MFA: Foreign Minister Soini's school visits in Southwest Finland

On Monday 14 May, Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini will visit Turku Finnish Co-educational Upper Secondary School and Salo Upper Secondary School. The school visits aim to enhance young people’s knowledge and awareness of the importance of Finland's foreign and security policy in the prevention of violent radicalisation. Mediation, an active human rights policy, the empowerment of youth and women, poverty reduction, and crisis management are the entities within foreign and security policy that are used to prevent and fight radicalisation.

"In conflict-affected areas and countries in crisis, is important to create new perspectives for young people in particular. In a society where everybody feels integrated, the risk of radicalisation diminishes. It is therefore important that these matters are discussed with young people. I want to encourage the youth to exercise influence. It is also interesting to hear what they think and want to know about the subject matter," Soini says.

The Minister started the tour last year at an upper secondary school in Tikkurila. This year, the visits take the Minister to the regions, too. In the course of the spring, he has already visited schools in Nurmes, Siilinjärvi and Rovaniemi and in Kemijärvi.

Inquiries: Riikka Taivassalo, Special Adviser to Foreign Minister Soini, tel. +358 46 923 4581.

The Foreign Ministry's email addresses are of the format firstname.lastname@formin.fi.