Organise a Borderland Dialogue

What challenges have you observed in your organisation or region in terms of cohesion or sense of security?

The Borderlands Dialogues days are the 23rd of April and the 19th of May this spring. You can also organise your dialogue on any given day until the end of May.

Finnish society is being tested in new ways. Russia’s military actions are undermining many people’s sense of security. Conflicts between different groups and individuals are intensifying, and misinformation about events and issues is spreading. We need different actors to keep our society crisis-resistant and at the same time compassionate.

We want you to join us in organising one or more Borderland Dialogues! The Borderland Dialogues are part of National Dialogues. Similar Borderland Dialogues will be organised in the Russian border countries of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

Russia’s neighbouring countries are facing complex geopolitical pressures related to regional instability and foreign influence. Democratic sustainability and social cohesion must be developed urgently in close cooperation. In particular, new ways of strengthening the resilience of individuals and communities and social cohesion in society should be identified. Although the situations in Russia’s neighbouring countries differ, many of the social challenges and hybrid influences affecting these countries are shared. Social actors, especially civil society organisations and citizens, can play a greater role than at present in strengthening resilience and social cohesion.

How can you get involved?

Participation is easy and does not require a lot of effort from the dialogue organiser. The most important thing is the desire to get involved.

Link the theme to a target group or topic that is important to you, for example: “A sense of belonging and security in Imatra / Vuoksenniska / our knitting club / our library.”
Pre-register as a discussion organiser by 9th of March using this form.

A summary report of the dialogues will be produced as part of the National Dialogues in the autumn. The report will be published for everyone to use and will be made available to public administration and decision-makers.The aim is to organise a large number of dialogues, particularly near the Russian border and in the Åland Islands. This gives people an opportunity to engage in diverse conversations, hear each other’s views, lower the barriers between different perceptions, gain new insights, share observations and build mutual trust together.

Dialogues can be organised to last 1.5 or 2 or 3 hours, either face-to-face or remotely.

We provide discussion organizers with a comprehensive material package and free orientation sessions, making it easy to organize a dialogue. Read more here.

The dialogue organiser commits to

Defining a more specific topic and pre-register as the dialogue organiser by the 9th of March using this form
Reserving a venue or creating a link for the virtual meeting
Inviting the participants
Facilitating the dialogue
Reserving a person to act as the note-taker for the dialogue
Submitting as accurate a record of the dialogue as possible in Webropol using this form immediately after the conversation

You can view the discussions that have already been registered here.

If you would like to participate as a discussion participant rather than organise one, choose a suitable open discussion at the bottom of the above page and register directly with the discussion organiser.

Welcome aboard! You’re needed!

The dialogues are coordinated by DialogiAkatemia, Opintokeskus Sivis and the Ministry of Finance.

Further information

Janne Kareinen, Director, Dialogue Academy
tel. +358 45 631 6516, janne.kareinen (at) dialogiakatemia.fi

Anne Ilvonen, Communications and Innovation Manager, Opintokeskus Sivis
tel. 050 587 9423, anne.ilvonen (at) opintokeskussivis.fi

Katju Holkeri, Financial Counsellor, Ministry of Finance
tel. 0295 530 087, katju.holkeri (at) gov.fi