South East Finland region
Examples of projects Training for interpreters The Savonlinna School of Translation Studies of the University of Joensuu is situated close to the border with Russia. Political changes in Russia, and Finland’s entry into the European Union, have imposed new requirements on those dealing with Finnish-Russian business contacts and other fields of governmental and non-governmental cooperation. This project aims at training highly skilled professionals with an academic background and a good Eligible areas command of languages, who, while having an expert knowledge of the legal, organisational and practical Finland: South Savo, Kymenlaakso, South Karelia aspects of Finnish-Russian relations and their European Union dimensions, have no training in translation and Financing interpreting. Training is given in the use of various forms Total cost: 45.086 million euro of contemporary information and language transfer tech- EU contribution: 9.876 million euro nology, and is designed to match the requirements of the Finnish labour market at the border region. Main actions Areas of intervention funded under the project include the teaching of consecu- Transport and communication 34.6% tive, simultaneous and liaison interpreting from Finnish into Russian and vice versa, as well as from English into Business development 37.1% Finnish and Russian. Lectures on specialised topics are Environmental protection and land use planning 7.7% also provided. Tuition is provided partly by the teachers of Boosting know-how and preconditions the Savonlinna School, and partly by guest lecturers, and for cooperation 17.2% is free for participants. Technical assistance 3.5% The Okkervil Project As a consequence of greater opening of the borders between Russia and the European Union, St. Petersburg, through the Finnish Kymenlaakso gateway, has become the entry point for many international companies interest- ed in doing business in Russia. As such, a strong need has developed to integrate the City of St. Petersburg into the “activity corridor” running along southern Finland and pen- etrating deep into Russia. In 1997, an agreement was signed between St. Petersburg and the Finnish Regional Council of Kymenlaakso to develop, in partnership, a 50-hectare site (Okkervil) in the St.Petersburg district of Krasnokvardeysky. The idea behind the Okkervil project is to create a stimulating investment climate in the area, attractive to international investors. A series of actions will be undertaken to achieve this objective, including reorgan- ising and restructuring the existing Okkervil Investment Agency, responsible for coordinating the project, so that it may become an organisation capable of administering the development procedure of national/international invest- ments; modifying planning and building regulations and Contact codes; undertaking infrastructural and environmental Eero Aarnio improvements; and developing a marketing strategy to Otavankatu 7 attract investment to the region. FIN - 50100 Mikkeli/S:t Michel Finland Tel: + 358 15 321 130 (extension 1323) Fax: +358 15 367 8004 Email: [email protected] 12