University of Helsinki
Stubb (Finland’s PM) organised the Northern Future Forum at Aalto University last week. Special guest: D. Cameron…
“The prime ministers of the UK, the Nordic countries and the Baltic states will convene with the aim of sharing ideas and finding new ways of tackling the common challenges encountered in the modern northern European economies.
The Northern Future Forum (NFF) is a unique event that brings together the prime ministers, business leaders, entrepreneurs and policy makers from nine northern European countries. The discussion at NFF 2014 will focus on how to foster equality, wellbeing and competitiveness under the current economic challenges. The meeting will also include presentations and discussions on policies, ideas and innovations that have helped create jobs and improve the standard of living in the participating countries” (description on website).
No comment about the omnipresent empty discourses on ‘innovation’ but also ‘competition’ (in relation to education!) and the showing off.
The following comment from Cameron at the end made me winch:
“finally for me I think we are very rational northern Europeans we come together and we talk about our problems some of the difficulties that we have I think we should also celebrate our successes and I think that one of the successes that we should celebrate is the fact that I profoundly believe that societies like ours that are open democratic and liberal and tolerant and disputatious and argunentative we are more creative and more inventive than closed societies whether in China or in Russia or elsewhere and I think we should celebrate that one of the best ways to keep ahead and to be creative and to be recognised as the sort of societies we are and the sort of creativity we achieve we often talk about our problems but let’s also pick up the values that we have which are very important part of our prosperity now and in the future“.
An excellent example of Northern-centric discourse… More creative and inventive than… China?
Link to the videos HERE
