A colleague of mine uploaded on her Facebook profile picture of her sipping the famous Acehnese cup of java which she commented as “damn good coffee” in De Helsinki, a small coffee shop in post tsunami torn Aceh taking its name after the capital city of Finland where the historical peace treaty between Indonesian government and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) was held in 2005. It ended almost 30 years of conflict and garnered the mediator Martti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish president a Nobel Prize in 2008. Aside from the snowy country that produces Nokia mobile technology and the free high quality education, those were the only minute scoops that I knew about Finland.
But not until six months ago, I was taking a risk with this benighted mind to have the most random yet best decision in this too orderly life to do my Master’s in Helsinki. The 2010 report of Finland being the second happiest place to live in the world by Gallop survey with 75 percent “thriving” rate just rationalized me to move and live there right away. It ranked first in the Press Freedom Index 2010 and had the best education system with one hundred percent literacy according to Newsweek. It would be very nice to have a cup of coffee in real Helsinki coffee shop and feel very happy, satisfied and articulate, I thought. I was determined to experience it firsthand.
The fixation of what makes Finnish people happy continued as I was settling in by end of the golden summer and watching around Helsinki city center with such naivety assumption that everybody walking in the snow-free streets was content with their welfare state lives or having a peacemaking scheme and IT savvy innovative discussions in warm coffee places and bars sprawling through the avenue. The compact size and intimate architecture of immersed academic sites standing next to the bustling business and historical buildings in the city center, makes it easy for you to walk around the striking Lutheran White Cathedral in the Senate Square after class, café crawling at the Esplanade for networking, shopping fresh local herrings at the Market Square or brushing with latest art scene in Kiasma Modern Art Museum in Mannerheimintie.
I also started to perceive happiness or life satisfaction is propelled by the sustainability and effectiveness of the systems or in other words, how the system actually works and creatively invents itself against the odds. The smooth and safe operation of public transportation along the smart traffic system where you can track and plan your journey online make it easier to be mobile in any kind of beaten weather. It was somewhat foreign concept for me who had been living the utmost daily grill of Jakarta’s malfunction traffic system. Following other leading metropolis cities around the globe, Helsinki is pushing the trending happy lifestyle of community-based innovation whilst keeping true to its strong education system through the emerging social entrepreneurship organizations such as Hub Helsinki that arranges free mobile working facilities and events as one of its social enterprise. Anne Raudaskoski, the managing director of Hub Helsinki stated further in an interview with The 3 inch Canvas, an art community that encourages the similar social model by accessing art through mobile devices, “We primarily want to address issues around society and/or the environment with the aim of improving collective well-being, prosperity and quality of life on different levels.” And Helsinki denizens takes it by heart to carry out the ambitious project to be the World Design Capital in 2012 which places social collaboration and creative industry at the core in improving the quality of life. As travel writer Sally McGrane defined the Finnish high quality design culture in a nutshell, “Beautiful, functional and affordable.”
The word affordable can be quite relative. With very high income of USD 45.7K/capita in 2010 money matters but does not make it to the main barometer of happiness for some people in Finland. Helinä Siivinen, student at University of Helsinki described her meaning of happiness, “It’s not about money. It’s about balance. How you have the balance between family, friends and good education. I think right now we have a very good education.” Like many of the youngsters, she has traveled around the world and still finds Finland her home and best place to stay. Leni Pennanen, a high school extracurricular trainer in Helsinki also confirmed the tendency of settling down in the younger generation, “It’s easier to get a job here and have the money to travel. Yes, we went to see the world but most of the kids these days, they are going back to Helsinki because the city is growing and more alive.” And indeed, it will keep happily doing so.
