Why Transparency? A discussion event held in Zagreb
 

The Embassy of Finland organized a panel discussion on May 4, in Zagreb, titled Why transparency? Experiences and Good Practices from Finland. The event was a discussion and an exchange of ideas on the crucial role of transparency in building a successfully functioning society.

Opening remarks were made by Ambassador of Finland to Croatia, Timo Rajakangas, and Croatian Information Commissioner Anamarija Musa. In his remarks, the Ambassador mentioned that transparency is a core value of Finland and one of the reasons why the country has a place at the top of many international, social and economic rankings. He also specified that the panel discussion was a part of the Embassy's Finland 100 program in Croatia, which focuses especially on education, gender equality and transparency.

The Croatian Information Commissioner shed light on the important role of transparency in Croatia's democratic, economic and social development. Musa mentioned that Croatia is making good progress in the building of a transparent society, but saw that some important steps still have to be taken.

Financial Counsellor of the Finnish Ministry of Finance, Katju Holkeri delivered the key note speech of the event. Holkeri summoned some of the reasons why open government has been a success story in Finland and presented some examples of the current work that is being done in the country in order to enhance transparency.

The panelists were Anamarija Musa, Katju Holkeri, Mihovil Škarica from the University of Zagreb's Faculty of Law, and Munir Podumljak from the Partnership for Social Development. The discussion was moderated by Don Markušić, who is the Vice President of Transparency International Croatia. During the discussion, the panelists shared their views about the difficulties transparency faces in Croatia as well as how good practices from Finland could be successfully implemented in the country. At the end of the discussion, the audience had the opportunity to present their questions.

The panel discussion was a part of a series of events organized by the Embassy of Finland, in cooperation with local partners, to celebrate two milestones in 2017: 100 years of Finland's independence and 25 years of diplomatic relations between Finland and Croatia.