The activities are extending both on a national and an international level
The 21st of November is two years since FÖSS, National Association of Finnish Islands (Finlands öar rf - Suomen saaret ry) was founded. FÖSS works all the year round in order to develop the archipelago in close cooperation with others who are interesting in developing the archipelago. FÖSS is especially interested in co-operating with inhabitants on islands which lack a permanent road connection to the mainland. Since last autumn Finland is being representing by FÖSS in the network ESIN, European small islands network. ESIN has great possibilities to influence EU's decisions concerning small islands.
Last spring FÖSS's website www.foss.fi was published in Finnish, Swedish and English. This year FÖSS has a new secretary: Kristin Mattsson, who earlier has functioned as secretary for Nötö local history association for 10 years. For more information: Kristin Mattsson (, tel. 040 5684 870).
FÖSS has until this summer worked with the help of voluntary forces. Now the applying for money for the development projects has given results. FÖSS has now the intension to work as a strong developer of the archipelago area with the help of the financing that FÖSS has received. This work is also going to be visible in the islanders' every day life through concrete actions.
9th - 11th September 2008 FÖSS is for the first time hosting ESIN's 8th Annual General Meeting which is being held in Kasnäs in Dragsfjärd, the South-Western archipelago of Finland. In connection to the general meeting and international archipelago conference is held. There will be participants from at least nine nations with islands in EU. The conference is supported by different archipelago municipalities, region municipalities developing centres, Regional Council of Ostrobothnia, private companies and Central Government Administration's Delegation of Archipelago Issues. The conference will be opened by Minister of Culture, Stefan Wallin. Ville Itälä represents the EU-parliament.
The aim of the conference is to establish common development projects, among others cultural projects for small islands in Europe. For more information, contact the chairperson Pirjo Hoffström (). Also read the release European small islands conference at Kasnäs 9-11 September 2008.
At the same time as the ESIN-conference takes place, FÖSS's youth department has invited young people from the archipelago to meet, discuss and establish a youth network. For this purpose one has got support from the Ministry of Education. For more information, contact the chairman of the youth department Eelin Hoffström (tel. 040 7438 758, ).
Since this autumn FÖSS is creating networks between young people in archipelago. A digital forum and a forum for cooperation for young people in Western Finland County's archipelago have with financial support from the county administration been founded. For more information, contact Eelin Hoffström (tel. 040 7438 758, ).
A course in digital video for the archipelago youths to strengthen their archipelago identity is starting in September in Iniö and in Velkua with financing from Konstsamfundet, Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland and Ministry of Education. For more information, contact Eva Lettinen, who is responsible for the project ().
Svenska Kulturfonden has granted support for FÖSS and the corresponding association of islands in Sweden to have a meeting. In Sweden a corresponding citizen association has been active already FOR 25 years and today it gets an important proportion of the government's budget.
Small Islands Development Programs
Those islands in Turku archipelago that belong to unions of municipalities are now starting a less than a one year long project. The association I samma båt ry has recommended leader- money for the project. The project is called Stepping Stones village plans for small islands. In the project the local islanders are doing village plans together with the project secretary village for small islands. They are also creating cooperation networks between small islands and different language groups.
Islands in the pilot project are among others: Vänö from the future municipality Kimitoön, Nötö from the future town Väståboland, and some other islands without a permanent road connection, in the future town Naantali.
The purpose is to get the voices of the small islands heard and to make their needs visible in the new bigger municipalities. The inhabitants of the small islands should have a real possibility to influence on the decisions that are being made in the own merger municipality too.
A model of participating will be tested on the islands which are part of the pilot project. The new way of doing village plans comprises investment programs. The aim is to spread the model, and in the future, to get more islands apart from the islands in Turku archipelago, interested in making development plans. In this way both national money and the EU-money for regional development can be used on small islands.
FÖSS's partners are the local history associations. For more information, contact FÖSS's Secretary Kristin Mattsson (, tel. 040 5684 870). Also read the release Archipelago project Stepping Stones starts.
Secretary