The army and NATO alone may not be enough: how do the Nordic countries and Lithuania strengthen society’s resilience and civil defense?
Meanwhile, the Nordic countries are the record holders of the “Willingness to fight for the country” part of the World Values Survey (2017-2022). As many as 74.6-87.6 percent of respondents in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden answered “Yes” to the question of whether they would fight for their country. In Lithuania, this number reaches only 32.8 percent. The discussion “How to create a resilient society” of the festival “Būtent!” will invite you to consider how to strengthen the resilience of society. Reviews of Lithuania, Finland and Sweden”.
What determines societal resilience?
On September 2-3, in a discussion initiated by the office of the Nordic Council of Ministers in Lithuania and the embassies of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden in Lithuania, the experiences of the Nordic countries are shared by Liisa Talonpoika, ambassador of the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the fight against hybrid threats, and Morgan Olofsson, of the Swedish Public Communications Agency for emergency situations. The chairman of the Seimas National Security and Defense Committee, Laurynas Kasčiūnas, will be among the representatives of Lithuania, and the debate will be moderated by journalist Rita Miliūtė.
Mindaugas Damijonaitis, advisor on NGO cooperation and Belarus issues of the Northern Council of Ministers office in Lithuania, says that society’s resilience can also be described as the ability to adapt to crises and unexpected events and still achieve the set goals. According to him, the festival will not only talk about the features of resilient societies, but also discuss the strengthening of the “architecture” of societal resilience in Lithuania.
The interviewer says that defense begins not only with the amount of weapons available, but with the will of a strong and resilient civil society to defend its state. In addition, societal resilience is important not only in times of war, but also when dealing with challenges such as pandemics or climate change. When asked what could encourage a more active civil defense, the adviser named quality education and strengthening the culture of trust in society.
“The first line of defense begins to be formed in the school classrooms. Quality education accessible to all, which includes critical thinking and citizenship education, is important for building a resilient society. It is no less important to strengthen social dialogue, trust in each other and the state, and reduce social exclusion,” says M. Damijonaitis.
The first line of defense begins to be formed in school.
Trust is Nordic gold
L. Talonpoika says that although we cannot change the geographical position of our region, we can take care of our defense in advance. “Not only high-quality education helps to create a society resistant to lies and external threats, but also a well-functioning economy, advanced cyber technologies and transparent, stable and reliable institutions,” says L. Talonpoika.
Meanwhile, M. Olofsson, head of communications at the Swedish Society for Emergency Situations Agency, shared Sweden’s success story at the “Būtent!” festival. According to him, the fundamental difference between Lithuania and the Nordic countries is that these countries have a high level of social trust, which increases society’s resistance to external threats. “A great example of this is Sweden’s policy during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Instead of strict restrictions and fines for disobeying the instructions, the authorities trusted the citizens to follow the recommendations themselves,” he says.
According to him, a properly chosen strategy is suitable for dealing effectively with the security challenges that arise nearby. “First of all, we should ask ourselves why we want a crisis and survive and only decide how to do it. In Sweden, we talk about universal defense, which includes both military forces and civilians. Looking at NATO, we can see that this can be ensured – a strong army alone may not be enough for defense, so a society that is ready to resist is also needed.
It is a pleasure to secure the basis of Health to strengthen the determination to defend both oneself and one’s country. This process is really complicated. It is inseparable from self-confidence, institutions and society as a whole, and the belief that it is capable of coping with emerging crises,” the expert teaches.
The path to the best solution
In the discussion “How to create a resilient society?” Visitors to the “Būtent!” visiting festival “Insights of Lithuania, Finland and Sweden” can hear more stories about how the Nordic countries managed to develop the strongest social trust and culture of resilience in the world. The participants of the discussion are intrigued by the fact that they will also invite to consider an unexpected question: perhaps the Nordic countries can learn lessons from the Lithuanians?
According to M. Damijonaitis, in a democratic state, discussions are one of the most important and most appropriate decisions. “However, there is no need for age-old independence, debate culture in Lithuania is still in its teenage years. Often there is a lack of interested listening and respect for the opposing side or arguments based on facts.”
In order to have a quality discussion, both sides need to be open to the possible attendance of the position and I want to find a suitable solution. It is not uncommon for discussions in the public space to turn into arguments based on emotions, when there are no objective facts, and prejudices are adhered to. The debate festival “Būtent!” teaches to argue less and discuss more, as it is also necessary to strengthen society’s resilience”, – shares the insights of the adviser of the office of the Northern Council of Ministers in Lithuania.
For the fourth time in Biršton in 2022. The upcoming debate festival “Būtent!” is an open, non-political, free event, the purpose of which is to promote the culture of discussion and listening in the country, tolerance for various points of view, civic engagement, and improving the quality of socially important decisions.
Hear more about this and other discussions live on September 2-3. Biršton!