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06/05 — 2025 by abduzeedo Explore the vibrant branding and visual identity of Leiria Film Fest 2025, designed for broad appeal and lasting impact. The 12th edition of the Leiria Film Fest, held from May 19-25, 2025, presented an opportunity for a compelling visual refresh. Paulo Graça, known as Senhor Paulinho, embraced a design philosophy that is both vibrant and inclusive, setting a new standard for film festival branding and visual identity. His work reflects cinema's power to captivate audiences across generations. This approach moves beyond simple promotion. It seeks to forge an emotional connection, celebrating cinema's universal appeal. Senhor Paulinho's graphic concept uses an illustrative, almost "naive" aesthetic. This choice relies on simple shapes and hand-drawn lines. These elements evoke the spontaneity seen in children's drawings. They also recall the classic texture of film stock. This handcrafted feel bridges the gap between creating art and imagining stories. These two acts are central to both filmmaking and drawing. Such a visual identity extends beyond mere aesthetics. It serves a deeper symbolic purpose: inviting all ages into the cinematic experience. It creates an accessible and emotionally resonant graphic universe, paying tribute to projection, the moving image, and cinema's visual memory. The visual elements were designed for versatility. They scale across various platforms without losing impact. From printed materials like posters and programs to digital banners, festival merchandise, and venue signage, the branding remains cohesive. This adaptability ensures a strong visual identity throughout all communication stages. The imagery, featuring bold eyes and abstract film-like motifs, resonates with the festival's focus on competitive and special sessions, children's events, and even an after-party. This comprehensive branding and visual identity strategy aims to do more than simply advertise an event. It aims to spark curiosity and foster emotional engagement. It celebrates cinema's enduring ability to unite, inspire, and ignite imagination. The design extends an open invitation, welcoming everyone to a shared cultural experience that is both joyful and profound. It reinforces the festival's commitment to community and the arts. The success of the Leiria Film Fest's visual identity lies in its ability to communicate warmth and accessibility while maintaining a sophisticated design language. It is a testament to how thoughtful branding can elevate an event, making it more memorable and inviting. This project provides a valuable case study for designers seeking to create impactful and inclusive visual narratives. Graphic Design by Paulo Graça a.k.a. Senhor Paulinho. Visit his work at https://paulograca.com/en/projects/leiria-film-fest-2025. Branding and visual identity artifacts  Tags branding

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Microsoft 365 Word gets SharePoint eSignature, now you can ditch third-party signing tools Paul Hill Neowin @ziks_99 · Jun 6, 2025 03:02 EDT Microsoft has just announced that it will be rolling out an extremely convenient feature for Microsoft 365 customers who use Word throughout this year. The Redmond giant said that you’ll now be able to use SharePoint’s native eSignature service directly in Microsoft Word. The new feature allows customers to request electronic signatures without converting the documents to a PDF or leaving the Word interface, significantly speeding up workflows. Microsoft’s integration of eSignatures also allows you to create eSignature templates which will speed up document approvals, eliminate physical signing steps, and help with compliance and security in the Microsoft 365 environment. This change has the potential to significantly improve the quality-of-life for those in work finding themselves adding lots of signatures to documents as they will no longer have to export PDFs from Word and apply the signature outside of Word. It’s also key to point out that this feature is integrated natively and is not an extension. The move is quite clever from Microsoft, if businesses were using third-party tools to sign their documents, they would no longer need to use these as it’s easier to do it in Word. Not only does it reduce reliance on other tools, it also makes Microsoft’s products more competitive against other office suites such as Google Workspace. Streamlined, secure, and compliant The new eSignature feature is tightly integrated into Word. It lets you insert signature fields seamlessly into documents and request other people’s signatures, all while remaining in Word. The eSignature feature can be accessed in Word by going to the Insert ribbon. When you send a signature request to someone from Word, the recipient will get an automatically generated PDF copy of the Word document to sign. The signed PDF will then be kept in the same SharePoint location as the original Word file. To ensure end-to-end security and compliance, the document never leaves the Microsoft 365 trust boundary. For anyone with a repetitive signing process, this integration allows you to turn Word documents into eSignature templates so they can be reused. Another feature that Microsoft has built in is audit trail and notifications. Both the senders and signers will get email notifications throughout the entire signing process. Additionally, you can view the activity history (audit trail) in the signed PDF to check who signed it and when. Finally, Microsoft said that administrators will be able to control how the feature is used in Word throughout the organization. They can decide to enable it for specific users via an Office group policy or limit it to particular SharePoint sites. The company said that SharePoint eSignature also lets admins log activities in the Purview Audit log. A key security measure included by Microsoft, which was mentioned above, was the Microsoft 365 trust boundary. By keeping documents in this boundary, Microsoft ensures that all organizations can use this feature without worry. The inclusion of automatic PDF creation is all a huge benefit to users as it will cut out the step of manual PDF creation. While creating a PDF isn’t complicated, it can be time consuming. The eSignature feature looks like a win-win-win for organizations that