon-Fri 10:30-15:00 15:00-23:00 Sat & Sun 12:00-23:00 www.basecampnepal.fi Find us in facebook: www.facebook.com/basecampnepal Yliopistonkatu 5, Helsinki, tel: 09 698 0995
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Nepalese Cuisine
Since 1993
The Oldest Nepalese Restaurant in Finland
Open Mon-Fri 11-23, weekends 12-23, Lunch: Mon-Fri 11-15 Contact Ratakatu 1B, 00120 Helsinki. Whether or not beer drinkers accept the slightly higher price boils down to
how much they appreciate a handmade, quality product with charm and nuances over an industrial liquid high in carbon dioxide, but often lacking in character.
The Gallows serves you right! The first real ale festival at the Gallows Bird in the late 1990s was as short as it was ground-breaking. KITCHEN 11-23 FRI 11-02 . Book your table tel. "A couple of real ciders will be available too, and fish and chips will be served. More info on real ale and other traditional beers in Finland is available on the web site of the Finnish Society for Traditional Beers at www.posbeer.org
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Nepalese Restaurant
The biggest Nepalese Restaurant in Helsinki · Suitable for group parties · Fully licensed · Delicious food with tandoor
Welcome to Satkar
Fredrikinkatu 46 (Kamppi, Autotalo). Aschan first came across real ale on a trip to the UK, and like Peter Ovell, the sole reason for getting excited about it was the clear difference in taste as opposed to what is occasionally referred to as "bog-standard fizz" not by our courteous interviewees though. The continued fermentation is possible because real ale is not filtered or pasteurised at the brewery. That should be enough for the three-day festival," Aschan estimates. This allows a fuller flavour to develop and creates natural carbonation. 20
19 25 JANUARY 2012
EAT & DRINK
RESTAURANTS · PUBS · BARS
Real ale (e.g. It is served cool, but not too cold, to allow the range of flavours to be appreciated in full. No artificial carbonation is needed. 09 6981225, helsinki1@vapiano.fi, www.vapiano.fi MON-THU 11-24 . Puh. +358 9 635 732 www.juuri.fi
Transforming Finnish gifts of nature in an innovative manner to suit modern tastes.
ollects. (09) 647 551, mob 040 7347 638 www.himalaya.fi
The world of beer in all its glory
BEER HOUSE KAISLA
Vilhonkatu 4
Mon-Thu 1302, Fri-Sat 1303, Sun 1302
www.oluthuone.com
YA
FIRST VAPIANO IN HELSINKI IS NOW OPEN! COME AND ENJOY!
FRESH DELICIOUS HEALTHY
VAPIANO HELSINKI MIKONKATU 15 tel. "We'll have 18 handpumps at the bar and the same number of products in cask. bitters, pale ales, golden ales, stouts and porters) is top-fermented beer that finishes its fermentation in a cask in the pub cellar and is normally served by means of a hand-pulled pump on the bar. KITCHEN 11-24 SAT 12-02 . There will be no live music, to make sure there's enough space for everyone. "Our very moderate stock only lasted for four hours," Aschan rec-
Korkeavuorenkatu 27 Helsinki Tel. 135 4148 www.kolumbus.fi/zinnkeller
Töölönkatu 27
www.ravintol akuu.fi
Tel.+358 (0)9 270 90973. Many readers who have been to the UK may well have unwittingly enjoyed a hand-pumped glass of real ale at a public house. This weekend you can enjoy a good variety at the festival, served exactly how it should be.
The Real Ale Festival 19-21 January Gallows Bird pub Niittykumpu, Espoo. +358 9 611 077, +358 40 707 1140 www.satkar.fi
Espoo's Gallows Bird pub knows a thing or two about beers.
ondly, real ale is handmade in Britain, often in small volumes by micro breweries, and then transported here