BPI International Board held session in Finland
On February, 11-13th in Saariselkä (Finland) the next session of the Barents Press International Board took place.
The participants were:
Timo Sipola and Alpo Merilä (Finland), Juha Tajnio and Robert Sandström (Sweden), Johs Kalvemo (Norway), Elena Larionov and Tatiana Polkova (Russia).
Board at work
Annual conference will take place in Levi
The agenda included reports of national boards on work for the past period, and preparation for the annual conference which will be this time on May 5-8 in Levi (Finland) was the main point. The organizers prepare an interesting and solid program. Now it has to get its final completion. When it will come to the end, we will place it on our site. Meanwhile it is possible to inform that in Levi conference participants will try to look at the developments of the Arctic region and Barents region — processes in mass-media including — for the last 20 years.
Among speakers are expected:
- Director Paula Kankaanpää, Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland,
- Dr Aileen A. Espíritu is the Director of the Barents Institute, Kirkenes ( Canada),
- Ambassador Hannu Halinen,
- Head of the Swedish Barents Secretariat Per Wallén,
- Olga Buch, Doctor of Economics, professor, director general of Arctic Center of Training Specialists, editor of magazine “Shelfinfo”,
-Pavel Gutiontov, Secretary of the Russian Journalist Union.
Chairman of the Board Robert Sandström participated in the session via the Internet program Skype.
One session will be devoted to development of tourism and transport possibilities in the region.
In the program there's also a bus trip to Suurikusikko gold mine and presentation of the film “Steam of Life” (Finland), nominated for the Oscar award.
Miniseminar
Part of the board meeting was given to a miniseminar on the themes: “Financial independence of mass-media” and “Overcoming prejudices”. Colleagues from Finland, Sweden and Norway answered in detail and with comments as a whole 11 questions developed for Russian research project. Many thanks to them!
Next session of the International Board will take place in Levi.
Tatiana Polkova,
BPI Board member, from snowy and frosty Saariselkä.
