Speech by President of the Republic Tarja Halonen at the IV World Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples in Tallinn on 16 August 2004

Participants in the IV World Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples,

Friends and relatives,

Our Finno-Ugric family is together once more and it is truly a joy to see everyone again. We last met in such large numbers in Helsinki in 2000, when I also had the pleasure to attend.

It has been less than four years since the Third World Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples, but the changes that have taken place around the world in the meantime are great.

An important and happy change is the enlargement of the European Union at the beginning of May with ten new member states. Estonia and Hungary are now full-fledged members in the Union. The majority of people who speak Finno-Ugric languages are now citizens of the European Union and our mutual dealings will continue to increase.

In the European Union each member state has a carefully guarded right to its own language. The present objectives of both the European Union and the Council of Europe are quite encouraging for small language groups.

The European Union is not Europe, however, and Europe is not the whole world. Globalization has become a stronger part of our everyday life, for better or worse. All of us come in touch with this daily, with television, the Internet and other media bringing global events to our attention every moment.

The world-wide information society is now our "home" just as language is our mind's home. Internationally English is in a dominant position as a means of communication, but this is not the whole story. The other side of reality is the thousands of other languages that we and many other people around the world speak as our mother tongue.

The right to one's mother tongue is an important human rights issue. Proficiency in one's mother tongue also provides an effective basis for learning other languages. An official objective in the European Union is competence in more than one language. Being able to speak another language opens opportunities for all kinds of cooperation. Our love for our own language and culture does not keep us from falling in love with other languages and the cultural vistas they offer.

Together with President Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania I recently had the opportunity to co-chair the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization, which was established by the International Labour Organization. The goal of our 25-member commission was to be part of a process that will give globalization a more human face. I believe that this is a timely challenge for us here today as well.

The basic assumption in the world commission's report is that positive change always begins at home, with ourselves. A person's home is a local thing, even if it is influenced by global matters. One section of our report accordingly consists of recommendations to nation-states and civil society concerning rights and obligation, while another whole is formed by matters that come within the sphere of international organizations.

People often ask what is the key to success in globalization. There are no miracle cures, but from my own country's experience I can testify that education is one of the most important assurers of prosperity. Education is an investment in a better tomorrow. Education is important for everyone but above all for young people, and as the theme of our congress says Youth is Our Future.

Education should be broad. In addition to science and technology there must be room for creativity in our rapidly changing world. Culture is an important compass for young people trying to figure out the present and the future. Knowing and appreciating one's own culture is particularly important, since it's easy to get lost if you don't know where you're coming from. Our young people have our unique Finno-Ugric cultural heritage as a strong base to grow on. We must succeed in lighting our young people's love for it, but we must also remember that our present culture has developed from interaction with other cultures and that our young people must have a chance to do the same.

Speakers of Finno-Ugric languages are few in number among the world's population. From the spectrum of languages around the world, a language with over a million speakers qualifies as a major language and some Finno-Ugric languages meet this criterion. We should also remember that the same language group can be in the position of a majority or a minority in different countries. In the case of a minority language the emphasis is on rights, in the case of a majority language obligations.

The position of Swedish-speaking Finns has been considered very good in international comparisons. Taking a closer look at the mirror has revealed that everything is not perfect, however. Not everyone in our Swedish-speaking minority receives adequate services in their own mother tongue. Protecting minorities' interests requires constant work.

In this millennium it is harder to get Finnish-speaking school pupils interested in learning Swedish when it is obvious that English, French, German or Russian can open many more doors. But the question is also about attitudes that may indirectly have an affect on our own small language as well.

A special challenge is to keep very small languages alive. In Finland this includes Roma and Sami. All of us are aware that most of the languages in the Finno-Ugric group fall in this category. Keeping these languages alive requires active measures by national governments. It is especially important to arrange sufficient instruction in pupils' mother tongue in the elementary grades.

Support can also come from outside. Finland has engaged in cooperation to support Finno-Ugric peoples in Russia for the past ten years. A key objective of this programme is to develop languages and strengthen language groups' cultural identity in Russia. The cultural and education ministers of Finland, Estonia and Hungary have also stepped up cooperation to preserve the cultural identity of Finno-Ugric peoples living in Russia.

The distinctiveness and vitality of small languages and peoples - including Finno-Ugric languages and peoples - could be promoted by increasing European cooperation. The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages provides a good basis for this work and I hope that all the members of the Council of Europe will sign and ratify this charter.

One new timely challenge for us is to consider what our Finno-Ugric heritage can offer immigrants whose cultural background may be quite different. Another question is: What riches and positive force can our Finno-Ugric heritage give those who have moved over the great seas in the past.

A fresh example of our living and strong Finno-Ugric heritage is the Tallinn Song Festival that was held on the first weekend of July. Even pouring rain could not put out the flame, but everyone there could enjoy its warmth. I hope that something of this living flame and joyful spirit can be passed on to all Finno-Ugric school pupils and young people. One possibility could be the same kind of theme weeks that have been arranged between schools in Hungary and Finland for a number of years. I trust that you will discuss these and many other possibilities in your work this week.

I wish the IV World Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples the very best luck and success in your important work. I know that this matter is dear to your hearts and I trust that when your work is done, we will have a lot of good things to offer to our peoples' youth.