Finn Church Aid (FCA) grew from a recipient of aid into Finland’s largest organization within development cooperation and second largest provider of humanitarian aid. Now we have a reason to celebrate!
Our 70th anniversary is commemorated in various ways during the year. We begin with a modification of our website’s logo. The actual birthday is celebrated in September.
This is where it started. FCA was founded in 1947, although its name only goes back to 1965. That’s when the Lutheran Church in Finland took part in founding the Lutheran World Federation. Finland was in tatters after years of war, and FCA was the recipient of aid from countries supporting the reconstruction. The picture shows the signing of the Lutheran World Federation’s founding documents in Lund, Sweden.
Photo: LWB Photo
Aiding Biafra and Vietnam. FCA arranged its first aid Come and help campaign in the mid-1960’s in support of Biafra (today’s Nigeria) and Vietnam, as well as the victims of the earthquake in Peru and the famine in Ethiopia. The picture is from the delivery of food aid to Biafra.
Photo: LWF National Committee in Finland
Celebrities get involved. In 1970, Pippi Longstocking (Inger Nilsson) participated twice in children’s parties in Helsinki, collecting money for undernourished children in Nigeria. The campaign resulted in a total of 45 000 mark.
Photo: FCA
Kosovo in our minds. FCA helped Jugoslavian war victims in Kosovo as a part of the reconstruction of Mitrovica. Finnish engineers also participated in the project.
Photo: Martti Lintunen
Focus on fragile states. In 2016, FCA’s budget was around 40 million euros, and its work focuses on the most vulnerable people in about 15 countries. We work for everyone’s right to peace, quality education and sustainable livelihoods.
Food aid arrives to the village of Bukhel, Nepal in the aftermath of the earthquake in 2015. Photo: Antti Helin
The role of young people in peace processes was discussed at an event organised by FCA, the UN Permanent Missions of Eritrea and Finland and UNDP.
Two hundred UN diplomats, youth peacebuilders and civil society representatives were brought together in a unique way at the event Youth Leadership in Peace and Security in New York earlier this week.
The participants reflected on challenges in the cooperation between young people and governments, and presented ideas on how to overcome them.
“Now young people themselves got to express what they’re already doing for sustainable development and lasting peace”, said Joel Linnainmäki, representative of the National Youth Council of Finland, right after the event.
Almost half of the world’s population consists of under 25-year-olds. They make almost 60 per cent of the population in Africa and the Middle East. The participants of the event agreed that young people shouldn’t be treated as a threat or as trouble-makers, but instead recognised for the positive role they can play in peace processes, and for instance in preventing violent radicalisation.
There’s more young people in the world than ever before in history, and it’s increasingly clear that sustainable development and a lasting peace can’t be achieved without including the youth.
“Young people deserve and need a seat at the table in peacebuilding”, Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson stated in his opening speech at the event.
Youth participation models should be exported from Finland
Ensuring the political participation of youth also requires economic inclusion and opportunities. Employment and quality education for young people as well as vocational skills must be taken into account.
Young people were recognized as active agents of change less than a year ago in the UN resolution 2250 Youth, Peace and Security in December 2015.
“In that regard, the composition of this event was extremely important. Young people themselves talked about the work they’ve done”, said this year’s UN Youth Delegate from Finland Sonja Huttunen.
According to Linnainmäki the event was a welcome step forward in the cooperation with Eritrean youth.
“At this point, the most important task is to broaden our cooperation and bring along other youth organisations in Europe and the Horn of Africa. We’re now planning a wider conference in Eritrea about youth leadership in peacebuilding”, he says.
The main objectives of Finland’s development policies aim to increase stability in developing countries, find employment and education opportunities for youth, and prevent radicalisation.
”Finland has a lot of experience in including youth in decision making, and should be proud of it. We have for instance ensured the participation of youth councils by law, and this could be applicable in other countries as well to bring youth voices to decision making tables”, said FCA’s adviser Laura Vanhanen, one of the organisers of the event.
You can also watch the event at the UN WEB TV.
The dialogue between Finnish and Eritrean youth continued in the Youth Leadership in Peace and Security event in New York. Photo: Laura Vanhanen /Finn Church Aid.
Youth delegates representing the Finnish youth:
Silja Markkula, Guides and Scouts of Finland & Allianssi – National Youth Council of Finland
Sonja Huttunen, The UN Youth Delegate of Finland 2016
Joel Linnainmäki, Allianssi – National Youth Council of Finland
Otto Ahoniemi, The Finnish Conscripts Union
Helsinki, Finland — Experts from around the world will gather this week at the ‘Responding to crises’ conference in Helsinki. The main goal of the event is to strengthen international responses by improving knowledge about current, unexpected, and future crises — ranging from large numbers of refugees to economic shocks to natural disasters.
