At its meeting on Monday 14 March, the Provincial Government of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia decided to provide humanitarian aid of EUR 10,000 to Ukraine through the Finnish Red Cross. The provincial government has expressed the hope that the municipalities of the province will participate in supporting Ukraine through reliable international aid organisations. – Assistance should be provided when needed. The power of cooperation is known in Northern Ostrobothnia, and municipalities are directing humanitarian aid to alleviate the emergency situation in Ukraine, says Jussi Ylitalo, Chairman of the Provincial Government. The Regional Director of Northern Ostrobothnia, Pauli Harju, has also expressed a wish for municipalities to participate in helping people in need in Ukraine. Several municipalities in Northern Ostrobothnia have already decided or are in the process of deciding to provide financial assistance to Ukraine, which is fighting the Russian aggression. Currently, the total grant amount granted by the counties is approximately EUR 230 000. Additional information: Jussi Ylitalo, President of the Provincial Government, tel. +358 45 160 6466 Pauli Harju, President of the Provincial Government, tel. +358 400 389 152

ELMO cooperation, which has emerged from the Business in Transition pilot in Eastern and Northern Finland, has been active in recent months. Descriptions of the research and development environments in the areas have been published on ELMO's website and the business financing projects related to the wood value chains have been completed. Although the business environment has completely changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, several seminars have been organised in the framework of ELMO, including on the development of cluster activities, online. More information on the implementation of ELMO cooperation in, for example, Northern Ostrobothnia can be found in the September newsletter.