Committee for the Future Themes 2007-11

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Themes that the Committee for the Future will concentrate on during the present parliamentary term

The following are the themes formulated by the Committee for the Future in spring 2007 for special attention during the 2007-11 parliamentary term.

I Extensive projects:

1. Finland renewing herself through learning ? the challenge of metropolises and new general education.

A competence-driven economy is challenging, because remaining in its vanguard presupposes constant renewal. This applies not only to companies and universities, but also to the model of society as a whole and the standard of general education that is to be required of citizens. General education also has a significance for wellbeing that is independent of economic growth.

2. Taboos of the welfare model, ?sacred? misconceptions

Appraisal of the Nordic model of society will be continued from the decisions that the Committee arrived at in its report on the future (1/1997) nearly ten years ago. The worst structural flaws, distortions and misconceptions ? taboos ? in the welfare model will be studied. How is it possible that 1) poor people die and get sick more than rich ones, 2) the best and most expensive school places of all go to the children of wealthy, well-educated parents in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, 3) in housing, through taxation and other measures, the State gives more support to the wealthy than to the poor? Whose interests is the State actually looking after?

3. Forests and the future of using them.

A preparatory project to draft a reply to the Government?s report on climate and energy
(to be submitted to the Eduskunta in the latter half of 2009, the Committee for the Future will submit a report, which will be debated at a plenary session).

II Smaller-scale projects:

4. Opportunities and risks of nanotechnology
5. Global challenges of food production
6. The EU?s eastern and southern neighbours
7. Power and exclusion
8. RFID (Radio-frequency identification)
9. Participatory content production / Open operational paradigm
10. End of parliamentary term: 10 challenges of the future for Finland