Marit
Nilsson-Väre
Vaasa
"For a vibrant, safe and prosperous Vaasa "
I have been an elected representative and a member of the Vaasa City Council since 2012.
Member of the City Board and the Corporate Division since 2021.
Chairman of the Ostrobothnia Employment Committee since spring 2024.
Member of the city's strategy working group on the theme: Attractive Vaasa.
I am the Vice Chairman and member of the Supervisory Board of Vaasan Sähkö and a member of the Audit Committee of Vaasan Sähkö.
Chairman of the Sundom area committee since 2012 and is passionate about the position of trust to work for the village in the city. Lives in a detached house in Sundom since 2000.
I am a regular member of the board and council of the Folkting.
In addition, I am a member of the Kvarken World Heritage Delegation.
I have extensive experience in the education sector, 38 years. Since 2002 I have worked as a senior lecturer in Finnish with communication at Hanken and before that I worked as a senior lecturer in communication at Vaasa University of Applied Sciences since it was founded. Has been a member of the Upper Secondary Education Board in Vaasa since 2012, two periods as a regular member of the board and as chairman of the Swedish secion between the years 2012-2021. From 2022 to 2025, I have been a deputy, but the City Board's regular member of the Swedish section since 2024.
In addition to these positions of trust, I am also a deputy member of the Urban Environment Committee and the Traffic Committee.
At Hanken, I am Head of Subject in Finnish and a member of the Language Centre's Board, a member of the Evaluation Group for Teaching and Research Staff and a member of the Cooperation Committee. In addition, I am the chairman of the local association of the education sector at Hanken School of Economics.
I have worked for several years with Nordic cooperation at university level and among other things I have been responsible for the 15 ECTS study module "Cross-border regional development and planning in the Kvarken region", a collaborative project (2000-2024) together with Umeå University.
I have also been a project leader in an Interreg Aurora project "Cross-border University Cooperation and Knowledge sharing", a collaborative project (1.1.2024 - 31.12.2024) between Hanken, Umeå University and Nord University in Norway.
In addition, during the years 2016-2023, I have been responsible for FOP, an industry-specific continuing education project for Finnish teachers in universities and colleges.
I also have extensive experience of membership in Hanken's University Collegium.
Privately, I am a wife, and the mother of two adult girls, both economists. I'm the mother-in-law and mom of a little 3-year-old. I have an old mother who is 90 years old and feels that I am like the spider in the web between different age groups and between generations, but also in politics.
I see the big picture rather than the details. I am an experienced politician and I am conscientious and human-friendly. Has easy to take people and socializes easily across language boundaries and with different age people regardless of profession.
Important political topics
Candidate's answers in election machine
1 / 11
Early childhood education should be free for everyone.
Periaatteessa olen sitä mieltä, että varhaiskasvatuksen pitää olla kaikille ilmaista, mutta mielestäni varakkailla, eli työssäkäyvillä pitää olla varaa maksaa palvelusta ainakin pienen summan, eli symbolisen summan. Tämä antaa myös varhaiskasvatukselle tietyn arvon, eli statuksen. Kuitenkaan summa ei saa olla sellainen, että jokin lapsi jää ilman varhaiskasvatusta.
2 / 11
Schools should prioritize traditional textbooks over digital learning materials.
Traditional learning streams provide savings in the long run when books can be reused. Annual licenses are becoming more expensive. In addition, children and young people should be kept away from screens for most of the school day. Digital learning materials can serve as reading material next to them. Research shows that memory copes better with traditional textbooks than digital ones. But I think digital teaching platforms are good, but it must not be exaggerated.
3 / 11
One of the municipality’s most important tasks is to invest in sports facilities and opportunities for exercise and recreation.
Everyone should engage in physical activity, both old and young. We sit too much.
4 / 11
It is important to provide all residents with equal opportunities for cultural activities.
Culture is important, but culture costs. There is no money and perhaps no need for equal opportunities for cultural activities. However, all children and young people should be able to participate in cultural activities of various kinds during their school years, and it should be free of charge when it is part of the education, but cultural experiences should be paid for when compulsory education is over.
5 / 11
The municipality should introduce or improve opportunities for residents to influence how municipal funds are used through participatory budgeting.
It should be possible to influence to some extent, but not on a larger scale. The responsibility lies with officials and decision-makers. Participatory budgeting works when it comes to smaller amounts. However, it makes the residents feel good when they can decide something themselves.
6 / 11
The municipality should invest in public transportation.
We should think about the environment and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
7 / 11
It should be possible to be a resident in more than one municipality, for example, through digital municipal citizenship.
Perhaps there would be challenges in taxation, as well as in other municipal services.
8 / 11
The municipality should better facilitate the expansion of renewable energy, such as solar and wind power.
9 / 11
The municipality should mix more housing types in planning than is currently the case.
10 / 11
The municipality should introduce anonymous recruitment.
Anonymity is important, but I believe that AI can make the process unsustainable in the long run.
11 / 11
If you could give a superpower to your future political leader, what would it be?
No one can predict the future, but a magic wand might be needed.