The event, held 23-24 September, also aims to provide a forum for knowledge-sharing and vigorous debate, part of UNU-WIDER’s core mission to promote sustainable and equitable development for all.
‘The global community needs to get the facts right to ensure that we provide effective and efficient responses to crises. Our conference is an important step towards building a common understanding of the challenges being faced and how they can be addressed, while keeping in mind that each crisis is unique. One of the key ways in which we are doing this is by engaging development partners at all levels’, says Finn Tarp, Director of UNU-WIDER.
Conference brings together world-class experts
Among the diverse group of speakers is Elisabeth Rehn, a former Minister of Defence of Finland. She will deliver a keynote address on Friday morning, touching on the importance of inclusive responses and the role of women in their delivery. Other notable speakers at the two-day event include David Crawford of Oxfam, who will talk about valuable lessons learned in humanitarian response, and Blandina Kilama, a researcher with the Tanzanian think tank REPOA, who will speak on hunger and food security.
The conference programme features a variety of topics, including the economic and social impacts of crises, as well as the resources required to address them. Special sessions have also been organized on refugees and integration, as well as migration governance — timely themes given the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants earlier this week in New York.
About UNU-WIDER
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) began operations over three decades ago in Helsinki, Finland, as the first research centre of the United Nations University. Today it is a unique blend of think tank, research institute, and UN agency — providing a range of services from policy advice to governments to high-quality freely available original research.
Access to Quality Education in Responding to Crises
The right to education is most at risk during emergencies but it is also the exact time when it is needed the most. Conflict is a major barrier to education. Globally 63 million out-of-school children and youth live in conflict-affected areas.
As part of the conference, Finn Church Aid (FCA) is organising a panel discussion tackling challenges in Education in Emergencies. Experts in this panel will especially focus on need of innovative solutions for quality learning for children and youth on the move. This session also discusses the need of joining up governments and humanitarian and development actors to deliver a more collaborative and rapid response to meet the educational needs of children and youth affected by crises.
Chair: Dean Brooks (Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies)
Panelists: Aboubakar Moukadas-Noure (Minister of Education, Central African Republic), Rana Abdullah Ahmed (Iraq), Johanna Kurki (FCA)
Contact details
For press inquiries, please contact Annett Victorero, Communications Coordinator, UNU-WIDER
For inquiries about FCA’s panel session and work, plase contact Minna Elo, Communication Officer, FCA
minna.elo(at)kua.fi, tel. +358 50 3309747
FCA calls for action to reshape aid on the eve of the World Humanitarian Summit.
With over 125 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, 60 million people displaced and 37 countries affected by crises, humanitarian needs have never been greater, and the humanitarian system more stretched out. As a result, with an agenda aiming at ‘reshaping aid’, the stakes are high for the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) which takes place in Istanbul on 23–24 May 2016.
FCA publication Beyond the World Humanitarian Summit – FCA call for action highlights FCA’s own commitments as well as its calls for governments, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to commit to the recommendations of the World Humanitarian Summit. It also features cases in point on Finn Church Aid humanitarian work.
Beyond_the_World Humanitarian Summit_FCA_call_for_action (pdf)
The Marrakesh declaration was discussed at the Embassy of Finland in Washington DC in an event organised by the Embassy and the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers. Particular focus was put on how the declaration could be implemented.
The Marrakesh Declaration is a milestone for the rights of individuals to freely practice their religion in countries with a Muslim majority. The declaration was issued in January 2016.
The declaration demonstrates Islam’s commitment to peaceful coexistence with other religions and the protection of minorities from all types of religious persecution, displacement and discrimination in predominantly Muslim countries. It also calls for the leaders of other religions to confront these same acts against Muslim minorities in their countries.
The Author of the Marrakesh declaration, Shaykh Bin Bayyah, joined the conversation via Skype
The declaration was led by Shaykh Bin Bayyah, President of Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies. Over 300 Islamic leaders, ministers, muftis and religious scholars from more than 100 countries gathered in Marrakesh to discuss the Islamic faith and its traditions, as well as domestic and international rights.
The European Union has issued guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief, asserting this freedom as a fundamental right of every human being. Finland is committed to following the guidelines and working toward their goals.
The roundtable discussion held on 20 April was the first step in the dialogue on how to implement the Marrakesh declaration. All speakers agreed that the topic is very timely, and it is important to make people aware of the declaration and to maintain its momentum.
