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On Monday 11 January 2010 the seminar "Strategic options for Åland in the EU" was held in the town library of Mariehamn. The seminar is based on the researcher Sarah Stephan's report "Regional voices in the European Union - regions with legislative power and multi-level-governance. Perspectives for the Åland Islands."
Sarah Stephen demonstrates how different ways of looking at the EU can have effects on the methods for influence chosen by regions. She also indicates that there are more ways of gaining influence than those normally considered, and since these methods do not need to be expansive they can also be useful for smaller regions with limited resources.A few possible alternatives for Åland is to increase the presence in Brussels, to offer expert knowledge within special areas of expertise, and to increase the knowledge of Åland at a national level as well as at a European level through for instance civil service exchanges.  In her report ”Regional voices in the European Union – regions with legislative power and multi-level governance. Perspectives for the Åland Islands” Sarah Stephan, LL.M. and researcher at the Peace Institute raises an inventory of channels of participation used by the Åland Islands and points to the unexploited potential of multi-level governance for small regions with legislative power. The report is published within the Åland Islands Peace Institute Report Series and can be downloaded here. The report will be launched at an open seminar in the City library of Mariehamn on January 11th at 6 p.m. Sarah Stephan will present her findings in English and a following discussion can be conducted both in English and Swedish.
The Finnish Ministry for foreign affairs has awarded the Åland Islands Peace Institute a grant of € 40.000 for research on the Åland example. The purpose of the research project, which has the working title ‘The Ålandexample: Still interesting and relevant?’, is to produce an updated publication about the Åland example in its entirety, aimed at an international audience. The research will examine the dynamic nature and development of Ålandic self-governance and investigate how the system has changed over time, who the central actors in this development are and have been, and how tensions between Mariehamn and Helsinki have been managed. The research project will also gather and analyze the insights of experienced diplomats, experts and politicians in respect to the application of the Åland example in international conflict situations. The project will result in a book in English and in a large international conference on Åland in the autumn of 2011. The project is led by the director of the Åland Islands Peace Institute, Sia Spiliopoulou Åkermark, associate professor in international law. Contributing to the project are amongst others Sarah Stephan and Heidi Öst, researchers at the Åland Islands Peace Institute.  About 40 people came to the city library in Mariehamn, Åland, on the evening of the 8th of September 2009 to listen to researcher Bogdan State presenting his report "Strangers by degrees: Attitudes toward Immigrants in the Åland islands".Local media, as well as the Swedish-speaking newspaper Huvudstadsbladet in Helsinki, have reported on the report and its results. Links to some of the reports (in Swedish) can be found below. Nya Åland - Bra svenska det vikitgaste för att bli ålänning 9.9.2009Ålands radio - Bättre svenskundervisning ger lyckad integration 8.9.2009Tv 24 - Åland 24 den 9:e september 9.9.2009 
Tuesday 8th of september 2009 the report "Strangers by Degrees - Attitudes toward Immigrants in the Åland Islands" by Bogdan State will be launched. An open seminar will be held in the City library of Mariehamn at 6 p.m, where the report will be introduced briefly in Swedish and subsequently the author Bogdan State will present his results in English.The present report is the third report in the series Reports from the Åland Islands Peace Institute concerning migration and integration on Åland. The first one, also by Bogdan State, concerned experiences of immigrants who live on Åland (2007); the second one, by Petra Granholm, examined the legal and institutional setting of migration policies on Åland, in comparison with Finland and in relation to EU norms (2009); finally, the present report, discusses perceptions and attitudes of Ålanders, understood as persons living on Åland, regarding issues of migration and integration. It is the result of a comprehensive survey done on Åland in the autumn of 2008.
It is granted to a child under the age of 18 who is a citizen of Finland and resident of Åland provided that the child’s mother or father enjoyed the right. The right of domicile shall be given to citizens of Finland who moved to Åland, have lived there for at least five years and have an adequate knowledge of the Swedish language. Those who have lived outside of Åland for more than five years lose their right of domicile.
