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The new, free, nationwide Culture Bank service is now opening in Northern Ostrobothnia and Oulu. Culture Bank is an online platform that brings together professionals in art and culture and their services in one place – making them easy to find and book for those who need cultural services. The goal of Culture Bank is to improve the earning opportunities of professional artists and cultural creators. For clients, it provides an easy way to find and purchase cultural services for their own purposes – such as performances, workshops, and expert services. Physical artworks, such as paintings, are not offered through…

Launched in spring 2025, the Interreg Europe-funded Rural COOP project brings together stakeholders from across Europe to strengthen the development of rural areas and share good practices. The project supports the vitality, cooperation and sustainable growth of rural areas by providing opportunities to learn from other regional developers and apply the doctrines to their own regional needs. The main partner of the project consortium is the Provincia autonoma di Trento from Italy and, in addition to the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region, the consortium has partners from Poland, Bulgaria, Sweden, Switzerland and Albania. Each project partner has its own, regional, stakeholder group, which is closely involved in the direction of project activities. Stakeholder work is open and it is open to all interested stakeholders in Northern Ostrobothnia! The Regional Stakeholder Group for Northern Ostrobothnia met for the first time in the last week of October. Stakeholders are: Ii Municipality Muhos Municipality NIHAK (Nivala-Haapajärvi…

The new free-of-charge and nationwide operating Cultural Bank will open in Northern Ostrobothnia and Oulu. Culture Bank is an online platform that brings together art and culture professionals and their services in one place and where they can be easily found and ordered for customers in need of cultural services. The aim of the Cultural Bank is to increase the earning opportunities of professional artists and cultural creators. For subscribers, it offers an easy way to find and acquire cultural services for their own purposes – for example, performances, workshops and various professional services. On the other hand, physical works, such as paintings, cannot be offered through the Cultural Bank. In Northern Ostrobothnia, the Cultural Bank together pays for and enables the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region and the City of Oulu's cultural and cultural services. The Cultural Bank is an investment in the Oulu2026 Capital of Culture year and its core objective, cultural climate change. All parties are invited to join…

Shifting the taxation of information points from the lower electricity tax category II to the general category I will increase government revenues in the short term, but may at the same time weaken Finland's competitiveness. This takes place in an business environment where the global data economy is actively looking for new locations. information points can be used to build future infrastructure that creates jobs, speeds up RDI activities and strengthens energy and security of supply. For example, the The Regional Assembly of Finnish Technology Industries has stated: "If information points are not built in Finland, they will rise elsewhere and their future extensions will also go elsewhere". At the same time, the potential for developing ecosystems in cooperation with the highest added value for the national economy would be lost. From an environmental and energy point of view, Finland is one of the most attractive and responsible investment destinations for information points in the world. Northern Ostrobothnia and Kainuu have a significant competitive advantage in the location of information points in the region: cool climate and…

  The Northern Ostrobothnia Regional Cooperation Group (MYR) met for the first time on 23 October in cooperation with a new composition. MYR will be chaired by Lyly Rajala for the next term of office. Rajala, who had held various positions in the Regional Assembly for more than 20 years, stated at the beginning of the meeting that he had ended up in cooperation with something new. "I have held many positions, as in the the Board of the Regional Assembly, for example. However, the regional cooperation group is a foreign institution to me, so here I have had to learn a lot of new things in the day care provided by officials." The financial review interested the regional cooperation group's task is to prepare and coordinate plans, programmes and agreements concerning regional development. As a result, the cooperation group was the first to discuss the region and decide on the preparation of a regional financing plan for 2026. Ongoing EU Regional and Structural Policy Programme, Renewing and Skilled…

The current regional programme for Northern Ostrobothnia outlines the direction in which the region will develop in the coming years. It concerns us all – housing, entrepreneurship, well-being, the environment and the future of young people. You still have time to Influencing the programme's priorities, as you can give feedback on the programme until 27 October. The draft regional programme 2026-2029 has sparked lively and constructive debate among different Regional Assembly groups. The presentations have highlighted perspectives that reinforce the importance of the programme as a compass for regional development. The development of cooperation in cooperation with key stakeholders in the region, in particular the wellbeing services region, has been considered important in several political groups. The partnership promise has received broad support and has been considered to support ecosystem thinking. The program's optimism efforts have been perceived as inspiring and the region…

In spring 2025, the results of the national and regional Vitality Barometer were published in Kuopio. In a regional publicity meeting, Jussi Rämet, Regional Director of the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region, and Marjo Kolehmainen, Managing Director of Entrepreneurs of Northern Ostrobothnia, raised the need to Influencing matters in the region together and coordinate the goals of different stakeholders. The parties committed to the Pledge for Vitality are: Centria, Pohde, Jedu, Entrepreneurs of Central Ostrobothnia, OAMK, OSAO, University of Oulu, Oulu Chamber of Commerce, Regional Assembly of Oulu Region and Entrepreneurs of Northern Ostrobothnia. The Vitality Pledge will be published and signed in cooperation with the parties involved on 15 October 2025 at an event for the regional municipal management and entrepreneurs of the Entrepreneurs of Northern Ostrobothnia, so-called AreaKujo in Oulu. Subsequently, the goal is to get municipalities and cities together in cooperation with local business Regional Assemblys to draw up a vitality pledge during autumn 2025. The functioning of the cooperation and the development of the vitality of the area can be monitored…

Interreg Aurora's application rounds 7 and 5 ended on 7 October 2025. Application round 7 was for development projects and round 5 for small projects. A total of 44 applications were received, 40 for Interreg Aurora and three for Sámi. The majority of the applications, 42, were development project applications. Only two small project applications were received. The most active applicant in Northern Ostrobothnia was the University of Oulu, which was the main applicant in six development project applications. In addition to the University of Oulu, Oulu University of Applied Sciences, which was the main applicant in one application, participated in the application process from Northern Ostrobothnia. Further information: Interreg Aurora Programme Coordinator Niko Auer, Regional Assembly of Oulu Region, tel. +358 40 685 4012, niko.auer(at)pohjois-pohjanmaa.fi

The Government has decided to amend the Renewable and Skilled Finland 2021-2027 programme, which supports the growth and competitiveness of the regions. Approximately EUR 300 million of the programme's funding will be reallocated to new specific objectives that support Finland's security and security of supply in the changed business environment. The new specific objectives are: · Strengthening industrial capacity in support of defence industry and dual use (approximately €90 million) €) · Development of dual-use transport infrastructure for military mobility (approximately €210 million) The aim is to increase defence-related production capacity in some 700 companies, especially through the use of dual-use technologies. In addition, infrastructure will be upgraded to support both military mobility and business needs. The new targets will be managed as a national theme and the funding will be provided by the vitality centres starting from the beginning of 2026. Implementation starts…

The Government has decided to allocate a total of EUR 16.1 million to the implementation of the Eastern and Northern Finland programmes for 2025. Of this, the Northern Finland programme accounts for EUR 4,106 million. The aim of the programmes is to boost economic growth, investment and development of skills and competences in the regions, strengthen security of supply and self-sufficiency, and secure the availability of labour. The measures support the policies of the Government Programme and are in many respects over-government terms. Funding from the Northern Programme supports, in particular, large-scale, transnational projects that increase cooperation and strengthen the long-term competitiveness of the region. The funding will focus on six themes of the programme: 1. Sustainable growth and regenerative investment 2. Clean energy and digital clean growth 3. Sustainable tourism 4. Skills and availability of labour 5. Security, security of supply and self-sufficiency…