Nordic Horizons

Iceland has a stunning landscape with glaciers galore … but is more properly fire island. Lava, earthquakes eruptions and volcanoes dominate life and world headlines.Around Christmas 2023, an eruption forced people from their homes in the fishing port of Grindavik. One year and six eruptions later – the townspeople are back. But another eruption nearby is spewing lava into the car park of the famous Blue Lagoon. By the time you hear this podcast, that eruption could be over… or much worse.Yet despite all the risk and uncertainty, many Icelanders would say they live here because of their volcanoes not despite them. Why? That’s what this podcast is all about. CreditsThanks to Easyjet for flights – direct to Reykjavik each weekday from Edinburgh. I travelled to the Westman Islands in a Europcar vehicle (complete with winter tyres) from Keflavik airport, took the dual fuel Herjolfur ferry (government owned and council run) courtesy of Business Iceland and stayed at the family run Hotel Vestmannaeyjar thanks to Visit South Iceland.Accommodation in Reykjavik was kindly provided by podcast listener Scott Riddell. Big thanks also to interviewees – Laufey Sif Lárusdóttir who runs a pizzeria and Ölverk brewery using geothermal steam in Hveragerði with husband Elvar. She's also mum to three small boys. Respect.Páll Zóphóníasson was once Mayor of Heimaey (main town on Westman Islands) and town engineer at the time of the 1973 eruption. Tax office staff, Jóhanna Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir and Ròsa Sveinsdòttir were just children back then.Kári Valgeirsson is Science Communicator at the Hellisheiði power plant – one of the largest single-site geothermal power plants on the planet. Daily tours available.Thanks also to Limma and Gudrun Hannesdottir, Researched, recorded and produced by Lesley RiddochEdited by Pat Joyce 

Gothenburg in Sweden once boasted the world's largest shipyards, but in the face of Japanese and Korean competition, the oil crisis and a world economic downturn, the city was brought to its knees in the 1980s, with 5 kms of empty dockland and 20 thousand people without jobs. So far, so very like the Clyde.But though shipbuilding was down, Gothenburg was not out.The City Council bought the empty shipyards for one Swedish krona – that’s 2 pence - financed new house-building, new secondary schools and linked up with Chalmers University to set up Lindholmen Science Park. It attracted the Swedish mobile phone maker, Ericsson who created a cluster of ten thousand people in other IT companies around its new HQ. This inter-dependency helped the sector survive the dot.com crash.The biggest advance though, followed the biggest setback, when Sweden’s innovation agency, rejected a big bid for an open research area at Lindholmen. Undaunted, the Science Park owners (council and business) went ahead without state funds, seconding thirty people for one year to fine tune their plans. Now, 375 companies operate on dockland that wasn’t worth tuppence thirty years ago, Gothenburg has become Sweden's R&D capital and more people are employed today in tech jobs on the docklands than ever worked in the shipyards.  Local car-maker Volvo is planning to go fully electric by 2030 and 100 billion Euros is being invested to connect both banks of the river. As the city shapes up to celebrate its 400th anniversary this year, recalling the part played by Scots in its phenomenal success, the excitement is almost palpable.Nordic Horizons Director Lesley Riddoch visited the city in May 2023 to find out how Gothenburg has turned itself around. More info https://goteborgco.seThanks toChristian Borg of Business Region Gothenburg Jonas Eriksson Head of Gothenburg Green City zoneJessica Vialleton, Hotel EggersHjördis Fohrman, Jonsered MuseumStepping up Sustainability West SwedenEva Lehman Goteborg.com

Finland has a particular source of propaganda to deal with in the shape of Russia. Misinformation attacks have focused on familiar issues like immigration and the EU, but also Finland’s application to join NATO. Now the Finns have devised a strategy to teach all social groups to spot fake news and fact-check. This includes lessons in community colleges, digital literacy toolkits and a critical thinking curriculum in schools. As a result, online interference by Russia in Finnish politics appears to have waned.Now other countries are looking to learn from Finland’s strategy.Jussi Toivanen is a former adviser to the Finnish PM on media literacy and was recently appointed Head of Communications at Finland’s National Cyber Security Centre. He believes the country’s cyber security success is due to something deeper; it is a cohesive ‘superpower’ - a society with high levels of trust in institutions and the media, plus a strong sense of identity rooted in human rights and the rule of law. He offers an unexpected insight – ‘the first line of cyber defence is the Kindergarten teacher’…We also hear from Chris Silver – a researcher and PhD student on memory and the Scottish press - and Claire Elazebbi, a member of the Scottish Government's cyber security team. 

Finland has a 1300 km long land border with Russia, it fought two wars in the 1940s to defend then reclaim lost territory, and is now applying to join NATO. There, most knowledge of Finland ends.Which is a shame.Because a staple of Finnish life could offer a permanent solution to supply crises in Britain – if we could learn to rely on cooperatives not corporations to deliver. The picture shows composite wooden hand-basins and baths - a unique feature of the Solo Sokos Hotel in Lahti- part of a larger S-Group cooperative with more than 3 million members. How can such a massive coop give its local hotel managers freedom to make their own decisions? Lesley Riddoch went to Finland's seventh largest city to find out. With thanks to Risto Turanen, Kari Huhtala, VisitFinland, Finnair and Sokos Hotels.   

It's twelve years since Dan Wynn and Lesley Riddoch set up a think tank to focus on the policy successes of Scotland's Nordic neighbours. Since then, Nordic Horizons has organised almost 70 meetings - most of them in person until the pandemic lockdown in 2020. Now Nordic Horizons meets online - less disruption and travel for speakers and more access for Scots living outside Edinburgh. We're also producing monthly podcasts of recent events and edited versions of some 'Golden Oldies' - including a talk about Norway's education system where children attend kindergarten (often outdoor) until the age of six - a school starting age the SNP conference is set to discuss in October 2022. It seems many lessons learned over the past decade are still very relevant.So why did NH start and is the Nordic focus still relevant? Has the group made any real change to Scottish Government policy? What next?Here's a short podcast with online editor Chris Smith in the driving seat and Steering Group members Mike Danson, Dan Wynn and Lesley Riddoch.