Mayor Ritva Viljanen awarded the District of Rastatt’s golden medal of honor

The District of Rastatt can award a golden medal of honor to such persons who have, in an exceptionally laudable manner, acted for the benefit of the District of Rastatt, and have exceptionally significantly benefited to the common good of various groups of people and of various parts of society.

When granting the medal, the members of the District of Rastatt's council were unanimously of the opinion that mayor Viljanen has, in her meritorious acts, continued and deepened the friendship between the City of Vantaa and the District of Rastatt, and thus promoted friendship and understanding between the citizens of Finland and Germany. Professor Christian Dusch, director of the District of Rastatt, applauded in his speech mayor Viljanen for deepening cooperation on the economy, culture and youth exchange, as well as for increasing exchange of information between experts in various fields.

Mayor Viljanen thanked the District of Rastatt for this great honor: "It has been a pleasure to promote and develop the relationships between the District of Rastatt and the City of Vantaa. The District of Rastatt and the City of Vantaa have the same number of residents, and we are faced with similar possibilities and challenges. I feel that, in the course of decades, we both have learned from each other's best practices, of which this Business Forum, arranged by the District of Rastatt, is a good example."

The theme of the Business Forum this year was Sustainable business. The event presented the City of Vantaa's 2030 carbon-neutrality goal, as well as VantaaEnergy Ltd's and Tom Allen Senera Oy's solutions for promoting clean energy. The previous Business Seminar between Vantaa and the District of Rastatt took place in Vantaa in 2019 with the theme Smart logistics. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, these seminars could not be arranged for several years.

The District of Rastatt and Vantaa actively cooperate on other fields as well, such as youth and school exchange. In addition, Vantaa Vocational College Varia and Carl Benz Schule Gaggenau work on joint student projects in the field of technology. During the business seminar, we heard more about Carl Benz Schule's activities and cooperation with Varia. In 2023, our cooperation will get a new aspect: for the first time ever, Rastatt will invite a Vantaa artist for a one-week artist exchange.

Vantaa and the District of Rastatt have been sister cities since 1968.