Today, Sunday 9 May, we celebrate Europe Day, a celebration of peace and unity in Europe. In many member states, the European Union, united in its diversity, is being celebrated for the 71st time in a variety of ways as a mark of cooperation and unity. The same goes for us here in Turku: we have asked several well-known Turku residents for Europe Day greetings, which you can watch on our social media channels.
We are proud that the European Union is firmly part of us Finns, and especially part of Turku. Every year our city hosts the Europe Forum, which brings together experts and politicians in the field to discuss the most pressing EU topics, as well as many other areas of union cooperation. Last year, Turku was named Europe’s best medium-sized climate city, and our region has several significant EU projects underway.
Turku is a significant influencer in the Baltic Sea region, so let’s also make it a more influential city of Europe. Our location is excellent, and the area is developing strongly both in construction and in the expansion of business activity. Turku is also a significant university city, so let’s make use of science and research by enabling broader EU research and teaching at the University of Turku. Let’s also expand children’s and young people’s knowledge by supporting a Europe Village, similar to the Company Village concept, in Turku together with the Europe Office, so that knowledge of Europe increases.
Turku has every opportunity to expand as a city of Europe, and we at JEF Turku are ready to support that work. Happy Europe Day!
Maria Yli-Jama
JEF Turku ry