Stockholm, Jan.5 (Greenpost) Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin has sent a New Year’s message on the New Year’s Eve. The following is the whole text!
What kind of year has 2020 been? It has certainly been a difficult one, one that has taught us many lessons and caused us to stop and think.
The pandemic year has been a time of collective efforts, and yet it has looked different for each one of us. Some have lost loved ones, others have lost their jobs, and many have had to give up things that are familiar and important to them. This year has been harder for some than for others, but it has made us all stop and take stock.
This year, we were forced to make decisions we did not want to make. We had to close schools and libraries, place restrictions on movement, gatherings and business activities, suspend hobbies and implement measures that affected many other aspects of everyday life. These decisions were not made lightly; they were made because they were necessary in order to protect people’s health and lives. At the same time, we tried to mitigate the damage by directing support to people, businesses and municipalities.
When it comes to managing the health and economic effects of COVID-19, Finland has fared better than many other countries. Vaccinations have begun, and we can once again see light ahead of us. Although we are moving towards better times, we still need to show restraint, act responsibly and follow the recommendations and guidelines put in place by the authorities. The pandemic is not over yet, and it will take some time to achieve sufficient vaccination coverage throughout the population. With this in mind, we must work remotely if possible, avoid gatherings, ensure good hand, respiratory and cough hygiene, wear masks and get tested for COVID-19 immediately if we experience symptoms. Through our efforts, we can help to ensure that society is safe for everyone and that we will make it through this crisis together.
Restraint will also be necessary once the pandemic is over. When we rebuild our societies and economies, we cannot simply go back to our old habits and ways of working. We must build our future on a more sustainable foundation and aim for a balance between humans and nature. Climate change, biodiversity loss and the unsustainable use of natural resources are the greatest challenges facing humanity. We must give up some of our old ways so that our children and our children’s children can live good and dignified lives. At the same time, we can create new business, jobs and wellbeing.
Finland is currently drawing up its own recovery plan as part of the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility. Our plan, the Sustainable Growth Programme for Finland, will focus on achieving a fast-track recovery while also advancing the structural reform of the economy and the public services reform that will be necessary in the long term.
The programme will focus on
education, research and innovation activities;
a green transition;
securing Finland’s international competitiveness;
strengthening sustainable infrastructure and the digital transformation;
ensuring the functioning of the labour market, services for the unemployed and the development of working life; and
improving access to health and social services and increasing their cost-effectiveness.
The recovery of the European economy from the pandemic and the resulting economic crisis is a critical issue for Finland. Finland’s success alone will not be enough to get us through the pandemic – we all need to succeed together. Similarly, we need to work together to restore the European economy in addition to taking measures at the national level. We need to look beyond ourselves. The recovery of Europe is in our interest.
Although 2020 has been dominated by the COVID-19 crisis, we have been resolute in our progress on the reforms agreed on in the Government Programme. We have increased the smallest pensions and basic security, dismantled the activation model, restored the right of all children to full-time early childhood education and care, reduced group sizes in child care, increased resources for all levels of education, decided on extending compulsory education and made secondary education genuinely free of charge, introduced a statutory minimum staffing level in care services, submitted the healthcare and social welfare reform package to Parliament, agreed on the main points of the family leave reform, invested considerably in road, rail and transport infrastructure, decided on the energy taxation reform, made progress on the Nordic labour market service model and implemented the first structural measures to boost employment.
In 2021, we must continue these efforts to make our society more socially, economically and environmentally sustainable. We will take action and make changes in a way that keeps all people and regions on board. When building something new, it is also important to recognise the things that work. Finnish society has once again shown its strength in the face of difficulties. We have a well-functioning healthcare system, trustworthy authorities and a stable democracy, skilled and competent teachers, advanced digital capabilities, the ability to adapt quickly to unexpected situations and mutual trust in society, all of which has helped us to cope amidst the crisis. We Finns are known for our guts, perseverance and tenacity.
This decade may have begun in a way that we could not have anticipated last year, but we can still turn it into a decade of solutions. This will take courage and the ability to work together and withstand uncertainty. The same things that this year has required from all of us.
I wish you all a peaceful, safe and better New Year!
Globally in the past week, over 4 million new COVID-19 cases and 72 000 new deaths were reported. This brings the cumulative numbers to over 79 million reported cases and over 1.7 million deaths globally since the start of the pandemic.
每过一段时间,我都会去问一些新老员工在CEVT工作有什么体会?他们会说working for CEVT/Geely is fun, but frustrated.他们觉得在这边工作太有趣了,每天各种挑战,在无章可循当中去寻找规矩建立规矩。这个过程很有意思,但是带来的就是天天头疼,怎样把员工的优势最大化发挥出来,为集团下一步未来出行方式体系的建立,把这些文化、体系能够沉淀下去,为将来海外市场的拓展提供经验参考。
还有一个很有意思的例子,就是你要问一个瑞典人或者英国人Do you agree?他们回答Yes是说我同意了。但老外问中国人说:do you agree? 中国人说Yes,然后过两天再问他,他说我没同意呀,你不是说yes了吗?中国人说我听到你说这事了,但是没说我同意。
吴谦先生“华人榜·人文奖”;青年艺术家吴谦毕业于纽约大学社会与文化分析学院,并获得哥伦比亚大学东亚研究所硕士学位。2011年至今,吴谦以综合材料为媒介,在画布上以东方美学为本,表达“东西遇合”的文化意识和水墨艺术的精神蕴涵。作为东西方艺术的摆渡人,吴谦以“结合传统与现代 融会东方与西方”作为基本创作理念,他的作品从东方隐忍的禅意渐变为宏大多维的情绪表达。吴谦曾在纽约、厦门、上海和杭州等地举办个展,作品入选第十三届全国美展综合材料绘画作品展、第三届全国综合材料绘画双年展、脉—中国当代绘画展等群展。吴谦入选第十三届“全美十大华人杰出青年”榜单,被评为罗博报告2020“Best of the Best 罗博之选”年度青年艺术家。