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https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/respect-for-your-own-culture-is-a-basis-for-progress/

The Nordics

“Respect for your own culture is a basis for progress”

Published May 16, 2023 – By Editorial staff

Photo: TNT

Faroese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Høgni Hoydal at the press briefing at International Press Center in Copenhagen.

Developing a small nation like the Faroe Islands is challenging, especially culturally in the digital age, according to Faroese Minister Høgni Hoydal. He also believes that the Faroese government's extensive efforts to develop the Faroese language and the small island nation's culture have paid off.

– I fully believe that the basis for all progress is human progress and that you have respect for your own culture, he emphasized during a visit to Copenhagen.

Høgni Hoydal has been the leader of the Faroese independence party Tjóðveldi, also known as the Republican Party, which is part of the governing coalition in the Faroe Islands, since 1998. Last week he visited the International Press Center in Copenhagen to report on the general situation in the Faroe Islands and the politics of the small autonomous island nation.

Among other things, Hoydal pointed out that over the past 5-15 years, the Faroe Islands have seen a population growth, which is a reversal of the previous trend. In 2023, the Faroese population is expected to reach 54,000 people. In addition to concrete investments in good conditions for family formation such as health care, schools and education and a generally functioning infrastructure to connect the 18 main Faroese islands, Hoydal placed special emphasis on investments in Faroese culture. A significant part of the public budget is being actively invested in the development of the Faroese language, partly because it is a major challenge to establish a small language like Faroese as a natural part of the global digital environment. He points out that the investments have yielded the desired results and are also reflected in a rich cultural life through music, literature and cultural festivals.

– We have to use a large part of our budget to invest in textbooks and books and literature and art, so that we can have a modern society on our own basis, with our own language, and we are quite proud that we have managed to do so, says Hoydal.

– I fully believe that the basis for all progress is human progress and that you have respect for your own culture, that you have a diversified world with as many diverse cultures and languages as possible. That is a huge challenge for us - as it is for so many.

The politician emphasizes that the Faroese approach is to simultaneously place great emphasis on encouraging learning about other cultures in order to interact effectively with the world.

"Everything is about self-reliance"

The Faroese minister also mentions that the definitive overall goal for the small island nation is to further increase its self-reliance.

– For us, everything is about self-reliance and self-determination, he says, adding that the Faroe Islands also have a moral responsibility to stand on their own two feet in relation to Denmark, which has long supported the Faroese economy.

– It is not only a question of self-reliance, it's also a question of moral in my opinion. Today, the Faroese economy is stronger than the Danish economy, so why should we get money from Denmark when we are one of the richest nations in the world?

View over the Faroese capital Tórshavn. Photo: Arne List/CC BY-SA 2.0

The specific goal is to reduce the Danish support by 100 million Danish kroner over the next 4 years and to take over some new responsibilities. If the goal is achieved, it means that approximately 2.4 percent of the Faroese budget is financed by Denmark - something he points out was as much as 30 percent some 30 years ago.

Another part of the stated self-sufficiency goal is to become self-sufficient in electricity, something that has been achieved on land - but including the large fishing fleet, a complete solution has yet to be found despite the development of hydro and wave power.

13 tons of fish per Faroese - every year

The Faroese economy is very much based on the fishing industry, which accounts for 90 percent of the country's exports, and Hoydal emphasizes that a very large part of the public debate naturally revolves around it. The Faroe Islands are only 1,299 square kilometers in land area, but the sea area is 274,000 square kilometers with a well-preserved marine ecosystem that allows for annual fish catches of as much as 700,000 tons, equivalent to 13 tons per Faroese per year or 40 kilos per day. 100,000 tons of these are salmon farms.

– Everything in the Faroe Islands is about fish and sea, in a modern sense, and you can meet the Faroe Islands on every ocean of the world. Not only are we operating on our own waters but we are operating all around the world as seafarers and all modern industries that are related to the sea and to shipping and so on, says Hoydal, who adds that they are also investing in diversifying the area - including the cultivation of seaweed, which is in demand in pharmaceuticals and textiles.

One criticism directed at the Faroe Islands during the year is that they have exempted fishing exports from their sanctions against Russia, which is currently the only economic link that exists in practice between the countries. Increased pressure has been put on the Faroe Islands to end this, but Hoydal says that they are currently not worried that sanctions could potentially be imposed on the Faroe Islands by the EU. He adds that the Faroe Islands have previously experienced exceptional sanctions in connection with an EU boycott in 2013 that wiped out 50 percent of Faroese fish exports in one fell swoop.

