A good foundation makes the difference.
How can life be so
different in each region of the world? Why do some countries have high
quality education, are safe and clean; while in others mere survival
becomes a challenge?
The Oxford dictionary states that culture is
the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular
nation, people, or other social group; the arts and other
manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded
collectively.[1]
Therefore, I underline education as the
foundation of Finnish culture; then outline some points that make up the
culture and finally, point out the result of this: an excellent
standard of living that inspires my innermost interest for Finnish
culture.
Education is the most important thing to build a nation
and because the government of Finland knows this, their constitution
reflects it. Chapter 2 Basic rights and liberties Section 16:
Educational rights, 1) Everyone has the right to basic education free of
charge[2], the schools of Finland are not entities separated from the
rest of the community, they are rather quite democratic, they belong to
the community and the community is part of them, they are like
extensions of households.[3]
Hereby, there exist a few values that
remain unchanged in an ever-changing world. These are the values that
best prepare us to face a changing world and are: The value of being
human, self-esteem, communalistic spirit, a realistic view of the world,
the wealth in cultures and nature, the acquisition of knowledge
throughout life, individuality, education and understanding.[4]
Chapter2
Section 6: Equality: No one shall, without an acceptable reason, be
treated differently from other persons on the ground of sex, age,
origin, language, religion, conviction, opinion, health, disability or
other reason that concerns his or her person.[5] They take this
literally because they believe that “equity raises quality”.[6]
This
information gives an account of how focused they are on their education
sector and its commitment with the government as well as with the
general population, therefore it is in school where the values of
equality, quality, hygiene, order, professionalism, punctuality,
attention and respect begin. Out of these major characteristics, Finnish
culture is built.
Government in here is a very important piece to
get all this along, since politicians are interested in their country
and do their best to keep everything in order; they absolutely do the
job striving for perfection. I dare to say they don’t even know the word
corruption.
Every year so many countries are qualified by the
Corruption index, this time I will share the 2010 result. The list
contains the most corrupt countries in the world, depicts worldwide
corruption levels as ranked by Transparency International, where high
scores denote clean countries; low scores denote corrupt countries. And
the land of a thousand lakes got 9.2.[7]
When I saw for the first
time a documental about Finland, one of the first impressions that left
me a good taste was the everywhere neatness as mentioned in
Hombrelobo.com. [8]
Planeta finito, describes a country that tops
the world ranking of mobile phones and Internet connections, the second
safest in the world and third in educational quality. Finland has
succeeded in making use of their disadvantages as their best allies:
facing their isolation, they have the development of a global telephony,
facing their dispersed geography, an inspiration for artistic design,
and facing harsh weather, appropriate and sustainable architecture.[9]
After
knowing all the key points to have a good country, I have come to the
conclusion that Finland comes to set a standard for what most countries
persevere in becoming with its high quality of life and education for
each of its citizens. In Finland all of this is a reality, “because they
always look on the common good, they are very honest (and therefore
very confident) and everybody does in general what they have to do.”
[10]
Simple and easy, like culture.
[1]Oxford dictionaries. 2011. 26 march 2011.<http:></http:>
[2] Servat unibe.2000. 26 march 2011. <http:></http:>
[3] Andere, Eduardo. ¿Cómo es la mejor educación en el mundo?. México: Editorial Santillana 2008
[4] Ibidem
[5] Op. Cit.
[6] Ibid, p46
[7]
Global development. 2010. 26 march 2011. <
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/interactive/2010/oct/26/corruption-index-2010-countries-world>
[8] Viajes con Hombrelobo.2007. 26 march 2011. <http:></http:>
[9] “Helsinki y Talín.” Planeta finito. Pres.Rosario Pardo, Narr. José Padilla. La sexta. 2006
[10]
El sentido de la vida. 2010. 26 march 2011.<
http://www.elsentidodelavida.com/2010/11/asi-lucha-finlandia-contra-la.html>