A seminar on Villages, preparedness and overall safety, organized by the Finnish Villages Association and the Parliament's Village Action Network, was held in Parliament on February 13, 2025. The seminar discussed the current state and development needs of overall safety in villages.
Chair of the Parliament's Village Action Network Antti Canvas stated in his opening speech that when security is shaken, the value of the rural cousin of city dwellers is emphasized. However, Kangas believes that the decisive factor is not whether one lives in the country or in the city, but how residents of different areas can be made to work together in a crisis.
Chairman of the Villages of Finland Arto Pirttilahti highlighted the role of villages in the important overall security chain. The villages have done a lot of work on preparedness and are ready to cooperate with municipalities.
– Safety is based on working together, community, participation, trust, and knowing people and circumstances, Pirttilahti summarized.
Safety work is on the verge of being unfinished
The panel of MPs discussed, among other things, the readiness of very different villages located in different parts of Finland to participate in preparedness and who has the responsibility to ensure that decisions regarding preparedness are made based on a realistic situational picture. In addition, resources and obstacles to cooperation between villages and authorities were considered. The main obstacle was funding, but the panelists also believed that village safety plans should be better utilized at the municipal level. The discussion was attended by MPs Christopher Ingo (Czech People's Party), Antti Kangas (Czech People's Party), Thomas Kettunen (middle), Suna Kymäläinen (social democratic party), and Ville Väyrynen (collective).
Working in the Total Security Cluster project Harriet Lonka The North Savo Regional Council emphasized the importance of villages taking independent action to strengthen security. He also highlighted the importance of concrete cooperation with authorities and everyday preparedness based on civic skills.
Project Manager of the Finnish Villages Village Resource Project Ritva Pihlaja told what is currently being done at the national level to ensure the preparedness and safety of villages.
Pihlaja believes it is important to recognize the importance of community preparedness. In addition, village actors should be offered information, support and advice on self-directed, long-term security work. In addition, measures must be identified where there is a place for cooperation between villages, authorities and security actors.
Watch the entire seminar at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tgi8-nbgVA
The Ministry of the Interior has just published The report on the safety of sparsely populated areasThe report recommends that rural local communities strengthen their preparedness for various disruptions and crisis situations. Link to the report: Report provides recommendations for improving security in sparsely populated areas – Ministry of the Interior
The panel was led by Suvi Louhelainen, Executive Director of Finnish Villages (left), and Sari Sirkkiä, Project Manager of the Border Region Project (right). The panel discussion was attended by MPs (from right to left) Christoffer Ingo, Antti Kangas, Tuomas Kettunen, Suna Kymäläinen and Ville Väyrynen. Photo: Timo Metsäjoki / Finnish Villages Association