– If the EU had managed to put these sanctions on Russia, perhaps the war would stop, he says.

Hoydal concludes that Arctic cooperation in particular is very difficult to navigate and unpredictable even in the near future due to the tragic situation in Ukraine.

– This terrible new geopolitical situation has also put pressure on what we have tried for many years, to have international and regional bodies to govern everything that happens in our vast area of the North Atlantic and the Arctic, he notes.

The Nordic Times

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/norway/norwegian-experts-sound-alarm-over-weight-loss-medication/

Norway

Norwegian experts sound alarm over weight-loss medication

Published today 12:55 pm – By Editorial staff

Photo: iStock/Douglas Cliff

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

More and more people are using weight-loss medications to lose weight. Now Norwegian experts are sounding the alarm that these drugs may trigger a new form of eating disorder – a so-called "dieting disorder" where patients become trapped in destructive behavior.

The use of various weight-loss medications has increased in many countries recently, with drugs like Wegovy and the type 2 diabetes medication Ozempic increasingly being used for weight loss. These drugs have gained traction because they contain semaglutide, which increases the feeling of satiety.

Danish experts have previously warned that this type of medication can worsen and even trigger various types of eating disorders, with a larger proportion of patients taking the medication in a destructive manner. Now Norwegian experts in the field are also stepping forward, noting that there is an entirely new patient group – those who cannot stop taking weight-loss medications.

— We're getting quite a few people coming to us after having taken weight-loss medication for a while who say they can no longer control it themselves, but they don't dare stop taking the medication because they will then gain weight, says psychologist Bente Sommerfeldt to Norwegian state broadcaster NRK.

"Dieting disorder"

Sommerfeldt specializes in eating disorders and says that more and more people in the field are talking about how the growing market for obesity medications has triggered what may become a new diagnosis.

— We are on the verge of getting yet another eating disorder, which we might call dieting disorder.

General practitioners also see risks with the use of weight-loss medication and believe that there is currently no good method for actually stopping it once you've started.

— At present, we have no good method for stopping this medication. The most important thing is therefore that we speak clearly with patients, says Torgeir Hoff Skavøy, who is chairman of the Norwegian Association of General Practitioners.

Cathrine M Lofthu, who heads the Norwegian Directorate of Health, says they take the experts' warnings very seriously and that we must recognize this is a social problem.

— We have created a society where it is difficult to make good choices, she says.

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editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/norway/norway-fails-to-eradicate-wild-boar/

Norway

Norway fails to eradicate wild boar

Published today 7:31 am – By Editorial staff

Photo: Rolf Schmidbauer/Unsplash

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Despite Norwegian authorities wanting to eliminate all wild boar in the country, the population remains stable. According to new figures from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), between 450 and 700 wild boar live in the border areas with Sweden – and migration from Swedish forests makes it nearly impossible to reach zero.

The figures come from NINA's latest monitoring of the wild boar population during the 2024/2025 hunting season. Norway has been trying to reduce the population for some time, primarily due to the damage that wild boar can cause. But the population remains stable at the same level each year.

— Wild boar can damage crops and spread diseases to domestic pigs, which can harm the industry. That's why Norway wants to eradicate the species, says Inger Maren Rivrud, researcher at NINA, to Norwegian state broadcaster NRK.

Behind Norway's difficulties in eliminating the wild boar is primarily the large population on the other side of the border. In Sweden, there are over 300,000 wild boar, and nearly 120,000 animals are shot each year without the population decreasing significantly.

Swedish biologist Marcus Öhman has previously proposed that wild boar meat should be served in public institutions as part of the solution. For Norway, the Swedish population means that animals constantly migrate across the border.

— Even if we eliminate all of them in Norway, wild boar will still come from Sweden. Keeping the population at zero will be nearly impossible, says Rivrud.

