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The story of Iijoki, told by different generations, will be brought together when the first Community Art Workshop of the Cultural Cell project will be held in Kuusamo from 7 to 11 August. Generations along the River Iijoki - Processing the relationship between environment and nature through art - pilot brings together the story of the River Iijoki in five different workshops to which participants of different ages and backgrounds have been invited. The first workshop will be held from 7 to 11 August in Kuusamo, at the source of the river Iijoki, together with a group of immigrants. From there, the journey continues to work with high school students and young people in Taivalkoski and Pudasjärvi. In Ii, the residents of Jakkukylä and the seniors of the Yli-Iista Jokiranta service house, their relatives and the staff of the house will join in. The workshops are carried out by artists 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,…

Finland, Sweden and Norway are joining forces to develop the northern region and its transport system. The European Union's Interreg Aurora programme has granted a significant funding of almost EUR 2 million to the New North - Transport, Logistics and Security of Supply project, which focuses on the development of the transport and logistics system in the northern region. The almost EUR 2 million funding granted by the Interreg Aurora programme strengthens cooperation in the northern region. It enables smoother transport chains, security of supply, electric air traffic and the development of green transport corridors. The aim is also to respond to the realisation of the region's future investment potential and the opportunities for the development of technology related to transport and logistics. The project will improve the competitiveness and security of supply of Northern Ostrobothnia. It supports both the implementation of the Northern Programme and the transport and logistics strategy of Northern Finland…

During the late summer and the coming autumn, mosaic technology will be used to produce unique works of art for Siikajoki, Pyhänäs, Raahe, Ylivieska, Reisjärvi and Pyhäjärvi in public spaces chosen by the municipality. – Each work has been conceived together with the municipalities in order to be best suited to each municipality. The themes of the wall mosaics are selected from the nature of the region, e.g. plant, bird or fish theme. Municipalities vote on the sketches of the sites. Dialogue with local residents takes place through social media, says Jenny Grönholm, a visual artist from the Gulf of Revonlahti. Together with sculptor Jass Kaselaan, he is responsible for the production of a series of mosaic works. Municipalities get involved in the production of works. Together with the artists, they lay the mosaics on a cut-to-shape wooden substrate. There will be a special event for the barn. The works will form the sum of the parts of the municipalities’ collective nature-themed wall mosaic works.…

Figure: Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia. Trout mollusc captured from the Haapakoski downhill migration channel in Iijoki. On 20 June 2023, Atlantic salmon and trout will again be transferred to the Iijoki and Livojoki rivers. This summer also smolts, i.e. salmon and trout migratory chicks, are moved to the estuary. The over-transfers support the creation of salmonid stocks stigmatised in the river Iijoki. Commercial fishermen catch overloading fish from the estuary of the Ii River. The fish are transported in water tanks by cars to the waters above the power plants. Approximately 200 specimens are expected to be transferred. Transfers will be made in June. If necessary, transfers will continue towards the end of the summer. The transfer of eskers enables the reproduction of Atlantic salmon and trout in the free rapids and streams of the Ii River and its tributaries. Smolt transfers, on the other hand, allow fish to safely bypass five dams downstream and access to sea migration. At the Haapakoski power plant, the smolts are guided by a control fence to the downhill migration channel…

The Northern Programme has been included in Petteri Orpo's Board of Directors' Programme published today, 16 June 2023. The key actors of Northern Finland, regional federations, cities, higher education institutions, chambers of commerce and business organisations have jointly promoted the cause of the North during the winter and spring, with the key objective of recording the Government Programme on the role of the North in promoting growth, security and international cooperation in the whole of Finland. ‘The voice of the north has been identified and heard. We have worked closely with the regional parliamentarians and other influencers, and the work has produced results. In particular, the fact that the programme will be implemented under the leadership of the Prime Minister's Office, i.e. under the leadership of the Prime Minister's Office, is very good," says Seppo Määttä, Mayor of Oulu. We are very pleased and thank you all for your cooperation. Work…

Art Documentation - the culture of swinging in the Oulujoki valley before and now offers residents the opportunity to reminisce about their own swinging history, the feelings of love and enthusiasm experienced at the time, and the places of swinging. - Art exercises will be carried out with the participants in the art pilot to regain the feeling of swinging and portraits will be taken in their swinging places. With the help of the photos, the participants will be able to showcase their important places of love to the viewers. At the same time, both the participants and the viewers of the works get to experience Vaala, Utajärvi and Muhos in a new way, describes the Oulu-based photographer, artist Martu Väisänen's art pilot. Väisänen is a wide-ranging artist who loves his work. In her work, she strives to lower the threshold for experiencing and doing art and culture, and thus create opportunities for participation and well-being in art…

The Art Pilot invites local residents to participate and explore their relationship with their home region in Northern Ostrobothnia.  The pilot will take place in Siikalatva, Haapavesi, Haapajärvi, Kärsämäki, Nivala and Oulainen. Municipalities operate as laboratories in which community art is used to study the relationship between residents and the everyday environment and their home region, its places, culture and people. The method is an art canon, in which the resulting work is worked on by different groups and people in turn by different means of art. The art laboratory will be organised at municipal events during the summer. In the first phase, the residents' thoughts on art experiences and opportunities are collected. Based on this, a plan for a series of works reflecting the identity of the municipality and its citizens will be created. The art laboratory is implemented by visual artist, Designer Master's student Elina Stoor and ceramic artist Talvikki Pisilä. Art Laboratory…

The Finnish provinces take a position on the Act on the Use of Territories and appeal to the future government that any legislative reform must be based on updating and supplementing the current, effective Act. The provincial statement has been made available to the government negotiators.  If a legislative reform is implemented, it must be based on real, identified needs and challenges, and on tried and tested case-law. The reform must focus on streamlining and streamlining zoning within the current planning system, the statement states. This will also allow for the prompt promotion of the investments and projects required for the green transition.  The Construction Act and the Act on the Information System for the Built Environment have already been adopted on the comprehensive reform of the Land Use and Building Act. The remaining part of the whole is now the Land Use Act.  The role of the regional plan in the legislative reform must be strengthened, not weakened. The regional plan is the only plan level in much of Finland.…

‘Where do I come from? What kind of landscape has your life path twisted? What are your swinging memories and what places do they relate to?’ Among other things, these questions are being worked on through art together with local residents in the art pilots carried out in the project of the Cultural Cell of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia at the end of the year. There are six art pilots in total. They will be implemented in the municipalities of Northern Ostrobothnia, with 3-6 municipalities participating in one pilot. All pilots have in common inclusiveness, experientialism and experimentality. The themes to be discussed include nature and sustainability, everyday environments and the home region. Various art methods and different art practices are used. Each pilot results in a concrete work or experience. All pilots are community-based. The effectiveness of the pilots extends to many levels. Municipalities get …

The Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia, in cooperation with the City of Oulu, is launching an ERDF project application for the implementation of the ecosystem agreement signed between the State and the City of Oulu. The content of the Oulu ecosystem agreement consists of the strategic focus areas and spearhead programmes of the Oulu Innovation Alliance for 2021-2027. The projects under the ecosystem agreement support the formation of business clusters and ecosystems in selected target sectors, identify the needs and services of the companies belonging to them, promote longer-term concrete goals and broad entities in line with the target sectors and spearhead programmes of the Oulu Innovation Alliance strategy, and provide added value from digital to the everyday services and built environment of residents. The application round is open from 29 May to 8 September 2023. Only the specific objectives 1.1 1.2 and 1.3 under Priority Axis 1 are open for this call. ERDF applications must be submitted to the authority via the EURA2021 system. The projects to be funded must be Renewable and competent…