Guest speaker David N. Saperstein, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, highlighted that the global community has to ensure that the Marrakesh declaration becomes reality. According to Ambassador Saperstein, the West, interfaith communities, diplomats and the media should focus on dialogue and empowering the Muslim voices that created the declaration. This is crucially important if we want to counter violent extremism, Ambassador Saperstein said. He concluded his speech by saying that all of us have a responsibility to speak up against intolerance and ignorance, and we have the power to make the world as we want it to be.
Dr. Mohamed Elsanousi, Director of the Secretariat of the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers.
Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, who described himself as a student of Shaykh Bin Bayyah, pointed out that the Muslim world is not a monolith, and that it was once one of the first multicultural, multiethnic and multireligious areas in the world. According to Shaykh Yusuf, the Muslim world is going through very hard times, but the societies have a great power for rebirth.
Dr Mohamed Elsanousi, Director of the Secretariat of the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers, laid out ideas on how the Marrakesh Declaration could be implemented. He said it is important to identify potential partners and engage with them, communicate about the significance of the declaration, arrange more policy education and have Muslim scholars discuss the declaration.
The Author of the Marrakesh declaration, Shaykh Bin Bayyah, joined the conversation via Skype. He said the declaration has a special importance because it gave the Muslim scholars an opportunity to show the human being in the religion. Shaykh Bin Bayyah stated that it was crucially important that the declaration was created by scholars, and not by governments. The Shaykh is now looking for practical ways to implement the declaration, and hopes that the process will serve both humanity and peace.
Finn Church Aid is one of the founders of the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers and functions as its secretariat.
More information:
http://www.marrakeshdeclaration.org/
https://www.peacemakersnetwork.org/
The text is modified from the original text published on the homepage of the Embassy of Finland in Washington DC.
Photos: Embassy of Finland, Washington DC
The study, titled Tradition- & Faith-Oriented Insider Mediators (TFIMs) in Conflict Transformation – Potential, Constraints, & Opportunities for Collaborative Support, launched this week in New York, conceptualises and contextualises a specific set of religious and traditional peacemakers as tradition- and faith-oriented insider mediators (TFIMs). The study considers their peace mediation roles, their potential and the constraints under which they work, and reflects on the opportunities for collaborative support that links various actors within conflict contexts.
The study was commissioned by The Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers and conducted by the Berghof Foundation with the support of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, the International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID) and Finn Church Aid. It draws from empirical knowledge acquired through case studies in Myanmar, Thailand, Lebanon, Colombia, Kenya and Mali.
The study identifies TFIMs as persons whose social position and function is explicitly defined by tradition and religion and/or whose inspiration, motivation, strategies and methodologies are implicitly shaped by tradition and religion. Enjoying the moral legitimacy and respect required to influence the opinions and perceptions of conflict stakeholders, TFIM’s are able to facilitate dialogic processes that create and nurture space for conflict transformation.
“TFIMs not only mediate between communities in conflict, but also help create the social and human capacity to transform conflicts, e.g. by engendering new TFIMs. In Myanmar there are a couple of fascinating examples where some TFIMs are facilitating dialogue among, and the empowerment of, (intolerant) religious leaders, who then gradually emerge as TFIMs. Two key aspects that contribute to their success is that they are innovative and that they prefer to keep a very low-profile”, explains Mir Mubashir, one of the two authors of the study.
TFIMs are subject to constraints in the support structures, which limit the effectiveness of their peace mediating efforts. These constraints include lack of effective collaboration and coordination between TFIMs and other peacebuilding actors, being overshadowed by national or international peacebuilding agendas, conflict-insensitive interventions on the part of international actors, and structural restrictions on TFIM engagement.
The study proposes a collaborative support framework as a tool for addressing these constraints.
The study holds great value for the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers. “This baseline is very significant ground work for the Network in developing the concepts on how to better support local tradition and faith oriented inside mediators”, says Antti Pentikäinen, Executive Director of the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers.
“We will now negotiate with Network members and the UN on how to apply this framework in practice.”
Read the synopsis of the study here. Visit the website of the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers by clicking here.
Eritrean Minister of Foreign Affairs Osman Saleh Mohammed, Presidential Adviser Yemane Ghebreab and Ambassador Yonas Manna visited the Finn Church Aid offices on 14 April. The Eritrean delegation met with the Chairperson of FCA board, Tarja Kantola and Director of International Cooperation Tomi Järvinen.
The meetings provided an opportunity to take stock of the cooperation between Finn Church Aid and Eritrea in supporting Eritrean education sector development since the beginning of 2015. The meeting confirmed that since its inception, the cooperation has successfully contributed to the Eritrean education sector development, including the teacher education and curriculum development.
“The results of the ongoing cooperation are very encouraging”, said Kantola.
“FCA is committed to continuing its support to the Eritrean youth’s right to quality education”.
Youth employment in Eritrea was also discussed.
