6 minute read
Helen Nilsson
Q: How did you, Helén, a successful Nordic woman with an international career profile, appear in neighbouring Lithuania?
A: It’s a privilege to be able to work in our region, the amazing region with Nordic-Baltic cooperation and for the Nordic Council of Ministers knowing our mandate. I strongly believe that our organization can facilitate cooperation with the five Nordic countries when it’s relevant for Lithuania. I must confess it goes hand in hand with what I studied, especially political science and human geography, the then so-called Eastern Europe, Russia. Thus, Lithuania falls within my professional interest—I have covered Lithuania working for Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) and found some old business cards—amazingly, some of the same people are still around, but in higher positions now. I feel that I am in the right place and deem I can use my knowledge and experience in a good way.
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Q: Sting sang about an Englishman in New York: What does it mean for you to be a Nordic woman in Lithuania today?
A: I think this is a very nice comparison at the end of the day, although I don’t know the lyrics too well. I have to admit I don’t speak Lithuanian either and cannot use my native language as the ‘Englishman in New York’ would, but I think we share the same values, such as democracy, equal opportunities, and human rights, and I would like to develop them in our societies in the best way possible. That makes it relevant to be here with my Nordic portfolio. I would also like to refer to our most recent public opinion survey, which we commissioned early this year. We surveyed 1.800 (600 per country) women and men, between the ages of 16 – 65+, with different educational backgrounds, from urban and rural areas in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. The opinion polls aimed to discover people’s opinions about cooperation with the Nordic countries. As expected, all three Baltic countries have a positive attitude towards closer cooperation with the Nordic countries. As many as 75% of respondents in Lithuania would like to see even more cooperation with the Nordic states. Of course, this makes me very happy and gives us inspiration and encouragement to do even more together. Lithuanians would like to see more cooperation between institutions, and the most important basis for collaboration is the small countries cooperating with each other as well—we do share the same values and have cultural similarities. In the people’s opinion, the top five directions/sectors for cooperation with the Nordic countries are Economy/Business, Education and Science, Tourism, Innovation and New Technologies, and Culture. Cooperation would result in: 1) both sides learning from each other, 2) an increase in trade and regional cooperation that will strengthen Lithuania, and 3) greater ease of movement for studies and work. These are the top three. People in Lithuania believe that they could contribute to the Nordic region through innovation, scientific achievement, and natural resources, as well as contributing to the labour force and sharing culture. We also asked about Nordic values. From the Lithuanian perspective, the most typical values of the Nordic countries are: social welfare, environmental awareness, responsibility for future generations, and freedom of speech. Trust and people’s trust in each other were not among the top three, but were nevertheless seen as an important value connected to the Nordic Countries.
Q: How would you characterize Lithuanian proximity to the Nordic community?
A: First of all, once more I would like to mention our shared values in establishing a good society for all and not leaving anyone behind. Furthermore, I would like to refer to the survey again: small countries need to cooperate, we are part of the same geographical area—we are Northern Europe (in terms of climate and the yearly cycle) and we have cultural similarities, as well as similar social structure, although there are differences too.
Q: The Baltic presidents think of their countries as Baltic, yet a Northern European, if not Nordic, identity is next in line. What are the pros and cons being part of a Nordic-Baltic a.k.a. Baltoscandian community?
A: That is a tricky question. Politically, we use the term ‘Nordic-Baltic community’. Nordic- Baltic cooperation is seen as quite neutral and not a sensitive issue for our organisation, because we are not in a politically hot area. For us ‘Nordic-Baltic’ is a safe sphere for cooperation. I like the term ‘Northern Europe’. Maybe we are ‘Northern Europe’. It sounds nice from the EU perspective—global, too. That can be linked to identity. In terms of branding it can be interesting. But now we also have Nordic and Baltic. Small countries need to cooperate and want to cooperate, and that’s why we could think in terms of Northern Europe, as the Nordic-Baltic region is also divided due to our different histories. But we can become friendlier with one another. Other relationships and politics come later. The term ‘Baltoscandian’ might exclude Iceland and Finland. But we can learn from each other, increase trade and competitiveness, strengthen our voices in the world, and use our resources more efficiently.
