Introduction from FoEF (Friends of the Earth Finland)

Friends of the Earth - Finland (Maan ystävät reg.) has participated in PGA-meetings few times (memories are fading away as people change). FoEF is an umbrella for the grassroot level campaigns and local activity groups in Finland. We have a sort of executive committee but the emphasis is to be as unhierarchial as possible. There are some 400 paying members but the activists participating in the activities usually consider themselves as friends of the earth although they weren't strictly members.

We are usually identified as environmentalists but also a lot been done to connect with the workers' unions and social movements in Finland. In the recent times FoEF has been most active in antiglobalisation issues, climate issues (wind power, general energy solutions, nuclear...), gmo issues.

In the near future privatization of governmental companies and issues close to urbanisation, food security + right for the land will be the biggest things to tackle, I guess.

The methods we believe in are non-violent civil disobedience (we have had tense discussions about ecoterrorism and liberations of fur animals; FoEF do not believe in these methods) and autonomy of individuals.


PGA related Groups