Mikkelin kaupungin tervehdys Pohjoismaisten nuorten tapaamisessa, Mikkelin kaupunginvaltuuston 1.varapuheenjohtaja, Laura Hämäläinen
Good morning everyone,
Dear nordic friends,
Kära nordiska vänner,
Välkommen till Mikkeli.
Welcome to Mikkeli,
I am Laura Hämäläinen, the first deputy chairperson of our city council and a citizen of this amazing city Mikkeli. I have the pleasure to be greeting you today on behalf of our hometown. We have some other council members here as well and you might wave for our guests.
It’s an honor to see here in our beautiful hometown so many eager and active people ready to form new friendships, new connections and new ways to better our common future in the name of Nordic cooperation, youth participation and sustainability.
A few words of our hometown.
Mikkeli is a home of around 52 000 people and the provincial capital of Etelä-Savo, South-Savonia region. As you may have noticed, we are surrounded by lakes and beautiful nature. Sustainable, easy-going living close to nature is very important and dear to us. Our nature and relaxed lifestyle inspires many visitors every year to spend their vacations here in summer-cottages. In Mikkeli there are actually the second largest amount of summer-cottages – or mökki, as we call it – in the whole of Finland. Lake Saimaa and the whole Finnish lakeland is also one of the most beautiful places to travel in Finland.
Mikkeli is full of life – both in the country-side and in the heart of the city. You can find here both cute and close-to-nature-summer cafés, great nature trails, museums and big events.
Kära vänner,
We take sustainability in Finland and in Mikkeli seriously. Our strategy in Mikkeli highlights sustainable development and our goal is to be the city of possibilities – a capital of fresh and pure water. Circular economy, renewable sources and our nature provide us, not only work possibilities and a boost to our regional economy, but a way of living that we want to pursue. That being said, we must know that there is always room for improvement.
To young and active people such as you, it also should be mentioned that we of course have a great selection of study programmes here in Mikkeli. A top university of applied sciences XAMK, but also the Mikkeli University Consortium, which has research and programmes from top universities such as Aalto University, University of Helsinki and LUT University. In other words, the research and higher education community in Mikkeli is very active.
Kära nordiska vänner,
Några ord på skandinaviska. Vi är här för att fördjupa våra nordiska samarbete. Jag tror att vi alla vet att det är just nu viktigaste än någonsin. Jag ser fram emot att våra diskussionen i dag, och jag hoppas att ni får nya ideer och en ännu starkare motivation för att förbättra vårt samhälle.
En gång till, jag välkommen dig, jag hoppas att ni har trevliga dagar framför dig. I warmly welcome you all. Let’s have a great day with inspiring discussions on making our youth heard, making an impact and bettering our society.