rely on digital signatures. Not only does it speed things along and remain secure, but it’s also packed with features like tracking, making it really useful and comprehensive. When and how your organization gets it SharePoint eSignature has started rolling out to Word on the M365 Beta and Current Channels in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia-Pacific. This phase of the rollout is expected to be completed by early July. People in the rest of the world will also be gaining this time-saving feature but it will not reach everyone right away, though Microsoft promises to reach everybody by the end of the year. To use the feature, it will need to be enabled by administrators. If you’re an admin who needs to enable this, just go to the M365 Admin Center and enable SharePoint eSignature, ensuring the Word checkbox is selected. Once the service is enabled, apply the “Allow the use of SharePoint eSignature for Microsoft Word” policy. The policy can be enabled via Intune, Group Policy manager, or the Cloud Policy service for Microsoft 365 Assuming the admins have given permission to use the feature, users will be able to access SharePoint eSignatures on Word Desktop using the Microsoft 365 Current Channel or Beta Channel. The main caveats include that the rollout is phased, so you might not get it right away, and it requires IT admins to enable the feature - in which case, it may never get enabled at all. Overall, this feature stands to benefit users who sign documents a lot as it can save huge amounts of time cumulatively. It’s also good for Microsoft who increase organizations’ dependence on Word. Tags Report a problem with article Follow @NeowinFeed

Email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC play a critical role in protecting domains from spoofing and phishing. However, when SEGs are introduced into the email path, the interaction with these protocols becomes more complex. Security gateways(SEGs) are a core part of many organizations’ email infrastructure. They act as intermediaries between the public internet and internal mail systems, inspecting, filtering, and routing messages. This blog examines how security gateways handle SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, with real-world examples from popular gateways such as Proofpoint, Mimecast, and Avanan. We’ll also cover best practices for maintaining authentication integrity and avoiding misconfigurations that can compromise email authentication or lead to false DMARC failures. Security gateways often sit at the boundary between your organization and the internet, managing both inbound and outbound email traffic. Their role affects how email authentication protocols behave. An inbound SEG examines emails coming into your organization. It checks SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to determine if the message is authentic and safe before passing it to your internal mail servers. An outbound SEG handles emails sent from your domain. It may modify headers, rewrite envelope addresses, or even apply DKIM signing. All of these can impact SPF,  DKIM, or DMARC validation on the recipient’s side. Understanding how SEGs influence these flows is crucial to maintaining proper authentication and avoiding unexpected DMARC failures. Inbound Handling of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC by Common Security Gateways When an email comes into your organization, your security gateway is the first to inspect it. It checks whether the message is real, trustworthy, and properly authenticated. Let’s look at how different SEGs handle these checks. Avanan (by Check Point) SPF: Avanan verifies whether the sending server is authorized to send emails for the domain by checking the SPF record. DKIM: It verifies if the message was signed by the sending domain and if that signature is valid. DMARC: It uses the results of the SPF and DKIM check to evaluate DMARC. However, final enforcement usually depends on how DMARC is handled by Microsoft 365 or Gmail, as Avanan integrates directly with them. Avanan offers two methods of integration:1. API integration: Avanan connects via APIs, no change in MX, usually Monitor or Detect modes.2. Inline integration: Avanan is placed inline in the mail flow (MX records changed), actively blocking or remediating threats. Proofpoint Email Protection SPF: Proofpoint checks SPF to confirm the sender’s IP is authorized to send on behalf of the domain. You can set custom rules (e.g. treat “softfail” as “fail”). DKIM: It verifies DKIM signatures and shows clear pass/fail results in logs. DMARC: It fully evaluates DMARC by combining SPF and DKIM results with alignment checks. Administrators can configure how to handle messages that fail DMARC, such as rejecting, quarantining, or delivering them. Additionally, Proofpoint allows whitelisting specific senders you trust, even if their emails fail authentication checks. Integration Methods Inline Mode: In this traditional deployment, Proofpoint is positioned directly in the email flow by modifying MX records. Emails are routed through Proofpoint’s infrastructure, allowing it to inspect and filter messages before they reach the recipient’s inbox. This mode provides pre-delivery protection and is commonly used in on-premises or hybrid environments. API-Based (Integrated Cloud Email Security – ICES) Mode: Proofpoint offers API-based integration, particularly with cloud email platforms like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. In this mode, Proofpoint connects to the email platform via APIs, enabling it to monitor and remediate threats post-delivery without altering the email flow. This approach allows for rapid deployment and seamless integration with existing cloud email services. Mimecast SPF: Mimecast performs SPF checks to verify whether the sending server is authorized by the domain’s SPF record. Administrators can configure actions for SPF failures, including block, quarantine, permit, or tag with a warning. This gives flexibility in balancing security with business needs. DKIM: It validates DKIM signatures by checking that the message was correctly signed by the sending domain and that the content hasn’t been tampered with. If the signature fails, Mimecast can take actions based on your configured policies. DMARC: It fully evaluates DMARC by combining the results of SPF and