Transparency Under Fire: Finland’s Anti-Racism Training Shrouded in Secrecy

The Prime Minister’s Office in Finland has refused to release materials from a government anti-racism training, sparking fresh criticism over transparency and accountability at the highest levels of government.
The Finnish News Agency STT requested access to the training content and any related participant feedback. However, officials denied the request, claiming the programme remains incomplete. Legal scholar Professor Tomi Voutilainen challenged this justification, noting that the training had already been delivered to permanent secretaries using finalized materials.
“If it was used in an official setting, then the material exists and should be accessible,” Voutilainen said. He added that the excuse of incompleteness doesn’t apply to content that has already been implemented.
Voutilainen further criticized the office’s decision to sidestep STT’s specific request, which pertained to the past session — not the upcoming one for ministers. He argued that keeping the content under wraps may be a tactic to suppress public discourse ahead of the broader rollout.
“This kind of opacity discourages democratic engagement. Public review could only help improve the material,” he emphasized.
Officials claimed the session was informal, with no written feedback or formal exercises. Yet, the incident has intensified scrutiny of the Prime Minister’s Office, especially given past court rulings that found repeated violations of Finland’s access-to-information laws.
The anti-racism initiative was commissioned after political upheaval in 2023, when racist controversies engulfed key cabinet members. Though the programme’s aim is to build a more inclusive governance culture, critics argue that the lack of transparency undermines that very mission.
Voutilainen warned that a pattern of information withholding is becoming part of government culture — one that erodes public trust.
“This is about more than just one training session,” he said. “It’s about what kind of government Finland wants to be.”