Q: Opinion polls reveal Lithuanians want more cooperation with Norden. Where could it develop?
A: I believe we already have developed relevant cooperation. It has been a tradition since 1991, when the Nordic Council of Ministers was first to open an office in Lithuania. We can always improve and do more and, according to the survey, the people of Lithuania would like to see more cooperation. I would like to see more youth cooperation and greater involvement in Agenda 2030, and we should continue to cooperate in the field of digitalization—here I’m referring to the MR-DIGITAL 1 programme and the declaration. I believe we should also streamline and digitalize things like child care, Women Go Tech, and other initiatives to make things easier for the end-user. We should work more closely with the private sector, although not directly focus on or aiming for profit. Working together on values, trust, and leadership is a good way to build up a good partnership.
Q: What are your associations, images, stereotypes with the Baltic states and Lithuania in particular?
A: The Baltics differ, and so do the Nordic countries. We don’t share the same history. History is very important in Lithuania. You cannot change mentality fast. In Sweden, we do not put such a big emphasis on history compared to Lithuania. And here more importance is attributed to hierarchy in state structures and families. Swedish society is more egalitarian, I would say. The role of discussions is smaller here. In my opinion, Lithuanians are also fairly modest. I wish they were more outspoken, as this is a young and relatively unknown country. They have started to communicate more about what they are proud of and what their strengths are as a people and as a country. Furthermore, I think Lithuanians are careful, because they don’t want to be disappointed—they expect the best, but are prepared for the worst, and they don’t get carried away with opportunities. Lithuanians are extremely educated and proud of that. They are also very down to earth—nature, forests, mushrooms, and berry picking mean so much to them. More and more are also travellers who have new experiences and are learning to adapt to different cultures. Basketball makes them stand out and so does the importance of family and religion, to some extent.
Q: What could the Nordic region learn from Lithuania or the Baltic region?
A: Picking mushrooms (laughs), and many other things you don’t notice immediately. We learn from each other when we meet. We always notice small, positive examples. I would underscore innovation, science, and resources. Also the market, trade, and the mobility of talent – ‘talent mobility’ is a term…. We compete for the same students, for those who today decide to go to the US and UK. We want them in our region. Tourism helps us learn from each other. An ecological approach is important too, Lithuania is ecologically attractive; in fact, there is a lot of untouched nature here.
Q: How do you value trust, or the ‘Nordic Gold’, in Lithuania?
A: Trust should be the glue of society, it needs to be developed and to be maintained. The Nordic people, our region can also benefit from it. Lithuanians like to talk about trust. The issue of trust was brought up during some of our meetings and our office decided to participate in this discussion and put more energy into the subject with some facts and figures. The level of trust in Lithuania could go up. I don’t see it yet, but the discussions make that clear. It has to increase. It is cost-effective to trust people. You need to spend less money on persuasion, and the legal system and the use of tax money are more legitimate with trust. Trust provides a positive environment—who doesn’t want that? Our office does everything in partnership, we trust our partners. We translated ‘Trust— the Nordic Gold’, into Lithuanian and we see ourselves as facilitators, connecting people and organisations between six countries. We bring the issue of trust into our Nordic discussions – “Nordic Talks”. If you want to talk about trust, talk to us. We also talk about trust in the democracy festival ‘Būtent!’, and we have workshops on trust. This interview with N WIND is another way to reach out and raise the issue of the relevance of trust.
1 On 22 June 2017, MR-SAM decided to establish an ad hoc council of ministers for digitalisation (MR-DIGITAL) for the period 2017 to 2020. MR-DIGITAL has one minister each from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Åland.
Written by Dr. Mindaugas Jurkynas
