Bringing Finnish Culture and Expertise to Missoula's Innovation Ecosystem

A Speech by Jenni Rohrbach, at the InnovateUM working luncheon April 25, 2018

Good afternoon, hyvää iltapäivää, ladies and gentlemen, naiset ja herrat.

On behalf of the Finlandia Foundation of Montana, I am delighted to welcome you to the InnovateUM working luncheon that has some Nordic, especially Finnish touches. We, as a Finnish and Scandinavian-American cultural heritage organization, couldn’t be more excited to support the Collective Impact Work in our community. We feel that emphasizing values and practices of shared responsibility and collective care is something that is deeply rooted in the Nordic culture. It is the like-minded Nordic philosophies and Nordic models for co-creation that give a good understanding of what it means to have cohesive and open communities and how significant cross-sector collaboration is in change-making for maximizing the potential for equal opportunity.

With this cultural and collective connection in mind, we are honoured to have the opportunity to bring Finnish culture to this event. This is represented in both the decor and food we will be sharing.  To point out, the vases and candleholders here that have a red letter “I” on them stands for Iittala, a glass company that has long preserved the works of Finnish design heroes, Kaj Franck and Alvar Aalto. Some of the fabrics that might have got your attention are productions of Marimekko that is known for its bright, coloured prints and simple styles. Marimekko was brought to America in the 1960s and made famous by Jacqueline Kennedy, who wore several Marimekko dresses during the United States presidential campaign at that time.

And I’d also like to point out the colourful feathered pussycat willows at display here that are related to the Finnish Easter tradition. In Finland, the children dress up as Easter witches or bunnies and go from door to door to hand out their springy willow in the hopes of receiving chocolate eggs in return.

 Our family-style lunch and Finnish cuisine tell a story of a people who went from forest livelihoods to active interaction with neighbouring countries. On the menu, we have bread, butter, fish and potatoes! That pretty much summarizes the most important ingredients of Nordic dishes. But precisely, Rosolli, is a Finnish beet-based vegetable salad traditionally enjoyed on Christmas. Some arctic berries we get to taste are lingonberries and cranberries. Food innovators like to call these treasures as superfoods due to their strong flavour and high nutrient content. And the beauty is that everyone can access these nature’s local superfoods in Finland. This traditional legal concept of “everyman’s right” allows anyone to pick berries and mushrooms as long as no harm is done to nature or landowners.

To end, a staple of the Finnish diet is rye bread, ruisleipä, that is made from sour dough, it’s dark and fiber rich and often eaten during daily coffee breaks. And you can imagine how much “open-faced” rye bread is eaten due to the fact that Finland has the highest coffee consumption per capita in the world. But to say the least, we hope you’ll enjoy the meal and wish you hyvää ruokahalua, Bon Appetite! Thank you.

Innovative Collective Impact Work and Culture in Missoula

Community and culture intertwined are fundamental and vivid in the collective impact work bringing connections and meanings into our everyday interactions and purpose. Culture is inseparable from the development and actually in the forefront of innovation and design-thinking to inspire action in social change. Whether we need to be sensitive to cultural differences, adapt to current cultural trends, or raise our voice in support of acceptance and equal opportunity. Or whether we are getting to know the organizational culture of our working environment or simply enjoying the culinary culture from aboard to spice up a working luncheon. In whatever forms, culture is with us, in “the social and the collective”, an essence of togetherness and a major player in change making.

I’d like to say a few words about the special kind of culture in Missoula. And this observation is coming from the perspective of a Nordic Foreign Alien who left her home country Finland around the time when Finland was ranked as the best country to live in 2010. And just recently Finland was again placed first according to the World Happiness Index Report. But bring any Finn or a few Finnish experts to Missoula and they’d say the same thing: Life is gooood in Missoula with a lot of social capital and collective care that makes it almost effortless to work towards achieving shared goals.

I believe Collective Impact, Innovation and Design Thinking are not to be re-discovered or re-created amongst us, because these elements have always existed in our talented and giving community and are here to evolve. So let’s keep our focus on the good work in both preserving the old and implementing the new for the future years to come. 

