Government of Finland and City of Helsinki to cooperate with the World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum, Ministry of Transport and Communications and City of Helsinki launch collaboration that aims to accelerate digitalisation, data economy and automation. From the perspective of Finland and Helsinki, it is important to enhance national and international data cooperation and seek international impact for Finland's extensive data competence.

The ongoing digital transformation changes practices in all sectors of society. The objective of the collaboration with the World Economic Forum is to promote new technologies and new types of social and business structures and the dissemination of the related best practices worldwide.

The cooperation agreement signed in June provides for the secondment of an expert to the World Economic Forum Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Network (C4IR) for a fixed period of time.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications and the City of Helsinki will also further examine the possibilities for establishing a C4IR Network office in Finland that would focus on promoting international data policy and data economy.

"The wellbeing and economic success of Finnish society depends on our efforts to boost the digital development and provide pioneering services for global sale. The role planned for Finland's office as a promoter of data economy and data policy provides excellent support for our national key objectives. It is essential that we reach a key position in the international influencing network," says Minister of Transport and Communications Timo Harakka.

"The collaboration between the City of Helsinki andthe World Economic Forum launched in 2019 has offered us many opportunities to enhance the operations of our city, and promote international cooperation and networking with key research organisations and companies. It is significant that the agreement now signed by the central government and the City of Helsinki expands our cooperation to include data economy, in which Finland and Helsinki are pioneers even on a global scale," says Mayor of Helsinki Jan Vapaavuori.

"Forward-looking, agile organizations will benefit the most in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Emerging technology provides us with limitless opportunities, but we need to ensure there are clear frameworks for how it is used. We are looking forward to further collaboration with the City of Helsinki to ensure we are co-designing human-centred policies around emerging technology that will benefit all of society, not just the privileged few", said Murat Sonmez, Managing Director and Head of the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Network, World Economic Forum.

The practical arrangements for the project began in February 2020. In addition to central government and cities, research and business representatives are currently involved in the work of the national project group.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications is responsible for coordinating the project. The City of Helsinki is responsible for fulfilling the Fellow obligation under the agreement.

Inquiries:

Maria Rautavirta, Director of Unit, tel. +358 40718 5975, Ministry of Transport and Communications

Antti Paasilehto, Senior Ministerial Adviser for International Affairs, tel. +358 40532 5657, Ministry of Transport and Communications

Sanna-Mari Jäntti, Director of Strategic Initiatives, tel. +358 400536 581, City of Helsinki

About the World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. It engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. It was established in 1971 as a not-for-profit foundation and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It is independent, impartial and not tied to any special interests.

The Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Network is co-designing innovative approaches to the policy and governance of technology. Teams in 13 countries are creating human-centred and agile policies to be piloted by policy-makers and legislators, shaping the future of emerging technology in ways that maximize their benefits and minimize their risks. More than 40 projects are in progress across six areas: artificial intelligence, autonomous mobility, blockchain, data policy, drones and the internet of things.