Joint initiative by Finland and Sweden

The key idea of the Forest Academy for EU decision makers is to offer opportunities to connect with other key decision-makers and to share insights into the potential that forests can offer to society.

The Forest Academy for EU Decision Makers is an invitational discussion forum that focuses on the role of forests and the forest value chain in the development of a sustainable, circular bioeconomy. It is an intensive three-day programme with thematically linked site visits that demonstrate the effects of policy on the forest sector.

The forum is largely built up on the Forest Academy communication concept, created by the Finnish Forest Association. The association is a non-governmental, non-profit cooperation and communication body serving all major forest-related interests. In Finland, the communication programme has been running successfully since 1996 and over 1 800 top-level decision-makers from different sectors of society have participated in the forums.

The Forest Academy forums for EU Decision Makers has been organized four times: 2018 in Finland, 2022 in Sweden, 2023 in Finland and 2025 in Sweden.