Click a link for “Past Issues” to find previous newsletters.
Click a link for “Past Issues” to find previous newsletters.
Why, after years of neutrality, would Finland suddenly want to join NATO? This dramatic reorientation in Finnish security policy emerged in polls and political debates in late 2021, culminating in the May, 2022 formal decision to apply for NATO membership. Prof. Kaarle Nordenstreng explores the contemporary atmosphere and arguments regarding Finland’s forthcoming NATO membership. To assist us to understand Finland’s present geopolitical situation, he will also guide us through the series of wars and peace treaties dating back to Finland’s identity as an Eastern part of the Kingdom of Sweden, followed by a century as an autonomous Grand Duchy of Czarist Russia, leading to Finland’s ultimate independence in the middle of the Russian revolution in 1917. Kaarle Nordenstreng, born in 1941, with a Ph.D. from the University of Helsinki, is a Professor Emeritus of Journalism and Mass Communication at Tampere University in Finland.
Sedentary lifestyles and chronic stress are leading determinants of physical and mental health. Long, uninterrupted periods of sitting stress the spine and impact how we breathe, cognitive function, and our capacity to release tension. Stress accumulates in the body and suppresses immunity, digestion, and systems also affected by sitting. The combination of prolonged sitting and chronic stress, when unaddressed, can be toxic to our health. This workshop begins with a brief overview of stress response in the body. Recent research on the health effects of sitting will be highlighted. Using a public health lens, we will examine how core characteristics of ASAHI, a science-based Nordic practice, can derail the effects of prolonged sitting, reduce the allostatic load of long-term stress, and build inner resilience.
Buffalo, New York
Kleinhans Music Center
Location: Duluth, MN
Venue: Duluth Entertainment Convention Center
Over 5000 people registered to attend the festival held at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center (DECC) on the shores of Lake Superior in Duluth, Minnesota. Adding those who visited the festival site or bought tickets to a single event, some 10,000 people attended some or all of the FinnFest. Like Marquette, this region of the United States has one of the highest concentrations of Finnish Americans in the country, so it was assumed that this festival would achieve large attendance figures.
Programming highlights included the following:
2008 lectures and workshops: The FinnFestUSA experience created four days of lectures, panels and workshops involving people from across the USA, Canada, and Finland. Two major highlights involved the President of Finland, Tarja Halonen: She was first awarded an Honorary Doctor’s degree by the University of Minnesota-Duluth, followed by a major address by President Halonen. She also participated in a panel discussion on women’s issues. Five women discussed issues related to women and leadership in a session attended by approximately 500 interested listeners. The Minnesota Orchestra with its conductor, Osmo Vänskä, performed an all Finnish music concert on Friday night, a concert attended by over 1,000 people. Other progrmaming: Drama productions, social dances every evening, art exhibitions. More details can be found in the FinnFest History (PDF).