Speech by President of the Republic at the Pentinkulma Days in Urjala on 3.8.2002

Ladies and Gentlemen,


Are we adrift in the world or is the world our oyster?


The course that world events follow is a problematic one. If you are too close, you can't see where it is leading. If you are far enough away, there is the danger that you will not have enough reach to influence anything. At its best, art is like a compass, which helps us find our bearings even in a shifting landscape.

We can never love art nor encourage creativity too much. Now, in an era of rapid technological change, internationalisation and globalisation, culture is more important to us as we agonise in confusion in the world. But it is also good for us as a small nation to awaken to an awareness of our own culture and recognise the importance of its component parts.

The latest scholarly research into Väinö Linna's literature focuses especially on his modern narrative technique. He seeks the truth of history through episodes, narratives unfolding in parallel and to different rhythms. Depiction shifts from one place to another. Contemporary phenomena look different Ffrom the perspectives of the vicarage saloon and the tenant's cabin, and it is though they are being discussed in different languages. There are many truths in play in the course of events. It is just that being contemporaneous does not necessarily mean a commonality of circumstances and experiences.

I would dare to say that Väinö Linna would probably describe the phenomena of our time - the influence of new technology, the change that is taking place in the structure of our society, international competition and alongside it that new form of international cooperation, integration - in the same way. How would the boundless opportunities of the information society and people's role to constantly add to learning and expertise be formulated in his works?

The relationship - indeed the interdependence - between people and nature is frequently described in Linna's works. Very many of us here today have used the quote: "In the beginning was the bog, the hoe and Jussi." Linna reminds us of the limits that nature sets to economic growth: "This question can not be asked of technology and computers; instead, we must ask our own consciousness for an answer."

Väinö Linna lives also alongside people. He tells with gentle respect of people's toil and struggle for a "decent life". Although the people of today "here under the North Star" have certainly in many ways achieved a moderately better standard of life than what they earlier enjoyed, I believe that here too Linna would find his pastor's wife and his Alma, his Preeti and - his Akseli.

There are opportunities in this society for Linna's heroes - for the doers who take responsibility, have grown to have a sense of community, think independently and are clear-headed. And on the other hand we can imagine what a pungent description he would give us of some people who have lost their adulthood frantically chasing changing trends and rapidly-moving money, and who hover without the moral core that Linna found so important. Or what kind of humour would spring from the collision of great visions and strategies with the hard world of everyday reality?

Of course, Väinö Linna does not have to solve today's problems, nor do I imagine that I could rise to his level of verbal expression, but it is fascinating to imagine how he would describe Urjala, the region of Etelä-Pirkanmaa, Finland or Europe. True to his style and based extensively on factual knowledge, he would perhaps depict both the events and the people which, simultaneously but on different levels and at different paces, form our world. But there is also something timeless.

Honesty is the measure of a person. As Väinö Linna tells us about writing: "The makings of a writer do not come from the air; they have to come from something that has been experienced, seen, heard and read." But it is not enough for people to have eyes to see and ears to hear. There also has to be a mind to understand and a heart to feel. In Väinö Linna's novels The Unknown Soldier and Here Under the North Star the Finns found a contemporary description that they felt was truthful and which they accepted. In 1963, reflecting on the great popularity that his works had gained, Linna said: "I have tried to take the image of Finns closer to the truth in an effort to give them the right to a moral existence in this country's intellectual climate. - To put it in simple terms, there has been a big gap between the cultural ideal and life." (From the essay: "On National Culture").

Linna's major novels have been read as descriptions and analyses of difficult, even traumatic episodes in our history. Their publication filled a social need. A reckoning was awaited. In a way, what was involved was recent history, although Here Under the North Star began with events that had happened over half a century earlier. Despite that - or perhaps precisely because of it - the novel prompted severe counter-arguments and heated debate. Now years later we can probably agree that Linna gave a very significant impetus to a new assessment of the events and experiences of 1918 and our bouts of fighting against the Soviet Union during the Second World War.

Thus a writer's honest interpretation is also a factor that influences society. The works of, for example, Aleksis Kivi had the same influence in their time. In my view, Väinö Linna deserves successors. Today's people are just as much in need of a visionary and supporter in this vortex of change.

There are good opportunities for a Finnish writer in that there are eager readers waiting. On the other hand, the fact that no one will get too rich with such a small number of readers makes the situation less good. Writers' seminars and gatherings are good places to get encouragement and learn.

Finding creativity gives a person a new dimension, but it helps him or her also to understand the works of others. I believe it is just as important that creative work at its best gets people to reflect on fundamental questions of life. Väinö Linna pondered people's freedom, responsibility and equality. In my own work I have become convinced that emphasising ethical responsibility is the question of today.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has set up a World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalisation, which I co-chair along with President Benjamin William Mkapa of Tanzania. In the nearly six months that we have been working, the two faces of globalisation have come clearly into focus. Globalisation is seen as having increased economic prosperity, but the way in which this has been shared is very uneven. International and national differences are clearly evident. There are indications that differences between prosperity levels have even grown. In an unregulated market economy this kind of development only gains strength. In addition to that, unlimited growth in consumption is placing an undue burden on the environment.

Most of us believe that change is possible and that it is inescapable. How is a question of knowledge and will. States need to work together more closely to manage globalisation and protect the environment, but it would be unrealistic to imagine that this would be a substitute for other levels of cooperation. We also need a stronger and livelier local engagement. The nation-state is still the most important international negotiation partner, but we need to supplement these traditional ways of doing things with new levels on which to act.

Behind everything lie people and their actions. You here in Urjala are in a good position. To use today's sociological terminology, you have a concrete "success story" at your disposal or "best practices" to share. You see the concrete environment of which Pentinkulma tells, and you also see how work has changed it. I am glad that you are also aware of the responsibility involved in carrying on a living cultural tradition.

The European Union is our new home pitch. After enlargement we shall have an even greater area in which democracy, human rights and the rule of law will possibly be our shared heritage of values. Väinö Linna's output tells us how difficult it has been to get this heritage to take root in our own soil. Nor is it easier elsewhere. Enlargement of the European Union is a part of this process. Although the importance of the goal - to guarantee peace, security and prosperity - has been expressed in one voice between both the existing member states and the applicant countries on many occasions, the actual subjects of the matter, the Europeans themselves, must be convinced of this importance.

It is not just a question of whether the most flexible way to squeeze out a positive answer will be found, but rather of finding the right and genuine will. In most of the applicant countries the question will be asked through a referendum. In most of the existing member states the admission of new members requires only the consent of the parliament. I personally am convinced of the benefits that enlargement will bring both old and new members of the EU in the long run. However, I am willing to admit that there are many delicate and even fraught aspects to the matter. But the final result is worth working for.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Like Väinö Linna, I believe that love of one's country and international solidarity are not opposing forces, but rather complement each other. I wish all of you taking part in the festival and all of your friends open eyes, sharp ears, soaring intellects and the strength of heart to tell us about the full spectrum of life in such a way that the world is our oyster, but we are not adrift in it.