What is the Nordic Perspective to Philanthropy and Collective Impact? Some critical reflections to collective impact in the USA

As much as the Nordic countries have a long tradition of quite successfully carrying out policies in governing their social-democratic welfare states, over the past decade, economic growth has led to an increase in accumulation of private wealth while the Nordic welfare model has kept under scrutiny. This pressure is translating into an ever-greater need for philanthropy that has gained a position as a strong societal force in change making. The Nordic countries actually have a long tradition of philanthropy, although the Nordic countries are known for their government-led and tax-supported health care and education. Many philanthropists in the region are the lead innovators to combat some of the acutest social challenges, in which a holistic and impact-driven approach can be identified and in which new innovative forms of giving such as venture philanthropy, social impact investing and social impact bonds play a significant role.

The increasing Nordic philanthropic interest and social impact investing are generally driven by strong role models and personal connections to the issues, but “the ideas of the social and the collective” are so deeply rooted in the Nordic culture along with “the like-minded philosophies of equal opportunity” that all actors across sectors in a society share the responsibility for societal development. In other words, the society as a whole believes in a shared responsibility in change making, but more precisely:

-       family ties and engagement remain important despite the culture of collective or individualism

-       areas of scientific research and the care of children and youth are most prioritized.

-       and for the majority, philanthropy is primarily a domestic affair rather than international.

Overall, Nordic philanthropy can be seen as an engine for development, an alternative or a support to the welfare state affairs that is not separate from the public funding and institutions, but rather compliments it in providing public goods and has the potential to create innovative solutions to address current challenges.

To answer the question “What is the Nordic Perspective to Philanthropy and Collective Impact,” it is simply a commitment to increase impact and enable large-scale change, to encourage and ensure cross-sector collaboration, which is a transforming societal force, but also a love affair between the trusted social-democratic welfare state and institutions and innovative, individualistic philanthropists.  The Nordic philanthropy and collective impact in change making seek for the same goals and conditions as any other collective impact engine or entity: there must be a need, will or urgency for change and the right financial resources, as well as both the individual and collective advocates.

It seems that in the USA, the collective impact has taken more a business-inspired approach to solving social problems. Why? Probably because there is a lack of government control or trust in the system for providing equity or stability in health care or education. Or is it because there is not a long tradition of well-functioning welfare programs. As much as the American nonprofits, foundations and private donators are dynamite for innovating care services, masters in scientific research and bulldozers in enforcing social change, they are more likely to function alone, as independent, client-oriented, profit-making businesses. These so-called “social enterprises” are slowly emerging and replacing the social services which the government or the states are no longer attractively able to provide to their citizens. The social entrepreneurship is promoting “ less government”, replacing democratic accountability with market disciplinary and undermining the critical role of an organized citizenry and political action in achieving social change. Thus, it’s looking like the individual philanthropists and entrepreneurs are the leading forces in collective impact transforming the idea of  “the social and the collective” more and more towards egocentric and privatized. This kind of individualistic, market-based, business-as-usual type of approach to collective impact is definitely taking away from the existing institutions and social programs and working against the very idea of collective impact rather than working (collaboratively) for the sake of the common good.

The Americans are known to be creative innovators and ambitious reformers, but somewhat old-fashioned in a way that they seem to be pushing their free-market philosophies in every area of life, even when it comes to the concept, implementation and assessment of collective impact. This is resulting the government to step aside and diminishing the presence of the public resources and also forcing the citizens to become less organized or engaged in demanding public solutions to public problems. But in reality, there truly are no private heroes, solutions or approaches to social problems that are implicit public.

Sources: Stanford Social Innovation Review: “Social Enterprise Is Not Social Change”

            News Cision: “Creating Impact Through Philanthropy- A Nordic Perspective.”

A teaching statement from a few years ago

Teaching Statement

The humanities and philosophy deal not only with the traditional legacy derived from past cultures and times but also with the challenges the world is currently facing: the plurality of identities, languages, migration, environmental change, critical thinking on theory, action and policies… These legacies and dynamics nurture inventive approaches to social change.

