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RELEASE 16 FEBRUARY 2010
Newsletter 1/2010Stepping Stones project terminatedThe Leader-financed project Stepping Stones – Development Plans for Small Islands has been terminated (31 Oct. 2009). It resulted in three island village plans, one for Nötö, one for Ruotsalainen, and one for Vänö, in three different municipalities. Please, access our Stepping Stones web site in order to study the plans (only general information available in English). It has been an interesting venture to acquaint oneself with the islands, those of Vänö and Ruotsalainen, in particular, which I had not previously visited. The plans, naturally, differentiate greatly, but, as could be expected, the common features of them are as follows: better traffic connections as well as more extensive options of being able to live and to make one's living on the islands. The Christmas party, organised by FÖSS in the Aninkaisten bowling arena in Turku, was attended by inhabitants from all the three islands. The preparation of the village plans was facilitated by questionnaires distributed among both the all-the-year and leisure-time inhabitants of the islands. Green Islands projectApplication regarding the Green Islands project has been postponed until May, owing to the fact that our application to the Regional Environmental Centre on behalf of Finland, concerning the national share in the financing of the project, was rejected. The project in question, designed jointly with Sweden, the Åland Islands and Estonia, is an interreg project, which means that at least three partners must be involved, and that each partner must have its national share in the financing fixed before it is opportune to present the joint application. FÖSS will provide a new application after which, if we will be granted our share in the financing, the interreg application will be dispatched. On December 12, 2009, twelve representatives of Finland, the Åland Islands and Sweden met in Marienhamn in order to discuss the ways and means of settling the issue o financial shares. As regards Finland the project still needs a couple of islands as concrete cases. That is why FÖSS will, together with, inter alia, Mr. Carl-Bertil Tauler of the Archipelago Cooperation (Skärgårdssamarbete) of the Nordic Council of Ministers and Mr. Lennart Andersson of Skärgårdarnas riksförbund (National Association for Swedish Archipelago) – he is the person who carried out the preparatory work with respect to the application – to visit the islands of Keistiö in Iniö, in the municipality of Länsi-Turunmaa, and Vänö, in the municipality of Kemiönsaari, on 25 and 26 February 2010, in order to make an attempt to get those islands to join in the project. Contemporary Art Archipelago (CAA)Art exhibition is held in the Turku archipelago during the summer 2011, as part of Turku 2011 programme. In Contemporary Art Archipelago art entwines in it closely with its unique surroundings. It will consist of 18 art works and events that are realised in the archipelago: new and site-specifically installed works by international and local artists. It can be encountered from the cruise ships as well as small boats, along the roads and virtually, on a remote islet, in the sea, on the air waves, on the ferries or even in a private home. Contemporary Art Archipelago is founded on residencies for artists and public seminars while a series of workshops is organised during the exhibition. The aim is thus a dialogue between international contemporary art and local nature and community. The theme is the archipelago and its future – as a unique yet changing environment and mode of life. This also guides the practical realisation of the project, which emphasizes the role of the local people and the ecological, ethical and aesthetic questions specific to the archipelago. More information: Taru Elfving, project manager, Additional informationFÖSS, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FINNISH ISLANDS Secretary Translation Seppo Leppä |
