Nordic Horizons

Welcome to Nordic Horizons

Nordic Horizons is an informal group of Scottish professionals who want to raise the standard of knowledge and debate about life and policy in the Nordic nations. We’ve been holding public meetings in Edinburgh since 2010 so Nordic specialists can discuss how they do things with decision-makers, practitioners, MSPs, academics and the interested public  here. We try to produce audio recordings of the meeting and even short interviews with speakers. You can browse topics, content and voices here. And join our Facebook group  , or listen via SoundCloud or watch via Vimeo or follow us on Twitter to join live debate and discuss Nordic news as it happens.

 

Next event announced - Charging Patients: managing demand for healthcare visits in Norway

Date and Venue

Tuesday 27 November 2018

Grassmarket Community Project

86 Candlemaker Row

Edinburgh

EH1 2QA

 

Tor Ingebrigtsen is professor of clinical neuroscience at the University of Tromsø, the Arctic University of Norway and senior adviser to the CEO at the University Hospital of North Norway (UNN) in Tromsø, Norway.

Chaired by Lesley Riddoch, writer and broadcaster

 

Spending on health in Scotland is proportionally less than in other European nations, and our NHS is often overwhelmed. Last winter delayed discharge of elderly patients led hospitals to cancel scheduled operations and miss A&E targets.

In Norway patients pay to see GPs and need referrals to A&E, and councils, which run hospitals, are charged for bed-blocking. This system was designed to boost doctors’ income, screen out trivial complaints and encourage the creation of more GP practices as well as home adaptations and nursing home places. Iceland, Sweden and Denmark have similar systems.

Previously a Tory MSP raised eyebrows by suggesting that Scotland should copy the Norwegian system for tackling overcrowded hospitals with a tough-sounding combination of cash payments and penalties.

So should Scotland take a leaf from the Norwegian book of tough love and manage demand using charges? Or is charging unlikely to work in the absence of other factors such as the high level of health spending in Norway, greater income equality and a hyper-fit population with a far better diet.

Tor Ingebrigtsen has 20 years’ experience as a clinician, researcher and leader, including 10 years as CEO at the University Hospital of North Norway (UNN) in Tromsø, the northernmost university hospital in the world.

Demand for this event is likely to be high, so please secure a free seat by booking on Eventbrite, but if you find you don’t need the seat, please release it via Eventbrite.

Have the Finns Ended Homelessness

Juha Kaaninen of the Y Foundation gave an excellent presentation at this meeting. Below are the various materials from this Nordic Horizons event. There is a copy of his presentation, a short audio podcast interview and two separate films of the event itself.

Download the Have the Finns ended Homelessness Presentation

 

Have the Finns Ended Homelessness ?

Have the Finns ended homelessness?

..and can Scots follow their lead?

 

Speaker - Juha Kaakinen CEO of the Y-Foundation in Helsinki

Venue – Grassmarket Community Centre 86 Candlemaker Row, Edinburgh EH1 2QA

Tuesday 18 September

Time 6-8pm

The Finns have come up with a radical approach to tackling homelessness. They give homeless people houses without having to engage with addiction or mental health services first.

Housing First is a national strategy to eradicate homelessness that’s been running in Finland since 2008. It’s built on cooperation between the government, local municipalities and NGOs and the simple notion that people can tackle social and emotional problems better if they have a secure home.

  Juha Kaakinen is the CEO of the Y-Foundation in Helsinki and he believes anyone can do what the Finns have done – “It’s simply a question of political will.”

Sceptics argue that giving homes to homeless people means subsidising addiction, huge bills when it all goes wrong and robs people of an incentive to engage with services. Strangely enough, that hasn’t happened in Finland.  But the number of rough sleepers in Britain with deaths every week and homelessness is rising in Scotland too.      Join us to talk about how the Housing First approach might work in Scotland.

 

The event is free but ticketed - you can only book via Eventbrite.

'Get the Bairns Oot" - Livestream link

Hi everyone,

As you are aware, the "Get the Bairns Oot" event tomorrow night sold out very fast. I am sure there are lots of folks who would like to rock up and see if there are spaces...looks like there won't be any...so can I suggest you use the Livestream link below to view the event in real time or the recording after the event. Equally, Lesley will be sitting down with Turid Boholm and recording a wee podcast ...so we think we have most bases covered.

Thanks again for sharing this with folks who don't use Facebook, Twitter, and other social media. This includes anyone over at Bebo, Myspace or the dark web too.

Get the Bairns Oot Livestream link

Get the Bairns Oot! - Nordic outdoor kindergartens in Scotland - 19 June

Is Scotland set to follow Norway with a push for outdoor kindergartens? And if so, how do they work? In Arctic Tromso, Turid Boholm set up the Bukkespranget Barnehage (literally 'child garden') with support from local parents. Children learn, play and eat outdoors, even in the cold, dark Arctic winter. She will describe how it's done, how parents are brought on board and how children benefit

The event will be chaired by Lesley Riddoch, writer and broadcaster - 

Tue 19 June 2018

18:00 – 20:00 BST

Augustine United Church

41 George IV Bridge

Edinburgh

EH1 1EL

 

Tickets are free but only available here on a first come - first served basis.

Brexit, Norway and the EEA - the meeting notes

‘Brexit, Scotland & the EEA: The Nordic half-way house option’

Tuesday 20th March 6pm to 8pm

Scottish Parliament

Sponsored by Ivan McKee MSP

 Brexit makes it more likely Scotland will soon be negotiating its own relationship with Europe. But what will that be? Full EU membership or the expensive "halfway house" inhabited by Norway and Iceland?

What's life like in the EEA? Frustrating - since decisions and regulations are made elsewhere. But worthwhile?

Christophe Hillion is professor of European Law at the universities of Leiden and Oslo and researcher at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs and at the Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies. He has advised several European governments on EU legal issues.

He discussed the impact of Brexit on the EU and on the EEA.

Here are the videos relating to the recent visit of Professor Christophe Hillion. There are two. One is a short interview which summarises the key points of how the Nordic halfway house, the EEA, actually works. The other is the complete recording of the whole Nordic Horizons presentation including speaker responses and Q&A.

Brexit, Scotland and the EEA from Nordic Horizons on Vimeo.

Next meeting announced

‘Brexit, Scotland & the EEA: The Nordic half-way house option’

Tuesday 20th March 6pm to 8pm

Scottish Parliament

Sponsored by Ivan McKee MSP

 Brexit makes it more likely Scotland will soon be negotiating its own relationship with Europe. But what will that be? Full EU membership or the expensive "halfway house" inhabited by Norway and Iceland?

What's life like in the EEA? Frustrating - since decisions and regulations are made elsewhere. But worthwhile?

Christophe Hillion is professor of European Law at the universities of Leiden and Oslo and researcher at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs and at the Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies. He has advised several European governments on EU legal issues.

He will discuss the impact of Brexit on the EU and on the EEA.

Book Tickets Here.

Electric Dreams - the digital meeting notes

Sponsored by the Scottish Government
Speaker: Petter Haugneland, Communications Director, Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association

Scottish Response from Sarah Beattie-Smith of WWF
Chair: Chris Smith

Is the Future Arctic? - our panelists answer

The Arctic Circle Forum - fringe event

As a packed audience last Sunday at Edinburgh found out, the answer to the question "Is the Future Arctic?" is 'yes'. You can view the proceedings in two videos from Democracy TV below to get a flavour of what the debate was like. But first; we asked some primary school children to pose their questions to the panel.

Part 1

Part 2