-On the Occasion of World Philosophy Day, November 17, 2016 UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

My approach to teaching is to emphasize Geography not only as a science but also as a practice that has multidimensional implications, from local to global, from individuals to the world. Geography is dominant in explaining the reality today, and many other realities in the past. In this contemporary era of globalization we as people are as circuitously connected as our globe, where everything is intertwined.

These same principles apply to my approach to lecturing. I want my students to simplify, engage, create and make connections, and these major themes can be tailored to my syllabus. In reference to UNESCO’s proclamation above, I would present this current and annual digest at class and encourage my students to break it down into sentences and analyze it through the lens of a geographer. In a two-way dialogue, I ascertain the students to stay in close touch with the world around them, to have them build relationships between the concepts, practices and the subject matter in question. Having students to interpret their academic material in connection to recent stories and historical narratives, but also to empirical research and theoretical frameworks, helps them identify subjects and elements, which all have a place in the geographical entirety. I welcome my students to associate their individual learning with people, events and institutions, and develop a scientific, coherent understanding from relations to their physical environment to forces of cause-and-effect and -social change- over time.

Teaching skills and content are inseparable. I take a great pride in the organization of my lectures and using a variety of methods to balance and respond to the unique atmosphere of a given class: primary and secondary readings from different sources; presentations, illustrations and case studies; quizzes, diaries, essays and even role-playing exercises. As the entire class receives clear guidelines for required coursework, it is also helpful to assign weekly readings or short in-class presentations for small groups. This teaches not only the presenters but also the entire class about taking ownership by increasing the interactions and enlarging the course’s scope. As it is crucial to demand independent study, some students are less capable of completing the assignments on time.  It is only realistic to review the selected topics in class for discussion. This allows comments by everyone. Sometimes less is more.

Pedagogical issues are my priority. Fresh to instructing, I can relate to the expectations and insecurities that the students are faced with, but have confidence in independence and cooperation for both parties. Even in a situation with a lack of theoretical knowledge, I complement with intellectual creativity, where strategic planning and structure support my performance. Teaching is a discipline for getting attention to and finding motivation through -which I cannot emphasize enough- connections. Indeed, I believe that teaching can be an invitation to this relationship. If genuinely self-motivated, lifelong learning is to take place, but the choice is voluntary. However, I seek to inspire my students to feel encouraged and challenged through participation and critical thinking, which can be achieved by setting a good example and goals that are continuously assessed by a teacher-student relationship and results. I encourage my students to question and challenge me as an Instructor, who has a teaching style that embraces interaction, whether it is a discussion or an exchange of written notes, inside or outside the classroom. In simplicity, students need to feed on information and be hungry for asking questions and be satisfied with getting answers.

As a teacher, I am approachable and resourceful. In retrospect, my years as a student in Finland, Germany, Vietnam and Montana, I remember the professors who were influential and made a difference. These experiences are valuable in understating how critical it is to be helpful and truly available for your students and colleagues. There are multiple passages to lower the barriers to bringing students and teachers closer to each other in the academic life, just to mention social media and informal study sessions. I also wonder if the Adjuncts across the different departments on campus have a formal or informal network for exchange and would be fascinated to become a co-founder of such a group.

Before my closing statement, I cannot disregard sensitivity in regards to the recent political environment. Due to the rather revolutionary presidential election, education and outreach are inevitably integrated and involved. As an educator and professional, I have the skills gained in academic and diplomatic setting to keep my performance under scrutiny. A passionate teacher engages in life coaching and must always have a bigger picture in mind to guide the students in their path to adapt and succeed. It is so important to reflect and reconstruct short and long-term goals, whether insecurities and challenges face individuals or nations. Environmental education has a key role in moving us forward and to become more progressive. There is not a moment to be wasted in a classroom.

In conclusion, I like to summarize my rhetoric in this given statement, as I would summarize each of my lectures by pointing out 3 major lessons learned:

1.     In teaching geography, the bottom line philosophy to embrace connectedness, is to invite students to be in a relationship with the academic education that is geographically, politically and culturally interconnected with the world around them.

2.     I believe Geography, like a foreign language, is best learned by immersion in the context that led the student or teacher to ask his or her question about the human environment- to be approachable and challenged.

3.     No individual or nation can achieve alone, the connections we make bring us closer to our goals.