Be inspired!

Lucas had been trying to find his new profession desperately already for months. He had tried out creating furnitures, repairing stuff and even teaching, but nothing really made a difference. Everyone else seemed passioned about their work and lifestyle, but not him.
One day Lucas walked past a dancing school and felt that his heart beated with excitement. Maybe this was what he needed in the end. He stepped in and had his first dance lesson. It was time to turn a new page and be inspired!

If you are heading towards Solutions and Turku in 9 days, like hundreds are doing, don't forget you dancing shoes...

Nearly 500 registered!

 The conference is filling up and first sessions and visits are full. The conference programme is ready to be printed and the last details are finding their places. Soon the participants are going to experience Solutions local, together Conference which offers you:

• passionate speakers with solutions to share
• interior design that has a story and a new dimension of sustainability
• local solutions visits that enable a true discussion and insights 
• local food that has been carefully thought through
• active discussion with experts from over 15 countries, nearly 110 cities

We hope that you are going to be one of the lucky ones to attend the conference and part of the atmosphere that can only be experienced in this unique sustainable conference! We are doing the utmost to make it a memorable event worth all the efforts done to reach Turku, Finland - the European culture capital 2011!

Responsible - trendy adjective

Responsible tourism, responsible food, responsible consumer, responsible travel... Everyone has suddenly woken up and manifastates that being responsible is now the trend that you should not just pass by.

There used to be a time that we were looking into WHO is responsible, rather than what the concept responsible means. From who the focus then shifted into responsible FOR WHAT? And only now the real analyses of what responsibility really means have started.

Responsible actions take into account the entire organization, not just the surrounding where the actions take place and the external stakeholders, but also the values of it, working environment and personnel. It is not enough to change the slogans of the organization and claim that we are truly responsible, if the actions are limited to recycling of papers or offsetting CO2 emissions.

It is time to focus on responsible solutions and start to use them - be trend-setter with true actions, take part in Solutions local, together - Conference. If you have already registered, you are among 200 forerunners, if not it is time to act. 

Talking about money

The recent months have shown that it would be so much easier, if we would talk about money instead of sustainable development. When we talk about the use of resources and quality of life, it is as if they would not have financial implications. In reality, many municipalities need to raise their taxes and service costs in future, as the basic resources, such as water and energy, will cost more. By being sustainable, we would get savings that everyone is so much searching for.

Talking about money would also mean that

• Local authorities would all be eager to prioritize the sustainable solutions, as that would mean savings in the long run.
• The decision-makers would see the prize tag on some things that in the end are considered prizeless, such as clean air, water and soil.
• No one would expect the events dealing with sustainable development to be free of charge, instead they would pay without any questions daily fees around 800 EUR.

I have then seriously considered naming the conference in the end - "Financial solutions local, together - maybe then we would all wake up?

Climate change accompanied by extreme weather phenomena

We have experienced various extreme weather phenomena during the last weeks. During the last few years, heat waves and heavy rain have become more frequent worldwide, with less snow, more fires, more heavy rainfall and more intense storms.

In Northern regions, such as Scandinavia, changes in climate are approximately twice as strong as elsewhere in the world because of the contraction of the polar snow and ice cover, and the after effects of this in heating created by radiation.

July was exceptionally warm in Scandinavia and various temperature records were broken on several occasions. The hot weather have given rise to violent thunder squalls and thunderstorms that have caused extensive damage in different areas. According to the weather forecast we might still experience some of these phenomena during the following weeks.

The occasionally intense heat wave that affects large areas of Scandinavia and the other extreme weather phenomena happening all over the world, are a reminder of the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The demand for solutions that help reduce emissions, and thus reduce the extreme weather phenomena, is increasing.

Competition on practical solutions

It is very often that we have come up with a very good and practical solution in our own daily work and we do not even think of marketing it to others. This is partly because we are too shy or modest, but also we do not want to see the trouble of going out with it. To address this situation, a competition on practical solutions is organized. The competition’s goal is to bring together the solution providers and new customers in the Baltic and Nordic countries.

Practical solutions to climate change -competition is targeted at the Baltic Sea Region and the Nordic countries is searching for new or as yet unestablished business concepts, practices and technologies to assist municipalities and other local and regional actors to better control the effects of climate change. The competition winners will gain publicity, customer contacts, and concrete expert assistance in the marketing of their own solutions.

The competition is looking for projects that would

• combat climate change,
• support local and regional economics, employment and general well-being,
• lead to concrete changes in the practices of the municipalities and their residents, and
• can be broadly implemented as a successful measure.

Competition entries do not have to meet all of the criteria. The competition is part of the ‘Solutions local, together’ Conference. Do not hesitate to take part in it!

Hey you - solution hero!

Tomorrow on the World Environmental day 5.6. - the world is in need of not only climate heroes, but also exceptional individuals advocating solutions for all environmental issues. We are all challenged to change our habits and make a difference. For this plenty of events are organized around the globe.

