Ministers and senior civil servants in Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's (NCP) government will undergo mandatory training on racism and how to address it, starting next year, according to Ilta-Sanomat.
The equality and anti-discrimination training sessions for political leaders are part of the commitments made by the Finnish government for its anti-racism campaign.
Organisations participating in the campaign are required to sign a "comprehensive commitment," pledging to eradicate racism and promote equality. They also agree to implement specific actions from a list of measures outlined in the campaign.
According to IS, this training is specifically designed for the ministers of Orpo's cabinet. Future administrations will not be obligated to continue the training.
Last year, Orpo announced plans for the campaign after old far-right and racist social media posts by newly appointed Finns Party ministers threatened to collapse the governing coalition during its first few months in office.
Blind recruitment practices
Another key commitment of the government is promoting anonymous recruitment practices to enhance diversity in the workplace. To support this, the government plans to launch a cross-ministerial project this autumn, encouraging human resources experts and managers in ministries to adopt anonymous hiring methods.
Workshops will also be organised within ministries, providing opportunities to discuss racism, how to address it, as well as broader diversity issues. Additionally, discussions will be held across Finland, bringing together young people and decision-makers to consider youth-led proposals for tackling racism.
Furthermore, the government will lead training initiatives to promote equality in the communications of ministries, and it will develop staff surveys to better assess the implementation of equality within ministries and agencies.
The campaign launched on Tuesday to a rocky start, as the leader of the governing Finns Party and Finance Minister Riikka Purra, indicated that her party is unlikely to participate in the government-led campaign. She later walked back those statements on Wednesday and said the party will support the campaign but that it was unlikely to commit to it.
As of Wednesday, a survey conducted by Yle revealed that only the National Coalition Party (NCP) and the Swedish People's Party (SPP) have committed to making their own pledges supporting the campaign.
Users with an Yle ID can leave comments on our news stories. You can create your Yle ID via this link. Our guidelines on commenting and moderation are explained here.