“FCA’s experience in diversifying and improving livelihoods, vocational training and linking learning to earning provide good opportunities to discuss further cooperation in Eritrea”, said Järvinen.
FCA is working in cooperation with Eritrean teacher training institutions and education officials to develop the capacities of teachers and teacher trainers to ensure that Eritrean children and youth have the opportunity to learn with professional and motivated teachers. FCA is also supporting the establishment of Eritrea’s first national innovation centre.
The delegation was in Finland by the invitation of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.
For more information:
Director of International Cooperation, Mr. Tomi Järvinen, p. +358 40 641 8209
The Eritrean Minister of Education, Semere Russom, and his delegation visited Finland this week at the invitation of Finn Church Aid (FCA). Minister Russom had meetings with Finnish education officials, representatives of Finnish universities and other actors from the education sector. The Minister also visited the vocational education provider Omnia, and the Saunalahti primary school in Espoo. Finn Church Aid is supporting the development of teacher training in Eritrea.
Semere Russom, Eritrean Minister of Education.
“Many Finnish pedagogic practices are applicable to Eritrean schools. For example team teaching, special needs education and more individualised vocational training”, said Minister Russom.
“I was also impressed by the cooperation between the teachers, school management and the parents. Both teachers and students are supported on many levels.”
The Eritrean delegation also had meetings with the Minister of Education and Culture, Sanni Grahn-Laasonen; the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, Lenita Toivakka, and Member of Parliament and Special Representative Pekka Haavisto.
On Wednesday, Minister Russom spoke at an international conference on Finnish and Eritrean cooperation for quality learning.
“Education is the cornerstone of all economic and social development”, Minister Russom emphasised.
The seminar was organised jointly by Finn Church Aid, CIMO, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and the Finnish Ministry of Education.
Developing teacher training together
The shared goal of FCA and the State of Eritrea is to develop the nation’s education sector. Strengthening teacher training is of particular strategic importance in that process.
“Cooperation has begun well”, said Minister Russom. “In less than eighteen months we have achieved concrete results. The measures we have taken are progressing well and are already bearing fruit.”
Eritrea has substantial challenges in offering children and youth opportunities for quality education, and in providing the youth with skills that will help them find employment.
“Next, we will look into how we can together develop vocational training. Learning vocational skills has a direct effect in how young people view their future. This goes for youth both here in Finland and in Eritrea”, says Jouni Hemberg, FCA Executive Director.
FCA is working in cooperation with Eritrean teacher training institutions and education officials to develop the capacities of teachers and teacher trainers to ensure that Eritrean children and youth have the opportunity to learn with professional and motivated teachers. FCA is also supporting the establishment of Eritrea’s first national innovation centre.
Peace programmes are more and more prevalent in NGOs these days. Development cooperation is trying to integrate conflict prevention and conflict management components into many of their programmes. For example, natural resources and conflict prevention, livelihoods and conflict prevention and education and conflict prevention just to name a few.
Finland, in particular, is prominent in the peacekeeping field due to the work of some of its politicians, development cooperation organisations and recent promotion of peace and mediation in international organisations such as the United Nations and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe OSCE. This is well and good as we are well aware of the suffering, destruction and economic devastation caused by conflicts.
You don’t have to be working in development cooperation to be a peacemaker. There are conflicts around us and in our own society every day.
The way we choose to react to these conflicts affects the outcome. There are two simple ways to encourage peaceful resolution to our own conflicts and conflicts around us. One of my favorite conflict resolution professors always stated that the process of conflict resolution starts with curiosity about the other.
In conflict, individuals and groups of individuals become locked into a fixed view of the other party and tend to characterize the other party as “bad” or intending to take advantage of them. Sometimes conflicts are simply a misunderstanding that can be cleared up with explanation.
Secondly, in order to be a peacemaker one must first believe that there is some good in everyone and that a balanced resolution is possible in every conflict. This differs from the pessimistic view of human nature that advocates the jungle law of “may the strong survive” and that people intend to take advantage of each other. So to be a peacemaker you must start with faith in people and curiosity about the other.
The Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers, for which Finn Church Aid acts as a secretariat, advocates such curiosity about the other and faith in human nature to help resolve conflicts. The Network’s research into the causes of radicalization helps us determine what attracts young men and women to violent extremist organisations so that effective programmes can be developed to address these causes.
The Network also brings conflicting parties together to a safe neutral place where they can learn about the other’s concerns and see the good that also exists within their “enemy”. Most importantly the Network is advocating for a culture of peace in our societies with the message that conflict is unavoidable but violent action is not necessary to resolve conflicts.
See the website of The Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers
Kirk Johnson
Advisor, Right to Peace