The Hanaholmen Initiative

The Hanaholmen initiative is a cross-sector bilateral crisis preparedness programme, which aims to strengthen civil defense in Sweden and Finland.

WHAT IS THE HANAHOLMEN INITIATIVE?

The Hanaholmen initiative is a cross-sector bilateral crisis preparedness programme, which aims to strengthen civil defense in Sweden and Finland and promotes cooperation between the countries in preparedness for and handling of civil crises. The Hanaholmen initiative is carried out in collaboration with the Swedish Defence University and the Security Committee in Finland with the support from the Swedish-Finnish Cultural Foundation as well as the countries’ governments.

The crisis preparedness programme started in 2021 to strengthen cross-sector bilateral cooperation within civil crisis preparedness and therefore involves all sectors of society in one and the same programme.

The programme builds on other existing sectoral collaborations such as the Haga collaboration in the rescue sector and the Svalbard collaboration in healthcare. The unique thing about the Hanaholmen initiative is that it is cross-sectorial and covers all parts of society, including civil society and the business world.

The Programme

The crisis preparedness programme will have two mainstays:

An annual training course
An annual Summit

The programme is aimed at key persons involved in strategic decision-making, from different sectors and who handle civil crisis preparedness and protection.

HANAHOLMEN INITIATIVE EXECUTIVE EDUCATION PROGRAMME

The crisis preparedness programme is based on three pillars: knowledge, contact and coordination.

Knowledge of the countries’ crisis preparedness systems, procedures and current issues.
Personal contacts across sectors and borders.
Identify opportunities for strengthened cooperation and coordination in the face of future crises.

During the course, a synthesis work is done which is presented at the high-level forum. The aim of the synthesis work is to identify development areas and advantages of effective bilateral cooperation. It is an advanced course aimed at key personnel from various sectors who are involved in strategic decision-making and who deal with civilian crisis management. The training consists of two modules (three days each), one of which takes place in Finland and one in Sweden. The course consists of 20–30 participants, evenly distributed between the countries and with different backgrounds.

THE HANAHOLMEN INITIATIVE HIGH-LEVEL FORUM

The high-level forum brings together key decision-makers in crisis management and preparedness. The forum is aimed at decision-makers at national, regional and local level as well as other important preparedness actors, such as business, politics, civil society, mass media and academia (researchers). Participants from the education programme also take part in the forum. The goal of the High-Level Forum is to discuss observations and recommendations that arose during the course and thereby pass on insights and proposals for strengthened cooperation.