The election battle is heating up, and candidates are fighting for every vote — just as they should. Despite it all, the atmosphere between us candidates has remained warm, and we’ve been having real conversations about Pieksämäki’s future. Props to all of us! Still, some campaign promises make you do a double take: a marina, … Read more
Local elections are the closest form of democracy we have, where citizens have the opportunity to influence matters at the local level in their own municipalities. Unfortunately, too many people approach voting with passivity or even negativity – which is why it’s crucial to recognize the impact of not voting. In municipal politics, many decisions … Read more
How do you know an election is coming up? You don’t need to follow the news or scroll through social media. Just head to the town square or pop into your local grocery store for some milk. That’s where you’ll find them — candidates lined up, big smiles on their faces, coffee thermoses ready. These … Read more
When I was a kid, we were in the middle of the Cold War. Michael Jackson was still black, every school wall in Finland proudly displayed a black-and-white portrait of president Urho Kaleva Kekkonen, the infamous Tiitinen list of Finnish politicians was still in Stasi’s hands, Berlin was divided by a wall, Nelson Mandela was … Read more
Lately, I’ve noticed a troubling trend on Facebook: the creation of fake profiles seems to have escalated significantly in Finland. Many people in my circle have reported that fake accounts have been made using their names, only to be exposed after sending friend requests to acquaintances whose alarm bells started ringing. Right now, I’m coming … Read more
I’m often asked why I’m still in Pieksämäki. Most of my peers left decades ago for job opportunities in larger cities or even abroad. Yet, I — along with many others — have stayed because we see opportunities here that aren’t always obvious at first glance. For many, Pieksämäki is known as a railway hub, … Read more
Over the past decade, locally-run Facebook discussion groups—often referred to as puskaradio (literally, “bush radio”) — have gained significant popularity in Finland. These virtual town squares can be found in every corner of the country, often with multiple groups per municipality. In many cases, they have gathered more followers than the official municipal social media … Read more
Diversity in the workplace is a trending term that many companies emphasize and strive for today. However, the very concept of diversity is itself diverse. In the context of work, diversity is most often understood in relation to ethnicity, gender, or age. These topics are rightfully prominent in discussions about diversity. However, what often gets … Read more
Immigration and immigrants have been a hot topic in political discussions—on newspaper pages, in politicians’ speeches, and even at gas station cafés. Unfortunately, the debate has been overly black and white, with extreme viewpoints and a certain level of fanaticism dominating both sides, while fact-based, issue-oriented discussions have been pushed to the background. First and … Read more
A while back, Finnish Mobilisti – a traditional classic car magazine – sparked some discussion when it devoted an entire cover to Leonid Brezhnev, the bushy-browed statesman who led the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1966 to 1982. While younger car enthusiasts might not be able to tell Uncle Leonid apart from magazine’s … Read more