The Norwegian Food Safety Authority and the Environment Agency have previously proposed that a fence should be built along the border in areas where most wild boar migrate. But according to Rivrud, extensive hunting efforts are also required for the population to decrease.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/residents-in-vulnerable-areas-most-supportive-of-swedens-new-return-grant/

Sweden

Residents in vulnerable areas most supportive of Sweden’s new return grant

Population replacement in the West

Published yesterday 2:57 pm – By Editorial staff

Photo: Swedish Migration Agency/Tomislav Stjepic

After the Swedish government, together with the Sweden Democrats party, significantly raised the cap for return migration grants, support for receiving the grant is now increasing among certain immigrant groups.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

The Swedish government's significant increase of the return migration grant at the turn of the year is meeting mixed reactions among the population. A new opinion poll shows that support is strongest among foreign-born residents in so-called vulnerable areas – and weakest among left-wing voters.

At the same time, debate is growing about how the grant should be used and what effects it may have for municipalities and the state.

When the Tidö government (Sweden's center-right coalition government) raises the return migration grant from approximately €900 to €31,000 at the turn of the year, the goal is to encourage more migrants who are deemed difficult to integrate to voluntarily return to their countries of origin.

The reform has created extensive political debate, not least after several red-green (left-wing) municipalities indicated their opposition to the measure.

This has led representatives from the Tidö parties and the Sweden Democrats to question whether state support should continue to municipalities that do not participate in the program.

Now a new survey from Indikator Opinion, commissioned by the Järvaveckan Foundation, shows that support for the significantly increased grant varies greatly between different groups.

Support varies greatly

According to the survey, attitudes are significantly more positive among foreign-born residents living in vulnerable areas than in the rest of the country.

In these areas, 39 percent say they are positive about an increased return migration grant, while 30 percent are negative. In the rest of the country – including both native Swedes and immigrants – the proportion of positive responses is 27 percent and the proportion of negative responses is 38 percent.

The most positive group is migrants who have lived in Sweden for less than five years and who also live in vulnerable areas. There, 46 percent say they view the grant increase positively.

Ahmed Abdirahman, CEO of the Järvaveckan Foundation, believes the reaction says something important about how people experience their situation in Sweden.

— That support for an increased return migration grant is greater among foreign-born residents in vulnerable areas may seem surprising at first glance. But the results show how complex the question of integration is. I see it as a sign that we need to talk more about opportunities, not just about benefits. When people don't feel included in nation-building, the willingness to consider other alternatives also increases, he says.

Right-wing voters more positive

The survey also shows large differences between different party sympathies. Among Sweden Democrats' voters, 47 percent are positive about the grant increase, while the corresponding proportion among Christian Democrats' voters is 45 percent.

The least support is found among Left Party and Green Party sympathizers, where a majority view the government's direction negatively.

Per Oleskog Tryggvason, opinion director at Indikator Opinion, emphasizes that the proposal is still unpopular among broader segments of voters.

— A significantly increased return migration grant is a relatively unpopular proposal among Swedish voters – clearly more people think it's bad than think it's good. Even though the proposal is significantly more popular among the Tidö parties' voters, there is a considerable proportion of right-wing voters who are skeptical. Based on these figures, it doesn't appear to be an election-winning proposal, he says.

The grant increase takes effect at the turn of the year. How many people will actually choose to apply remains to be seen – interest has been lukewarm so far, but the government hopes the new amount will change the situation.

Editorial staff
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https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/finland/more-finns-are-reporting-police-officers/

Finland

More Finns are reporting police officers

Published yesterday 12:36 pm – By Editorial staff

Photo: Harri Kuokkanen/Unsplash

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

An increasing number of Finns are filing police reports against individual officers. Over 1,100 reports have already been filed this year – several hundred more than during all of last year.

The figures come from the Finnish newspaper group Uutissuomalainen. These are reports filed against individual police officers for suspected official misconduct, not complaints against the police authority as an organization.

Markus Laine, a police legal advisor at the Police Department in Southwest Finland, explains that the majority of reports stem from general dissatisfaction with police actions.

— It could be, for example, that someone is dissatisfied that a preliminary investigation was never initiated or that it was discontinued. It's also common for someone to feel they were wrongly detained in town, for instance when the person was under the influence, Laine tells Finnish national broadcaster Yle.

Issued fines can also sometimes result in the person fined filing a report against the police.

Despite the high number of reports, only about ten percent lead to prosecution review. Disciplinary actions such as suspension or dismissal are rare and involve only a few cases per year.

According to the Finnish Police Barometer, public trust in the police stands at 92 percent. However, certain groups deviate significantly from the average. Victims of sexual crimes or intimate partner violence, people subjected to human trafficking, and sexual minorities show considerably lower trust figures.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com