Current affairs

Santa Claus; Finnish Christmas cuisine; traditional and modern views of Christmas; e-cards; and holiday stories

Finland is one of the Member States of the United Nations that is supporting the erection of a permanent memorial to remind the world of the tragedy of the transatlantic slave trade, and the legacy of slavery. The Caribbean Community and the African Union are the primary movers in this project.

Our advent calendar contains popular Finnish instructions and recipes for the lead-up to Christmas, making the wait more enjoyable - and shorter!

Finland’s development partner countries will be able to participate in the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, thanks in part to support from Finland for trips to Korea. Finland is providing €100 000 for the trips. Funds are channelled through the Asian Development Bank.

Finland is engaged with the SICA (Sistema de la integración centroamericana, Central American Integration System) countries in Central America in ongoing dialogues on the eradication of poverty. This is one of the central themes in Finland’s regional development cooperation.

Ready to take your Finnish to the next level? We look at three little volumes that will surely expand your Finnish vocabulary – and it will be practically painless.

Finland has been thanked by the UN for being one of the countries that have met all of their financial obligations to the Organization in full and on time. The UN Secretary-General’s Report of 18 October 2011 Improving the financial situation of the United Nations (1/66/521) states that the only way to ensure a more stable financial base for the work of the UN is for all Member States to meet their financial obligations.

Finland has been funding the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) since 1991. The Head of the Unit for Southern Africa of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jorma Suvanto, attended the 20th Annual Meeting of the ACBF Board of Governors last month. The meeting was held in Arusha, Tanzania between 7th and 10th of September 2011.

A group of 30 talented young people will meet once again in Finland next June at the third Millennium Youth Camp. The application process for the 2012 Millennium Youth Camp has now begun, the first round closes on 19th of December 2011.

Finnish doctors are taking creative, patient-oriented approaches to defeating a growing public health problem.