Finnish researcher sets up Baltic office of Royal Society of Arts in Helsinki

Mika Aaltonen

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By Sirpa Pääkkönen
     
      When Mika Aaltonen concluded his speech in Paris in 2009 at a strategy gathering for representatives of different ministries, a man in the audience stood up and shouted: “Finland is not a small country: Finland is a great country.”
      It was a magnificent testimonial not only for Finland, but also for Aaltonen, who has made Finland known around the world in two ways. At a younger age he was a well-known football player. For a couple of decades he has worked as a researcher and as speaker on the topic of decision-making.
      “You can’t order success. I have received invitations from around the world from people and organisations whose existence I was not even aware of.”
      This is also how Aaltonen’s latest project, the opening of the Baltic office of the Royal Society of Arts, got started. The office was opened on Thursday.
      “I was speaking in Washington six years ago and the research director of the Royal Society of Arts was in the audience, and asked me to become a member. Last August I proposed in London that a Baltic office of the society should be opened in Helsinki.
     
The Royal Society of Arts was established in London in 1754. Members have included Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Charles Dickens, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Gainsborough, and Stephen Hawking.
      “In Washington I was asked what I had to give to an organisation in which Adam Smith and Marx have had an influence. I said that I do have something to give.”
     
The Royal Society of Arts is a learning organisation, whose events feature Nobel Prize winners and presidents, and whose projects involve the top experts in their respective fields.
      “The flows of information that we are dealing with are becoming more varied. In Finland we are getting a mirror in which we can see reflections of discussions and decisions that are to be made.”
      Information is exchanged digitally or at meetings. Events are organised for the public at large.
      “One example is the Big Society debate that has been going on in Britain for a year. It has not yet reached Finland. Those taking part are pondering how the state’s share of GDP has been rising for 150 years already, even though there have always been people who have warned of the dangers of living beyond one’s means. The mission of the organisation is to seek answers to challenges that make it possible to secure the services of a welfare society in the future as well.”
     
Mika Aaltonen became a Doctor of Economic Sciences at the Turku School of Economics in 1997. Since then he has published ten books. In 2006 he founded a research programme in strategic decision-making at the Helsinki University of Economics.
      Aaltonen has worked together with many international companies, scientists, governments, and politicians. He has been asked to speak by various institutions and people including Deutsche Bank, the office of the German Federal Chancellor, an advisor to US President Bill Clinton, France’s Minister of Industry, the Gregorian Foundation of Rome, as well as the offices of the prime ministers of Singapore and South Korea.
      “Everywhere I go people want to discuss what is happening with the world and how we can influence our own future.”
     
As a researcher Mika Aaltonen experiences the same kinds of emotions as he does as an athlete.
      “Success requires determined and persistent work. My childhood dream about playing professional football required more than ten years of training. I also worked long as a researcher in Finland before I was noticed internationally.”
     
Aaltonen’s most reacent book, Mr. And Mrs. Future, appeared in South Korea in February, in Korean. Only later will it be published in Finnish, English, and Danish. In the book Mr. And Mrs. Future are given a task by an international company. They are allowed to travel wherever they want and meet whomever they want during a six-month period. When they stop they present a report. Finally they appear before the management team of the company and present their conclusions.
      “We put forward our view of how the world has changed using 50 key variables. The change is seen in a very heterogeneous manner. Things move in different directions. We want to help readers to see the possibilities in different situations.”
     
Mika Aaltonen’s football career spanned the time when he was 16 to when he was 29. The large Italian club Inter Milan recruited Aaltonen into their midst after he scored the winning goal against Inter Milan while playing for the Turku-based team Turun Palloseura in a UEFA Cup away match in 1987.
      “It always feels good to score a goal, but I also remember my fellow team members and the coaches with warmth. We walked in the Milanese night with Inter captain Giuseppe Bares and the Italian captain Giuseppe Bergomi. Everyone came to talk to us. The captains never bad-mouthed their players or their opponents to people. I also remember coach Giovanni Trapattoni, who inspired and encouraged everyone.”
      Aaltonen feels that sport is of great importance in the formation of values in young people. “Sport can promote sustainable and human values.”


Links:
  Royal Society of Arts

SIRPA PÄÄKKÖNEN / Helsingin Sanomat
sirpa.paakkonen@hs.fi