"Trust can be boosted by open, regular and timely communication"

Introduction

In the Government’s view, it is essential to provide explanations of the changes it wishes to bring about and the direction that it wishes the country to take.

What are the Government's main objectives, why do these objectives need to be pursued and how does the Government intend to achieve them? How will the Government's decisions affect people’s everyday lives, the environment and the world around us?

The Government's actions are based on the trust expressed by voters in the elections. According to the OECD, the extent to which people in Finland trust the actions of their Government has dropped by about 30 percentage points over the past ten years. Trust, however, can be boosted by open, regular and timely communication.

Major changes have taken place in the communications environment in recent years. An influential array of social media, new journalists and new channels have grown up alongside the traditional media. At the same time, media culture has become more polarised, and the amount of disinformation has increased. Communication vacuums are filled more quickly.

Communication is a management tool. Government communications are used to support the implementation of the Government Programme and the major reforms set out in within it. The Government will communicate proactively, regularly, openly and interactively about its work to a broad target group in Finland and abroad.

The Government’s communications will be based on accurate information. By providing reliable communications, the Government will be able to curb disinformation, fake news and attempts to distort decision-making and opinions.

Government communication takes into account the wide differences in the ways people use different media. Communications will be provided on a daily basis to those following traditional media and to those who use only social media as their source of information.

The Government Communications Strategy explains the main objectives and values of the Government’s communications and sets out the shared model of communications to be used for providing information on progress with the major reforms. The strategy has been drawn up for the entire government term and will be updated as necessary.