{"id":2658,"date":"2020-03-06T12:03:57","date_gmt":"2020-03-06T12:03:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogit.utu.fi\/oilspill\/?p=2658"},"modified":"2020-03-06T12:27:43","modified_gmt":"2020-03-06T12:27:43","slug":"tommi-virtanen-on-voluntary-oil-spill-response-volunteerism-is-a-treasure-and-so-is-a-clean-environment-introducing-the-finnish-red-cross-4-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogit.utu.fi\/oilspill\/2020\/03\/06\/tommi-virtanen-on-voluntary-oil-spill-response-volunteerism-is-a-treasure-and-so-is-a-clean-environment-introducing-the-finnish-red-cross-4-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Tommi Virtanen on Voluntary Oil Spill Response: \u201dVolunteerism is a Treasure \u00ad\u2013 and so is a Clean Environment\u201d \u2013 Introducing the Finnish Red Cross (4\/4)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A good ten years ago, Tommi Virtanen<\/strong> seized the chance to become Head of Preparedness at the Southwest District of the Finnish Red Cross \u2013 and has no regrets. He gets to guide the multisectoral activities of this international organization as well as coordinate the voluntary activities in the region. Southwest Finland is also the pilot area for the OIL SPILL project. Tommi knows why:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201dRegarding oil spills, Southwest Finland, with its unique archipelago and nature values, is a high-risk zone. Developing voluntary activities is very dynamic here, also with relation to oil spill response. In addition, cooperation between authorities and volunteers has a long tradition in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Tommi was first a volunteer firefighter but got more and more involved in NGOs. Soon the hobbyist found himself in various positions of trust and, eventually, employed by one of the organizations.<\/em> (Photo: Sirpa Lehtim\u00e4ki \/ Finnish Red Cross)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Through joint exercises and making the actors from different regions and countries discuss the best practices, OIL SPILL enhances the oil spill response capability and consolidates the collaboration further. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201dIn extensive and\nlong-term accidents \u2013 including environmental disasters, supporting the work of\nauthorities has been a form of activity at the Voluntary Rescue Service for\nyears. However, regarding oil spills, WWF Finland is currently the only Vapepa\norganization well-prepared for oil spill control.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Tommi, improving the voluntary section towards an independently operating crew is vital so that it can support the authorities appropriately and seamlessly. The Finnish Red Cross has a wealth of experience in many supporting tasks and in the management of voluntary activity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the Finnish authorities are prepared for oil spill accidents, a vast oil leak requires large-scale and long-lasting destruction measures, also the support from volunteers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201dVolunteerism is a huge yet very untapped resource. Each volunteer is motivated by their own set of values. Directing this motivation, the urge to act, to best serve our society is challenging but also the most rewarding aspect of my work. Volunteerism is a treasure \u00ad\u2013 and so is a clean environment.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Head of Preparedness, Tommi supports and secures the NGO work done for OIL SPILL in the pilot area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Volunteers positioning themselves in the field. (Photo: Jonas Brandt \/ Finnish Red Cross<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A good ten years ago, Tommi Virtanen seized the chance to become Head of Preparedness at the Southwest District of the Finnish Red Cross \u2013 and has no regrets. He gets to guide the multisectoral activities of this international organization as well as coordinate the voluntary activities in the region. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1125,"featured_media":2676,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[33],"class_list":["post-2658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-partner-introductions","tag-finnish-red-cross","column","twocol","has-thumbnail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogit.utu.fi\/oilspill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogit.utu.fi\/oilspill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogit.utu.fi\/oilspill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogit.utu.fi\/oilspill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1125"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogit.utu.fi\/oilspill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2658"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blogit.utu.fi\/oilspill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2658\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2706,"href":"https:\/\/blogit.utu.fi\/oilspill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2658\/revisions\/2706"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogit.utu.fi\/oilspill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogit.utu.fi\/oilspill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogit.utu.fi\/oilspill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogit.utu.fi\/oilspill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}