DIGITALISATION AS A DRIVER OF HAPPINESS
Unfinnished Business
What can we learn from Finland? Six conversations with Finnish frontrunners and DACH pioneers on digitalisation, trust, and the courage to do things differently.
Finland is the happiest and most digital country in the world. We want to learn why.
“Unfinnished Business” explores a crucial question: What can we learn from Finland? We meet Finnish pioneers who have helped build one of the most digital societies in the world – and DACH trailblazers who show what it takes to make this transformation work in Central Europe.
What you take away from the series:
1. How digitalisation contributes to happiness
2. Why trust matters more than control
3. Why courage, not technology, is the real driver of transformationA tax administration that sees citizens as customers. An employment service that starts with people, not technology. A retail giant that radically simplifies everyday life – and much more. In each episode, a Finnish pioneer shows what works and what Central Europe can take from it.
Unfinnished Business
Five minutes to file a tax return. AI in a state governed by the rule of law. Data as an ecosystem. And a society that doesn't just talk about progress, but makes it happen.
The trailer for “Unfinnished Business” shows why Finland thinks about digitalisation differently: simpler, built on trust, and closer to people’s everyday lives.
Every two weeks, a new interview clip will be published here – featuring Finnish pioneers and German trailblazers of digital transformation.
Dr. Markus Richter
“The data should move. Not the people.” With this sentence, Dr. Markus Richter gets to the heart of what modern public administration is really about.
In the first episode of "Unfinnished Business", the State Secretary at Germany’s Federal Ministry for Digital and Government Modernisation talks about how Germany aims to advance the digital state, why AI is already speeding up approval processes, and why digitalisation only succeeds when it genuinely makes people’s everyday lives easier.
Karoliina Partanen
“You must be able to fail.” For Karoliina Partanen, this is the key prerequisite for using AI in a meaningful way: not trying to secure every detail in advance, but experimenting, learning and adjusting course when needed.
In the second episode of “Unfinnished Business”, the CEO of AI Finland talks about why Finland brought AI literacy to the wider population. The conversation also explores trust, curiosity and what Germany can learn from a more pragmatic approach to AI.
Markku Heikura
“We call them customers, not taxpayers.” For Markku Heikura, this shift in perspective is at the heart of modern public administration: moving away from authorities that manage processes, towards a state that makes services as simple as possible to provide genuine relief.
In the third episode of “Unfinnished Business”, the Director General of the Finnish Tax Administration explains how Finland brought tax filing to the mobile phone – and why its public services are designed around people, not forms.
Dr. Jan Feller
“Here in Finland, digitalisation is designed to be enjoyable.” For Dr Jan Feller, that says a lot about what Finland gets right: digital services are built around people from the outset – easy to use, seamlessly connected and rooted in trust.
In episode four of "Unfinnished Business", the CEO of the German-Finnish Chamber of Commerce explores why Europe’s digital frontrunner is also the world’s happiest country, what Germany can learn from Finland’s flat hierarchies and willingness to learn from failure – and why Finnish innovation combined with German commercial strength could be a winning formula for Europe.
Sebastian Nyström
“Technology cannot be delegated. It must be owned at the very top of an organisation.” For Sebastian Nyström, a company is only truly digital when technology is understood not as an add-on or the responsibility of a single department, but as its very core.
In the fifth episode of “Unfinnished Business”, the Senior Vice President at S Group explains why digitalisation is about far more than introducing new tools, how digital processes can make everyday life easier, and why trust depends on a fair exchange: companies that receive people’s data must give them more in return.
Jaakko Westerlund
"Start with people, not with technology." For Jaakko Westerlund from the KEHA Centre, digitalisation is not an end in itself. Its purpose is to make everyday work easier and create real value for people.
In the final official episode of "Unfinnished Business", Jaakko talks about digital skills, lifelong learning, and why successful digital transformation always starts with people's needs.
His advice for German employment agencies: Understand the problem first, then choose the technology – and involve both employees and users from the very beginning.
Ismo Leikola
Surprise: “Unfinnished Business” isn’t quite finished yet!
In this bonus episode, probably the best-known Finn outside Finland takes a seat in front of the camera: stand-up comedian Ismo Leikola.
He explains why electronic prescriptions can make you homesick, why Finns are better at silence than Germans and which profession might be the last to survive AI.
Spoiler: Ismo is betting on stand-up comedians. But that’s probably what an AI would say too.
01
Public administration
Decision-makers in government and public administration who want to make digital services simpler, faster, and more accessible to citizens.
02
Transformation leads
Pioneers who bridge the gap between old structures and new possibilities – and keep change moving forward.
03
Policy shapers
Everyone shaping Europe’s digital future, ready to take the first step.
FAQ
Why Finland? Why now?
Why look to Finland for lessons on digitalisation?
Because Finland does not treat digitalisation as an IT project, but as a way to make society work better: simpler services, better collaboration, faster progress. There is a lot Germany – and others – can learn from that.
What does digitalisation have to do with happiness?
More than you might think. Good digital services reduce friction instead of creating it. They build trust, save time, and make everyday life easier.
What can Central Europe take from these conversations?
Not a model to copy and paste, but a set of sharper questions: Where is trust missing? Where is complexity slowing progress down? And how do we turn digital ambition into reality?
Why these six voices?
The guests represent different industries, perspectives, and walks of life. Together, they show how digital transformation is changing business, public administration, and society – far beyond the view of any single expert.
need to talk.