|
History
|
The establishment of a discussion forum for top-level decision-makers throughout the Finnish society was considered in forest sector organisations already in the early 1990s. The idea had been floated as early as in the 1960s, perhaps even earlier. Two decades ago, in the mid-1970s, a discussion club for decision-makers actually convened for few years. Compared with the Forest Academy for Decision-Makers, it was only a dialogue between forest researchers and decision-makers, not an interaction between different sectors of society.
The first concrete steps were made in 1995, when an advisory group was called together to discuss whether there is a need for "a discussion forum for the country's core decision-makers and opinion leaders”. On the basis of a preliminary study, where nearly 50 potential participants of the forum and relevant organisations were interviewed, both the State and the forest sector came to the conclusion that the Forest Academy for Decision-Makers would be the most apt forum for cross-sectoral dialogue on nationally significant forest issues for Finland.
The former Prime Minister of Finland, Mr. Paavo Lipponen, opened the First Forest Academy in September 1996. Thereafter, two forums have been arranged annually.
|
|
|
|
|  |