Good practice:

Ostrobothnian Sustainability Week

Ostrobothnian Sustainability Week highlights the theme of sustainability and good examples of sustainable actions to a wider public in Ostrobothnia region. The week is an arena for discussion about current sustainability issues in the region, and to highlight sustainability work that is done in organisations, including in SMEs.

Ostrobothnian Sustainability Week addresses the challenge of sustainable development and circular economy in different sectors by:
• Organising a week of sustainability representing responsible actions. The focus is on ecological, social and economical sustainability, for example, recycling, renovation, clothing repairing and using handicrafts for sustainability.
• Inviting and encouraging actors from different sectors, including handicraft enterprises, to organise events around the region on sustainability and circular economy bringing forward their own sustainable and responsible acts. Hence, it provides a platform to market own activities and find new customers, not only to sell products but also for a behavioural change and ethics.

Ostrobothnian Sustainability Week provides a great opportunity for craft SMEs to get to know more potential customers and their needs, and promote their handicraft products that are particularly made of recycled materials, or produced within sustainable process and actions.

• The background organising and respective funding to run it
• The website for information, findings presenters and showcasing the agenda
• Actors organising events

• Ostrobothian Sustainability Week has been highly appreciated in the Mid-Scandinavian regions of Finland, Sweden and Norway.
• The Midnordic Committee (https://mittnorden.org/) awarded the environmental prize Nordens Gröna Bälte to the Ostrobothnian Sustainability Week (https://mittnorden.org/hallbarhetsveckan-i-osterbotten/).
• Over 70 actors organised events and showed their works across Ostrobothnia and hence opened discussion to sustainability, created networks and inspirations.

• Strong network needs to be created
• Potential lack of time of the actors
• Global challenges, e.g. COVID-19 which may hinder organising such week.
• Potentially the quality of the small events
• How people find the event - Marketing

This practise is transferable to any country. It does not only provide an opportunity to market and showcase one practices, but also for creating a more long-lasting sustainable change of which handicraft can be part of (and hence of the society as well). It addresses to the trend and challenges of sustainable development and makes handicraft an important actor of it. This is an increasing trend.
As an example, there is already collaboration on the practice between Västerbotten (Sweden), Ostrobothnia (Finland) and Åland (Finland). This can create a platform for mutual learning and strengthen collaboration on the theme.