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BCVS.org.uk |
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Encouraging Community Action
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| Finland Visit |
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BASSAC Visit to Finland My name if Michael Newstead and I am a Trustee of the Retford Action Centre in the District of Bassetlaw in Northern Nottinghamshire. This busy local community resource Centre serves the town of Retford and some thirty surrounding villages. It:
BASSAC FINLAND VISIT
Firstly, I
would like to thank BASSAC and the Retford Action Centre for the opportunity
to visit Finland on a European Exchange.
It was a most informative and worthwhile experience in the company of
an excellent group of people. My
observations are not in any particular order. History It was clear
that you could not understand the history of Settlements in Finland without an
appreciation of Finnish history.
To cut a long and complex story short, there was a great deal of
reconstruction in Finland after the ‘Winter War’ with Soviet Russia in the
1940’s. It
was clear that most Settlements grew out of this difficult period.
It may also help to explain the obvious regard that Finnish Settlements
are held in civic life. Welfare State The Finnish Welfare State
very much follows the Scandinavian model.
It seemed to be universally held in high esteem.
Tax is high but the targeted results are impressive.
However, Finland is also in discussion on the future of such an
all-embracing system.
It would seem important that in a situation where the State system is
so important to the fabric of Finnish society, that Settlements are not part
(perhaps unintentionally) of the lessening of the system which is a very real
‘security net’ to the population. Approaches In many ways,
most Finnish Settlements are ‘conservative’ in their approach and work.
Their relationship with the State is very much a straight contractual
relationship with local and Central Government.
The results are impressive both in terms of the buildings.
Settlements use (large and very impressive in layout and standards) and
their obvious outcomes.
They are incredibly well integrated with the general population.
However, there seemed to be a lack of experimentation and real consumer
involvement in planning and management.
This was an obvious difference of approach to the UK model. Denial It was clear
that there was an element of ‘denial’ particularly in relation to young
people’s needs and realities.
Drugs are absolutely not encouraged in Finnish society.
But there is an ‘under the carpet’ feel to most Settlements in
relation to the needs of groups of young people who do not fit the
‘ideal’. The
response (in many ways very impressive) was of the ‘abstinence’ model. Multicultural Again, considerable
differences here.
There is an absolute expectation that all migrant workers and refugees
will integrate into general Finnish society.
Settlements play a key role in language and cultural education for such
groupings. There
is a strong element of compulsion in such provision.
A high percentage of such groupings are from Eastern Europe and reflect
Finnish history and its geographical position on the Baltic and next to
Russia. This
situation is compounded by a deal that was agreed with Soviet Russia
at the
end of the Winter War when a large area of land mass which was in Finland was
annexed to Russia.
This left a serious problem of population displacement which is still
being addressed. Roots It was very
clear that the roots of the UK Settlement movement (in particular Toynbee
Hall) was often referred to as the basis of Settlement development in Finland.
They knew more about this history than the English party on the
exchange. BASSAC
has a most valuable INTERNATIONAL basis here that could be developed much
further at a UK and international level.
It was the usual British denial of some of the really important
POSITIVE elements in the development of social policy. Michael
Newstead Trustee of the Retford Action Centre
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