"Culture strongly involved in promoting well-being and health in Northern Ostrobothnia"
in cooperation with these words, Sanna Salmela, Head of Welfare Promotion in the Wellbeing Services County of Northern Ostrobothnia, opened a seminar on Cultural Impact on Health and Welfare held on 8 September. ‘The wellbeing region must integrate cultural wellbeing services as part of its own service production. On the other hand, effective cooperation in cooperation with municipal cultural services is important, as both parties share goals and customers", said Marjo-Riitta Tervonen, Head of Participation and Inclusion and Connectivity at the Wellbeing Services County of Northern Ostrobothnia. In the city of Oulu, the coordinator of cultural services for the elderly, Heidi Jäärni, already serve ass at the interface between general cultural services and social and health services. Perhaps such common tasks will also be possible in the near future between municipalities and the wellbeing services county. Expanding job descriptions and hybrid professionalism, i.e. working in cooperation with different target groups in new kinds of work environments, challenge not only artists, but also the education system. According to Taru Koivisto, who has argued about the work of musicians in the Finnish health care system, effectiveness will increase if artists are well prepared for their work already in their field of education. The content of the training should be developed. "Even if a person is seriously ill, they can still feel good" The concrete effects of art on the seminar audience were presented by dancer and neuroscientist Hanna Poikonen. She has studied the effects of creative movement, dance and music on the brain. The results show that they accelerate the regeneration of brain tissue and the repair of potential damage. They also reduce stress, prevent memory problems, strengthen balance and imagination. Above all, dance and music bring pleasure. “Even if you are seriously ill, you can still feel good about yourself. Through culture and art, we can strengthen this very aspect of experientialism in ourselves. Everyone should find their own path to well-being. Art and culture provide pathways to it", said Hanna Poikonen in her speech. Dance and music can bring direct relief to many diseases, such as Parkinson's disease. You can also participate in the Parkinson's ballet groups in the Oulu region and they have been popular. At the cultural well-being market organised at the end of the seminar day, the audience got to know, among other things, the activities of the Mielenliike- Dance and Movement Therapy service led by Jessica Viitala. The market square had a large number of stakeholders presenting their products and services related to cultural well-being. The seminar on cultural impact on well-being and health was organised in cooperation by the Northern Ostrobothnia Welfare Region and its Future Health and Social Services Centre project and the Regional Regional Assembly of Northern Ostrobothnia and its Cultural Cell project. Nearly 200 participants attended the event on-site and via streaming. the Seminar …
