The Finnish Embassy and the Scandinavian Corner marked the 101st anniversary of Finland’s independence with a lecture and a public dialogue with Finnish Ambassador to Serbia H.E. Pertti Ikonen, titled “Finland – the building blocks of a happy nation”.
Ambassador Ikonen on this occasion talked about the values on which Finnish society rests, which are the driving force of its good functioning. Among these values is trust, reliability, openness that permeate all spheres of life, from public administration, through economics, to interpersonal relationships.
Ambassador Ikonen also explained that according to this year’s United Nations World Happiness Report, Finns are the happiest nation in the world, because they value the way their society works.
“Things are very simple. We are satisfied that we pay taxes because we see how this is coming back to us, in the form of an education system that is among the best in the world, efficient public administration, a quality health system and social protection,” Ambassador Ikonen said.
Pertti Ikonen is the Ambassador of Finland in Belgrade since 2015. Ambassador Ikonen is a lawyer by profession, and since the beginning of his diplomatic activity in Serbia, he is in favour of stronger economic ties between Serbia and Finland and Serbia’s European integration. This year, in cooperation with the UN Women Office in Belgrade, he launched a global #HeForShe campaign in Serbia.