But where are the heroes that have true solutions in their pockets? We have gone through many proposals for the programme of the Solutions local, together Conference. Everyone has their own idea of what is a solution and this makes the selection of the presentations even harder. It is our utmost aim to be solution focused and require more than before. We need to be able to reach another level of discussion and be very practical. I am sure we are ready for that in the Baltic Sea Region.

Very soon we are able to reveal some of the side events of our conference. So stay tuned - meanwhile look for the solution hero inside yourself!

A solution for everyone

Over 70 proposals for the solutions to be presented at the conference were received during the open call for solutions. This is more then we dared to expect! The results are now being evaluated and the Nordic group of the Conference is adding more good examples from their respective countries. The mixture that will be offered during the conference will be great.

The topics of education and climate change processes were the most popular out of the 12 different topics under Earth, Water, Air and Fire. It reflects well that the focus in Finland has been on those topics for the past years. The proposals received are all approaching the sustainable solutions from very interesting perspectives. I am sure everyone attending the conference will find something for their own use.

If you feel that you have still a solution that should be share to others - contact us!

Couple more days to go!

First of May with Spring celebrations are just around the corner. My best early flowers of the Spring are the proposals coming in to my mailbox for the Call for Solutions. Several have noticed the open call, but still more are welcome. I have slightly extended the time till 5.5. - so you have still some days to submit your solution.

It is really fascinating to see how the message of the Call goes around and finds the right persons. For many it is about right timing, suitable content and the possibility to see the potentiality in it. This has made so to many wake up and take part in submitting a proposal or wanting to be part of side events etc of the Solutions local, together Conference. The role of the social media in that can not be ignored.

The Conference is about creating something bigger together, it is not meant for an exclusive club or forum but for us all. This is what makes the entire difference!
Enjoy the first of May!

Call for Solutions!

Finally, we are in the stage, that the Solutions local, together - conference themes are out and a Call for Solutions is open for anyone to propose good sustainable solutions to the conference programme. The Conference focuses on four themes, that have an origin from the classical elements. These are:

• Earth - Urban planning for citizens and nature
• Water - Water for life
• Air - Climate and energy
• Fire - Inner inspiration - knowledge, new skills and partnerships

Through these themes, the conference has a good ground to address well cross-sectoral topics that are in need of sustainable approaches. Also several side events are soon to be released for public and these will add significant value to the conference topics, especially addressing the local aspects and involvement opportunities.

All possible linkages are very welcomed to the conference, so do not hesitate to contact us. I am sure our enthusiasm will get to you, too, and we will be able to advance the passing of sustainable solutions around the local authorities, companies, communities and citizens in the Baltic Sea Region.

Why so hard?

During the planning process of the conference, it has become evident that we all need to change they way we think. We have been taught to be good consumers and put the benefits of our own organization or family before anything else. Sustainable thinking requires that the common benefits are the main ones to be concerned about without necessarily ourselves as the direct beneficiaries. This means that we need to question a lot, such as our purchases and travels.

It is not easy to start to think what is really needed and what could be done for the benefit of others, rather then just thinking individualistically. A new way of cautious consumerism is rising. All of our actions have an effect and if the effect causes a chain reaction, a positive spin towards sustainability, we have been successful. The satisfaction that can be received from that is huge.

The Solutions conference is looking for such new way of thinking that has caused chain reactions for the benefit of us all. You can start today by asking for locally produced food in a restaurant or from the shop. Good luck!

Overloaded with information

All possible climate related organizations have had the same idea - to publish, launch or organize an event in connection to the COP15 meeting. This has caused bloated e-mail accounts with an overload of information and invitations. As there is too much of everything it is very hard to make your message heard and understood. How can you distinct yours from the message flow?

The facts that draw your attention are not necessarily the ones that you should focus on - or are they? It happened to me that in the midst of all the climate related events and news I have become very critical about what are the real efforts carried out by the organizations. One of the most evident one to me is how you enable the participation of those who did not travel to Copenhagen to take part physically but would still like to follow the discussions. Very few have had some attempts, by enabling the speakers to join in from distance or broadcasting the sessions. Even those who have tried, have not really succeeded, as they forgot that the majority of the participants need to install special programmes or versions to view them. And believe me, this is not easy in centralized organizations. For true involvement, the channels should be made easy!

In the end, everyone has a desire to be heard and understood. We are in a hurry to find the most relevant solution for our problems. If only someone could scan the information flow and pick the most relevant info for us! That seems to be the main challenge for us all. Where is the friend to call who would do that for us?

Make it fun!

How many times we work so focused on our tasks, that we forget to include fun as the key ingredient into our actions?

Solutions are being created
when challenge has been found and it
meets the right mixture of people
with idea to solve it.
If elements of fun are added to the concept you are sure to succeed!

For food for thought about fun and solutions, check for example the Bottle Bank Archad Machine and Piano staircase at http://thefuntheory.com