STOCKHOLM, Sweden, April 28, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- TeliaSonera, in cooperation with the Norden Association (Sweden) and the Pohjola-Norden Association (Finland), initiates a programme called Nordkontakt targeting at school exchange in the Nordic and Baltic countries. The purpose is for students and teachers to learn more, through personal experience, about the language, culture and society of the country they visit. This will contribute to improving the communication between the countries and to building relations for long-lasting exchange.
TeliaSonera has signed an agreement with the Norden Association in Sweden and the Pohjola-Norden Association in Finland on cooperation to promote student exchange visits between schools in the Nordic and Baltic countries. The programme is aimed at school classes ranging from fifth form of comprehensive school to upper secondary school and folk high-school as well as students at teachers' training colleges.
"This programme is very much about communication between people in an area where TeliaSonera has an important role to play. I hope this will contribute to the development of the ever more integrated Nordic and Baltic region, where the Baltic states soon will be members of the EU family," says Anders Igel, President and CEO of TeliaSonera.
There is a natural link between TeliaSonera's business idea and encouraging closer relations and integration between the Nordic and Baltic countries. TeliaSonera wants to inspire and simplify relations between people by offering good and easy telecommunications services as well as unrivalled service in the Nordic and Baltic markets.
In Finland, TeliaSonera has a long-standing cooperation with the Pohjola- Norden Association. The Norden and Pohjola Norden Associations have organized school exchange between the Nordic countries since the 1920s.
"School exchange is a core activity of the Norden volunteer movement. We warmly welcome that TeliaSonera, with its close ties to the Nordic and Baltic region, now offers its strong support for the exchange between schools. It is our ambition to carry out our share of the cooperation in a manner that will lift organized school exchange to a new level characterized by increased knowledge and stimulating permanent contact and communication between the students of the countries concerned," say Secretary-General Larserik Haggman of Pohjola-Norden in Finland and his colleague Anders Ljunggren of Norden in Sweden in their comment on the agreement.
TeliaSonera also has previous experience of education cooperation projects. Among other things, the company finances a professorship at the School of Economics in Riga, Latvia.
"It is quite natural that we support the education sector which provides us with our recruitment base. It is also important for us to encourage young people to begin to use telecommunications and IT services early on," adds Anders Igel of TeliaSonera.
In all, approximately 60 school classes from the Nordic and Baltic countries will be offered the opportunity to take part in exchange visits.
For further information journalists can contact: TeliaSonera's Press Office, +46 (0)8 713 58 30
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