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The Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia invites proposals for the organisation work of Northern Ostrobothnia for 2023. Proposals can be submitted between 1 September and 29 September 2023. This year we are looking for action under the theme ‘Culture in Surprising Contexts’. An organizational act does not have to be an isolated act; it can be understood and interpreted more broadly. The award criteria emphasise the cross-border dimension and effectiveness, as well as the role of volunteering. The association that won the organizational act of the year will receive 1,000 euros to support its activities. The nominations for the prize will be made by 29 September 2023 at 3 p.m. using the electronic form Applicants must be a registered local association. The decision on the organisation of the year is made by the Regional Government of Northern Ostrobothnia. The organisation act of the year 2023 will be announced at the Regional Parliament of Northern Ostrobothnia on 7 November 2023. This is the fifth time the prize has been awarded. The message can be shared freely within your organisation and with your stakeholders! Additional information: Ilpo Tapaninen, Strategy Manager, Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia, tel.…

Change Now – well-being in the municipality through physical activity! The North Ostrobothnia Welfare Forum will take place on Wednesday 15 November 2023 from 9.45 to 16.00 at Kempele Linnakangas School, Linnakaarto 20, Kempele. The North Ostrobothnia Welfare Forum will be held for the 16th time. The event conveys the latest researched knowledge and good practices, increases cooperation and partnership, and recognises successful practices. This year, the focus will be on measures to increase the mobility of Finns and the state of well-being of people of invited age in Northern Ostrobothnia. The forum will hear about local good practices and, as usual, reward the well-being act of the year. A large number of exhibitors are present. The event is organised by the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia in cooperation with the Regional Sports Federation of Northern Ostrobothnia and the municipality of Kempele. The forum is free of charge, including coffee and lunch. Forum programme and registration link will be published September-October…

The turnover of clusters in Northern Ostrobothnia started to decline already towards the end of 2022. The biggest drop this year was in the wood products and furniture industry. The metal cluster has been strong in a difficult economic environment, but in late spring its turnover turned to frost as well. Construction was still positive in January. However, the sharp decline in net sales was already visible in April-May. The difficulties of the business sector have not been reflected as strongly in the number of employees, with the exception of the wood cluster. The cluster of the creative economy and tourism have persisted despite the very challenging situation. Both companies' net sales and number of employees have increased in 2022 and the first half of 2023. The ICT cluster is also growing rapidly. The significance of construction for the region and the national economy as a whole is now beginning to be revealed, as turnover comes down sharply, even though the number of personnel was …

The application period for the second phase of the JTF projects for the 2021-2027 programming period of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia ended on 31 August 2023. By the deadline for the second application period, 64 applications were received by the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia. The applications sought funding from the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia for a total of approximately EUR 18.7 million. The decisions on applications for further processing will be received in November 2023.

The Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia has opened an application round for ERDF projects from the EU's Regional and Structural Policy Programme for a Renewable and Skilled Finland 2021-2027. The application round is open from 1 September 2023 to 31 December 2023. The Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia finances European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) measures. This call will fund projects under specific objectives 1.1., 1.2., 2.1. and 2.3. Before preparing your application, you should read more about the Renewable and Skilled Finland 2021-2027 programme document and the content of the above-mentioned specific objectives. An amount of EUR 11,900,000 is planned to be used to finance the projects received in the application round. The maximum amount of funding requested (ERDF and State) is 80% development project and up to 70% the total cost of the investment project. The second application period for JTF projects, open alongside the ERDF application round opened on 1 September 2023, ended on 31 August 2023 and during the second application period…

JTF funding can now also be applied for cross-regional projects in Kainuu, Lapland and Northern Ostrobothnia. A total of EUR 1,293 million has been earmarked for funding. €. The Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia acts as an intermediate authority. Only trans-national projects under JTF Priority Axis 7 Just Transition Finland under Specific Objective 7.1 ‘Territorially Just Transition for the Renunciation of Security’ will be funded under the call. The results of the projects must be usable in the regions of Northern Ostrobothnia, Lapland and Kainuu. When selecting projects to be funded, priority will be given to projects involving actors from all the above-mentioned provinces. Before preparing an application, it is advisable to read more about the Renewable and Skilled Finland 2021-2027 programme document and the content of the above-mentioned specific objective, as well as the counties' transition plans. The application round is open from 28 August 2023 to 31 October 2023. The maximum amount of funding requested is …

Digitalisation is already affecting almost every aspect of life, and several functions related to everyday life have become digitalised. Digitalisation brings several benefits and makes life smoother, but it also sets requirements for sufficient digital competence. As digitalisation progresses, it is particularly important to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to learn digital skills and equal conditions to use digital devices, services and environments to support their own lives as they wish. As the development of digitalisation progresses, it is worth considering what kinds of digital services, environments and usage habits increase well-being and which factors related to digital in turn weaken well-being. The Northern Ostrobothnia digital well-being and participation development project, which ended at the end of July 2023, has aimed to promote digital well-being, especially taking into account the municipality-based perspective. The project is based on the provincial programme 2022-2025…

On Thursday 17 August 2023, the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia, together with the City of Oulu, organised a Northern Security and Economic Seminar in the Old Oulu Barracks area. The seminar was held after the change in the Finnish security environment. At the same time, the importance of northern Finland as a provider of security of supply and transport connections increased. The aim of the seminar was to combine geopolitical change with geoeconomic change, as the market does not exist separately from political interests. Mari-Leena Talvitie, the chair of the provincial council, who opened the event, said that the eyes have turned to the north. – The region is of great geopolitical importance to Finland and the scale of economic opportunities is nationally significant. For this reason, the Government Programme provides for the preparation of a separate Northern Programme under the direction of the Prime Minister's Office. The Prime Minister's Office will begin preparations for the Northern Programme in August-September 2023. Ambassador of Finland to Barents, and Ambassador of Finland to Canada,…

  This year not only talks about the Baltic Sea, but the Regional Director of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia Markus Erkkilä and the Mayor of Oulu Seppo Määttä rely on the power of the example. In a video published today on Wednesday, August 16th, they dive into the sea themselves in Nallikari, Oulu, and hope that others will follow their example on the Baltic Sea Day at the end of August. – A good cause requires not only knowledge and speech, but also deeds, Markus Erkkilä and Seppo Määttä state. At the same time, Markus Erkkilä and Seppo Määttä are challenging decision-makers and actors in the area, as well as residents and residents. You can participate either by taking a dip in the sea or by doing a small act for the benefit of the Baltic Sea.  Participants are encouraged to share their own good deed or dip in social media accounts. You can attach two events to the publications…

Generations along the River Iijoki - Processing the relationship between the environment and nature through art - pilot gathers the story of the River Iijoki as told by people of different ages and backgrounds. Art Pilot's workshops have started from the sources of Iijoki in Kuusamo and will end in Ii at the end of autumn. Art Pilot's art workshops are carried out by Niina Aho and Satu Suvanto. Together with the participants, they explore their relationship between nature and the environment using the concept of place-feeling. The work combines environmental art, creative writing, sound art, and video and photography. ‘For example, in the Jakkukylä village of the municipality of Ii, the aim is to meet people who hunt, fish and move in nature. The theme is approached through ancient hunting culture and Finnish rock painting symbols. We inspire participants to share their own experiences and together with rock paintings we create our own signs for the environment with natural materials", opens the workshops with artist Satu Suvanto.…