In December 2025, a new strategy and a new direction for the future were approved for Varsinais-Suomi. Over a year of joint preparation among regional stakeholders had been formulated into words to rely on and from which inspiration can be drawn. <\/p>\n
In accordance with the Varsinais-Suomi Strategy 2040+, we are now working together to strengthen the region’s role as a connector: our vision is to anchor all of Finland to the west. Through the strategy’s objectives, we aim to strengthen the vitality, attractiveness, and retention capacity of Varsinais-Suomi, and to become uniquely and positively distinctive. This is truly an ambitious goal that requires growth, but it is by no means too large for us. It is time to get moving! <\/p>\n
Now that the long-term direction has been approved in the strategy, it is time to face the need for change that embarking on the chosen path requires. It is one thing to want something, and quite another to actually start doing things to achieve what is desired\u2014let alone change oneself or one’s own practices in the way the change requires. All of us procrastinators, hedonists, and those inclined to excessive caution know this… Making change can be laborious and costly, and of course that is not pleasant for oneself nor does it bring immediate gains. <\/p>\n
In moments of uncertainty, it is good to return to the beginning and remind oneself: together we wanted this and saw the good to come. Now is the time to raise our gaze and take the first step. <\/p>\n
We are fortunate that in Varsinais-Suomi we have all the prerequisites to succeed in this change. We have world-class experts in multiple sectors. We have built good cooperation and a network structure supporting change for over ten years. Long-term partnership work aimed at the common good, familiarity, and existing trust will bear fruit now as well, as we aim even further. With the new Varsinais-Suomi Developer Forum\u2014which brings together the region’s experts and networks around the strategy’s objectives\u2014we want to shake up our own work, challenge our thinking, and experiment even more boldly than before. This requires action and courage from us. <\/p>\n
In addition to readiness for change and capacity for renewal, we need concrete milestones. We are currently preparing these for the Varsinais-Suomi Strategy 2040+ implementation plan. An important concrete part of the plan will be the action section prepared by expert networks. It will describe the steps through which the strategy’s vision and its 22 objectives will begin to be realized during the current four-year period. <\/p>\n
To support the work of the networks, we organized an open webinar for all on Tuesday, February 24, where discussion about activities took place in small groups. At its peak, the webinar had nearly 60 participants: experts and a gratifying number of regional council members as well. <\/p>\n
The webinar discussed a wide range of topics, including continuing development work related to educational pathways and workplace guidance, sharing companies’ internationalization stories, encouraging companies to apply for funding, the functionality of port feeder traffic, and the potential of the living archipelago and rural areas as providers of experiences, well-being, and livelihoods. The convergence of different perspectives that took place in the webinar is the essence of collaborative work, and something we want to support even more in the future. <\/p>\n
Collective commitment to the shared strategy, which was already evident during the preparation phase in the positive feedback from the consultation round, was repeated in the webinar discussions and is now being concretized during the coming month in the networks’ action section planning. We await with anticipation how it will be refined into actions. <\/p>\n
In addition to collective commitment, more is needed. Personal experience of meaningfulness is required, as well as a view of one’s own role and opportunities to make an impact. <\/p>\n
We cannot expect that only “someone else” or “some group” will now embark on the path charted by the strategy, but it is the task of each of us to take the necessary steps. We need organizational and individual-level leadership and visibility. We must make visible what we already know but have not yet articulated aloud with sufficient volume: Varsinais-Suomi has extremely capable and competitive, committed organizations and companies that work in good cooperation, in a common direction. <\/p>\n
For this reason, we now invite the region’s key organizations to identify their own role in implementing the strategy and articulate it as part of the public declaration included in the implementation plan. Public joint commitment strengthens the visibility of Varsinais-Suomi’s stakeholder field regionally, nationally, and internationally. The invitation is open to all and will soon be announced on the Varsinais-Suomi Regional Council’s website. <\/p>\n
The first version of the annually updated and evaluated Varsinais-Suomi Strategy 2040+ implementation plan will be published at the Varsinais-Suomi Strategy 2040+ launch event at the end of April, about which we will share more soon. The plan serves as a work organization tool and reminder for all of us of what we want to do. <\/p>\n
We at the Varsinais-Suomi Regional Council bear responsibility for providing the best possible support for the work, but success in this work requires everyone. Even a good strategy will fail if we are not together willing to develop our own activities. <\/p>\n
The coming years will show whether we truly measure up to the objectives written in the strategy. I firmly believe that we do. At the same time, I know that in the steps ahead we will need each other’s support and encouragement. I hope you will join us! <\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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