10.05.2022
Solidarity in cooperation with Ukraine at the heart of Europe Day celebrations in Northern Ostrobothnia
The Northern Ostrobothnia EU Info Point celebrated Europe Day, focusing on the solidarity of Europe and the European Union in cooperation with Ukraine. The main event of Europe Day in Northern Ostrobothnia was held in the shopping centre Valkea Oulu, where Hanna Honkamäkilä, Manager of International Affairs at the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region, and Ville Koivuniemi, spokesman for the EU Information Point of Northern Ostrobothnia, answered questions about the European Union.
The theme of the discussion was Finland's new position as part of Europe and especially as part of the Arctic region. In addition to Honkamäkilä and Koivuniemi, who hosted the event, Mari-Leena Talvitie, Member of Parliament, Chairman of the Regional Assembly of the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region and member of the Finnish delegation to the Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region, and Markku Heikkilä, Head of Science Communications at the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland, participated in the discussion. The discussion highlighted above all that Arctic policy is currently frozen, but for the future, and in cooperation with a view to safeguarding it, it is important to act so that cooperation in cooperation with Russia in the Arctic could continue in the future.
The programme also featured music by Eemeli Vaara and Jonne Siekkinen. Their repertoire included songs related to solidarity. The danger has become familiar to the people of Oulu from their work and campaign against bullying in schools.
Somecampaign tripped the main message of the day
In addition to the Valkean event, the Northern Ostrobothnia Europe Day programme included a social media campaign, which was built by the Northern Ostrobothnia EU Information Point together in cooperation with the Capital of Culture Oulu2026.
It was an opportunity for a group of Influencingrs to show solidarity in cooperation with Ukraine and a peaceful Europe. Two unique wristbands designed by Antti ‘Koomamies’ Putkonen from Oulu, known for the Kooma brand, were sent to the Influencingrs, and Putkonen designed them for this purpose to provide support to Ukraine. The blue-yellow bracelets read Slava Ukraini in white.
Influencingrs also received crafting tools to design their own version of the peace machine. The biggest flagship project of the Oulu European Capital of Culture programme is Rauhankone. It is based on the establishment of the European Union as the peacekeeper of Europe in the ruins of war. The Peace Machine was designed to unite Europeans, to counteract social discourse and hate speech.
