Category: Foreign Affairs

Twenty-one global companies based out of Finland competed for the 2009 Fennia prize — a biennial competition that “gives businesses an opportunity to stand out from their competitors through innovative and responsible design of economic significance” — in Helsinki last month. As the outside temperature fluctuated between -5c and -10c, the discussion in the Finlandia hall heated up as the who’s who of Finnish design debated. The role of good industrial design in the uncertain financial climate. Of course, it was the products that had the final say; we showcase six that caught our eye. By Kunal Majumder

Genelec 5040A Active Subwoofer
Design: Harri Koskinen

The Fennia Grand Prix winner is the smallest subwoofer in the Genelec range. The 5040A was manufactured using a new method that employs deep-drawn steel and die-cast aluminium. It has a sleek, minimal and modern design – even the speaker drivers and device controls are secreted at the base of the device — makes it suit a variety of spaces and interiors. It is highly functional, of course, supporting up to five active speakers.

Fiskars Pruner with PowerStep
Design: Billnäs Tuotekehitysryhmä

A perfect example of Finnish pragmatism in design. True to Fiskars’ “less effort, more garden” motto, this lightweight, ergonomic and durable pruner features a new ‘PowerStep’ mechanical design that allows it to cut even thick branches almost effortlessly. The joint of the cutter automatically adjusts to thin branches in a single movement, and to thicker ones in up to three steps, eliminating strain and requiring less physical strength while working.

Nokia Bluetooth Headset BH-804
Design: Simon Bradford, Johan Frössén, Alejandro Sanguinetti

The smallest headset ever made by Nokia. It has two easy-use multifunctional control buttons and a specially shaped earplug to ensure proper fit in the user’s ear. Designer Johan Frössén had this to say about it: “The main objective of this project was to create a Bluetooth headset that expressed simplicity, sophistication, and a really premium quality. The product is designed for the style conscious consumer – someone who wants to stand out, yet not in a flashy way. The use of matt rather than gloss surfaces emphasises the discrete nature of the design; the use of real aluminium suggests premium quality. Such a consumer also expects the best technical features – in this case it is supreme audio quality, with background noise cancellation. Seeing the product as a whole, with all the parts adding up, and never forgetting that people are individuals, with different needs – these are perhaps the two fundamental characteristics of creating good design.”

A group of distinguished European politicians is likely to criticize European Union countries for hindering Turkey’s attempts to become a member of the 27-nation bloc, according to former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, who heads the group.

The defeat of Khalida Zia and her allies in the recently concluded Bangladesh elections once again proved that majority of Bengalis – either in West Bengali or Bangladesh – don’t believe in mixing religion with politics. Many in the community still have not been able to forget or forgive the division of Bengal on the basis of religion 61 years back. In 1971, the Bengali-speaking people rejected the fanatical philosophies of Pakistan and created their own motherland with help of India. Of course, many Bengalis would have wanted it to be a part of India. But that’s another story!

As columnist Deb Mukharji puts it, there were two key issues in the Bangladesh election this time. One was religion or as Zia and her Islamist friends called ‘the protection of Islam’. The second issue, as promoted by Sheikh Hasina and her allies, was development and poverty eradication. Victory of Hasina and allies with a two third majority gives a clear indication about the preference of the Bangladeshi people.

Barack Obama must give high priority to the Middle East conflict during the first year in office as the United States President, said Martti Ahtisaari after received this year’s Nobel Peace Prize at Oslo, Sweden on December 10. The former Finnish president urged the international community to seriously commit itself for a result to the crisis in that region.

Earlier this year, members of Tibetan Youth Congress organised a series of protest coinciding with the preparations of Beijing Olympics. Kunal Majumder spoke with Tsewang Rigzin, the president of Tibetan Youth Congress on the political role of Tibetan youth.