 On the 1st to 2nd of September the Åland Islands Peace Institute, together with the Japan Local Government Centre (London), is organising a seminar on the theme “Transforming the relationship with Central Government”, in Mariehamn, Åland. The purpose is to compare the two island regions since they show interesting similarities and differences. The invited speakers from Okinawa, Japan, and Åland, Finland, will discuss issues concerning economy, peace and politics. The comparison focuses on the self-governing, demilitarized Åland region and the Ryukyu islands southwest of the Japanese mainland in the Pacific Ocean. The islands with 1,4 million inhabitants are a popular tourist resort and have a language and culture distinct from the mainland. The U.S. military presence in Okinawa after World War 2 has had great impact on Okinawa’s social, economic, and cultural development. For the self-sustaining development of Okinawa, Okinawa is setting up a centre for IT industry accumulation and an institute of science and technology. Okinawa has a special free trade zone since 1999 to promote industry and trade. The seminar is open to the ublic, but will be kept small, why interested participants are required to apply to petra(at)peace.ax. The seminar programme can be downloaded here.   On 24 February 2009 the Åland Islands Peace Institute organized a seminar on the Lisbon Treaty in the auditorium of the Ålandic parliament. The first speaker at the seminar, Janina Tallqvist, EU law‐making secretary at the Ministry of Justice, gave an overview over the changes to the current set‐up and functioning of the European Union to be implemented by the Lisbon Treaty. Susanne Eriksson, director of the Ålandic parliament, explored which implications these changes will have for the Åland Islands. Andreas Backfolk, special adviser of the Ålandic government in Brussels, discussed the changes in the decision‐making process. Read more about the seminar here .
On Tuesday 24th February at 13h to 15h an open seminar on the Lisbon Treaty, its content and possible implications for Åland, will be held in the Parliament building in Mariehamn, Åland. Most of the seminar will be in Swedish.
Rhodri C. Williams, guest researcher at the Åland Islands Peace Institute was recently awarded 4,000 Euro by Ålands Culture Foundation to undertake research on “Collective Rights to Administer Landed Property: From the League of Nations’ Åland Agreement to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.” Mr. Williams’ research will focus on the fact that rules like those on Aland allowing minorities in autonomous regions to restrict the sale of land to outsiders are relatively unusual. The research project will begin by looking at how such a rule was included in the original League of Nations autonomy decision and what models it was based on. Mr. Williams will also examine whether Aland’s experience has been taken into account in the ongoing campaign of many indigenous and tribal groups worldwide to be recognized as having similar rights to exclude outsiders from their traditional lands. Rhodri Williams has lived on Aland since 2004 and works as a consultant and researcher on human rights issues.
On 25 November 2008 an overwhelming majority of Greenlanders voted for more independence from Denmark. The referendum took place after Denmark and Greenland had established a Commission for the reorganisation of Greenland’s self-government in 2004. The “Grønland-dansk selvstyrelsekommission” was mandated to discuss an extended “home rule” for Greenland. The Commission submitted its report earlier this year, including a proposal for a law on Greenland’s self-government. The strengthening of self-government is met with support in both Nuuk and Copenhagen. With the positive outcome of the referendum in Greenland the legislative proposal on self-government will be discussed by the Danish parliament in February 2009 and a respective law is expected to enter into force in mid-2009. The extended self-government is based on the principle of self-determination under International Law and will leave the decision whether Greenland should be independent or remain part of the Danish kingdom to the people of Greenland. Another important change will be that Greenland’s “landsstyret” will be able to take over responsibilities concerning the criminal justice system and the administration of justice.As two unique island communities Åland and Greenland have many commonalities. Greenland is an integral part of the kingdom of Denmark since 1953 and was granted self-government in 1979. Since then Greenland has been a strong autonomy. Greenland’s economy is mainly defined by the fishing industry. In fact, the protection of the local fishing industry was the decisive reason for Greenland’s termination of EC membership in 1985. Greenland is populated by roughly 57.000 people, 88% of which belong to the Inuit. With the new law on self-government both, Danish and Kalaallisut will be recognized as official languages in Greenland.
On Tuesday 16th of Septembre the Åland Islands Peace Institute posted 1000 surveys to randomly choosen ålanders. The society survey contains questions on attitudes on identity, immigration, immogrants and integration and is the first of its kind on Åland. The survey is made by Bogdan State, who is a student at Amherst College, Massachusetts, U.S, where he is aiming at a Bachelor of Arts. His majors are History, American Studies and Economics. Last summer Bogdan State wrote the report Immigrant Integration: An Exploratory Study, for the Peace Institute that can be downloaded here.
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