CSC is involved in the Demand Facts European Parliament elections campaign

CSC – IT Center for Science Ltd is involved in the Vaadi faktat (Demand Facts) European Parliament elections campaign, which aims to promote fact-based policy in Finland during the 2019 spring European Parliament elections. The European Union is associated with many different myths and incorrect assumptions, which the campaign aims to correct.

The campaign, which focuses on the European Parliament elections, will tour over twenty locations and together with Faktabaari, a Finnish fact checking service, they will run a wide-ranging fact checking social media campaign. A large part of Finnish civil society and nearly all political parties are taking part in the campaign. The campaign is coordinated by Eurooppalainen Suomi ry (European Movement in Finland) and Eurooppanuoret ry (European Youth Association).

The campaign also aims to increase the low voting turnout in the European elections. Particular focus is on young people, as only about 10% of 18–24 year olds voted in the 2014 European elections. For the entire population, the voting turnout was only around 40%.

CSC, in cooperation with UNIFI, the Finnish Council of University Rectors, and Arene, the Rectors' Conference of Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences, organised an election panel focusing on research and education policy. The Avoimuudella Euroopan johtotähdeksi (Becoming a European leader through openness) panel was held on 28th March 2019 as part of the Vaadi faktat European Parliament election campaign.

–  Fact-based information plays an important part in decision making, both in citizens' voting decisions and in the daily work of decision-makers. CSC wants to be a part of promoting the availability of fact-based information by participating in the Vaadi faktat campaign. It is important to remember that the European Union affects our daily lives in various ways. As a result, it is important to raise awareness of these common issues so that we can have a constructive discussion about Finland's future and its important role in the European Union, says Programme Director Irina Kupiainen from CSC.

The campaign can be tracked on social media with "#vaadifaktat" as well as at www.vaadifaktat.fi.

CSC objectives for the Finnish Government Programme: https://www.csc.fi/web/vaalit2019

Inquiries:
Miia Lindell
Coordinator
CSC – IT Center for Science Ltd
miia.lindell(at)csc.fi
tel. 050 381 285