The Finnish Regional Stakeholder Group Meeting for the fifth semester took place on 9 October 2020. As previously, it was held as an on-line meeting, due to the Covid-19 situation. In the meeting there were altogether 10 participants who contributed to the development of the FINCH project activities.
The meeting focused on the development of the Regional Action Plan. The major action had been planned to build on cooperation with a regional bank that had showed great interest in the possibility of building a crowdfunding platform specifically targeted for financing small projects valorising local cultural heritage. However, the meeting also discussed the scenario that the bank for reason or another would withdraw from the initiative. In this case, the pilot plans would have to be modified or abandoned altogether. Soon after the RSG meeting, this scenario unfortunately came true and a new approach for the Action Plan is under consideration.
The RSG discussions also concerned the second action; the Financial Guide. The Stakeholder Group considered the action important for the region and the meeting confirmed the need for cooperation between different actors to support the implementation of this action. In addition to this, the stakeholders were informed of the JS’ advice to include another action for the monitoring of the policy change that was achieved already during semester three.
Regarding the FINCH project in general, the participants were updated with the present situation of the project including the extension of Phase 1. Yet it was also noted that the total duration of the project will not increase, and the Phase 2 measures can start in December 2020. The possibilities for the meeting in Greece to take place either physically or virtually were also mentioned.
At the end of the meeting, Susanna Anttila, Regional Planner at the RCSO since October, presented the role of the built cultural environment in land use and planning. Anttila reminded that a comprehensive reform of the Land Use and Construction Act is underway, and there was an interesting discussion about the role of the built cultural heritage and environment in the Land Use Act.
