Stageblog - Yannick Schimmel - October 2024

Moi! Mina olen Yannick, and in this blog I will take you along in my 6-month internship at the Embassy of the Netherlands in Helsinki. With this blog, I hope to provide some further insights into the work the Embassy does, as well as into the daily life in the Finnish capital. I study Cybersecurity Governance at the University of Leiden, and have a background in International Relations and European Studies. This blogpost is the second out of six and is about the month of October.

Wind Finland

This subheading does not refer to autumn storms here in Finland - the weather actually continues to be really good - but to the name of a big conference on wind energy organized in Helsinki at the beginning of this month. There is a lot of expertise in the Netherlands on this topic, and a big delegation of 14 Dutch companies travelled to Finland for a full 3-day program. The conference also marked the start of a recently signed 3-year public-private partnership between Finland and the Netherlands on offshore wind, which will contribute to business opportunities. In the beautiful decor of an old cable factory, we even had our own ‘NL-booth’ in the exhibition area. At the end of the day, we served ‘poffertjes’ there! What better way to celebrate a new partnership…?   

Honorary Consuls dinner and teambuilding

Honorary Consuls are the eyes and ears of the Embassy throughout the country. They keep track of regional developments and opportunities, and are also able to deliver emergency services when needed. This month, several Consuls joined us in Helsinki to get updated and  exchange ideas. It was very interesting to hear more about some of the other regions in Finland, some of which I still hope to visit in the coming months. 

The annual teambuilding day also took place this month. We had a very interesting tour of a civil defence shelter (more on that below), and used all our creativity to design our own kitchenware, which was very fun to do.   

The day-to-day work at the Embassy

“So, what do you actually do on a daily basis?”, is a question I have often been asked. Since the team is relatively small, I am lucky to get an insight into many different aspects of the work. This also makes my tasks diverse, which I really enjoy. They range from researching AI-developments in Finland to preparing a kahoot-quiz for incoming visitors and from attending seminars to drafting e-mails, event invitations and responses to questions by companies. Some of the other highlights this month were representing the embassy at the European Day of Languages, where I read a passage from the Odyssey in Dutch, and at the European Film Weeks, where I briefly introduced the Dutch contribution, the film ‘Sonny Boy’.  

My main focus, however, is on the Finnish model of ‘civil resilience’. Briefly put, this refers to a society’s capacity to prepare for, absorb and recover from security threats or disruptions. The Finns are well-known for this. Some quick facts as a sneak preview:  
1.    In Helsinki alone, there are about 5,500 civil defence shelters which can accommodate 900,000 people. In normal times, these spaces are simply sports halls, swimming pools or shopping malls. 
2.    Finland has a National Emergency Supply Agency, tasked with overseeing security of supply to ensure continued service-provision during crises.  
3.    Media literacy is part of the school curriculum from a very young age onwards, making Finland a frontrunner in countering disinformation.
 

October = hiking month

As mentioned, the autumn-weather so far has been very good, with a lot of bright and sunny days. Being in Helsinki at this time of year is truly a joy, with all the beautiful colours in the trees, the pink-sky sunsets, the sauna culture and the korvapuusti (cinnamon buns). I spent the weekends going on several hikes in the national parks just outside of Helsinki. It is amazing to see such wild nature only 30 kilometres outside of the city centre. For one hike, I started already before sunrise. Unfortunately this was not rewarded with seeing wildlife such as moose or the symbol of Nuuksio National Park the flying squirrel (yes, you read that right).

Lastly, I visited the cities of Turku and Tampere. Turku is the oldest city in Finland, and has been the capital city for a few years in the early 20th century. Tampere is the old industrial city, which used to be called “the Manchester of Finland”. It is the biggest inland city in the Nordics. Visiting the city and some of its museums and old factory halls taught me a lot about Finland’s history and identity. Nowadays, the city is very urban and trendy, but the industrial spirit is still clearly present. 

Up next: a busy November

I have been ‘warned’ by several people for the month of November, in which it can be already cold and dark, but still without snowfall or Christmas markets. Fortunately, even if this were to be the case, I would not even have the chance nor the time for feeling down, as November will be a very busy month. All coming up: the Nordic Circular Summit, another economic mission (on hydrogen and batteries), and, as a major highlight, Slush, the world’s biggest startup event! For the weekends, I am looking forward to visits from family and friends. So, make sure not to miss out on the next blog!