DKIM with domain alignment checks. You can choose to honor the sending domain’s DMARC policy (none, quarantine, reject) or apply custom rules, for example, quarantining or tagging messages that fail DMARC regardless of the published policy. This allows more granular control for businesses that want to override external domain policies based on specific contexts. Integration Methods Inline Deployment: Mimecast is typically deployed as a cloud-based secure email gateway. Organizations update their domain’s MX records to point to Mimecast, so all inbound (and optionally outbound) emails pass through it first. This allows Mimecast to inspect, filter, and process emails before delivery, providing robust protection. API Integrations: Mimecast also offers API-based services through its Mimecast API platform, primarily for management, archival, continuity, and threat intelligence purposes. However, API-only email protection is not Mimecast’s core model. Instead, the APIs are used to enhance the inline deployment, not replace it. Barracuda Email Security Gateway SPF: Barracuda checks the sender’s IP against the domain’s published SPF record. If the check fails, you can configure the system to block, quarantine, tag, or allow the message, depending on your policy preferences. DKIM: It validates whether the incoming message includes a valid DKIM signature. The outcome is logged and used to inform further policy decisions or DMARC evaluations. DMARC: It combines SPF and DKIM results, checks for domain alignment, and applies the DMARC policy defined by the sender. Administrators can also choose to override the DMARC policy, allowing messages to pass or be treated differently based on organizational needs (e.g., trusted senders or internal exceptions). Integration Methods Inline mode (more common and straightforward): Barracuda Email Security Gateway is commonly deployed inline by updating your domain’s MX records to point to Barracuda’s cloud or on-premises gateway. This ensures that all inbound emails pass through Barracuda first for filtering and SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation before being delivered to your mail servers. Deployment Behind the Corporate Firewall: Alternatively, Barracuda can be deployed in transparent or bridge mode without modifying MX records. In this setup, the gateway is placed inline at the network level, such as behind a firewall, and intercepts mail traffic transparently. This method is typically used in complex on-premises environments where changing DNS records is not feasible. Cisco Secure Email (formerly IronPort) Cisco Secure Email acts as an inline gateway for inbound email, usually requiring your domain’s MX records to point to the Cisco Email Security Appliance or cloud service. SPF: Cisco Secure Email verifies whether the sending server is authorized in the sender domain’s SPF record. Administrators can set detailed policies on how to handle SPF failures. DKIM: It validates the DKIM signature on incoming emails and logs whether the signature is valid or has failed. DMARC: It evaluates DMARC by combining SPF and DKIM results along with domain alignment checks. Admins can configure specific actions, such as quarantine, reject, or tag, based on different failure scenarios or trusted sender exceptions. Integration methods On-premises Email Security Appliance (ESA): You deploy Cisco’s hardware or virtual appliance inline, updating MX records to route mail through it for filtering. Cisco Cloud Email Security: Cisco offers a cloud-based email security service where MX records are pointed to Cisco’s cloud infrastructure, which filters and processes inbound mail. Cisco Secure Email also offers advanced, rule-based filtering capabilities and integrates with Cisco’s broader threat protection ecosystem, enabling comprehensive inbound email security. Outbound Handling of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC by Common Security Gateways When your organization sends emails, security gateways can play an active role in processing and authenticating those messages. Depending on the configuration, a gateway might rewrite headers, re-sign messages, or route them through different IPs – all actions that can help or hurt the authentication process. Let’s look at how major SEGs handle outbound email flow. Avanan – Outbound Handling and Integration Methods Outbound Logic Avanan analyzes outbound emails primarily to detect data loss, malware, and policy violations. In API-based integration, emails are sent directly by the original mail server (e.g., Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace), so SPF and DKIM signatures remain intact. Avanan does not alter the message or reroute traffic, which helps maintain full DMARC alignment and domain reputation. Integration Methods 1. API Integration: Connects to Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace via API. No MX changes are needed. Emails are scanned after they are sent, with no modification to SPF, DKIM, or the delivery path.  How it works: Microsoft Graph API or Google Workspace APIs are used to monitor and intervene in outbound emails. Protection level: Despite no MX changes, it can offer inline-like protection, meaning it can block, quarantine, or encrypt emails before they are delivered externally. SPF/DKIM/DMARC impact: Preserves original headers and signatures since mail is sent directly from Microsoft/Google servers. 2. Inline Integration: Requires changing MX records to route email through Avanan. In this mode, Avanan can intercept and inspect outbound emails before delivery. Depending on the configuration, this may affect SPF or DKIM if not properly handled. How it works: Requires adding Avanan’s Protection level: Traditional inline security with full visibility and control, including encryption, DLP, policy enforcement, and advanced threat protection. SPF/DKIM/DMARC impact: SPF configuration is needed by adding Avanan’s include mechanism to the sending domain’s SPF record. The DKIM record of the original sending source is preserved. For configurations, you can refer to the steps in this blog. Proofpoint – Outbound Handling and Integration Methods Outbound Logic Proofpoint analyzes outbound emails to detect and prevent data loss (DLP), to identify advanced threats (malware, phishing, BEC) originating from compromised internal accounts, and to ensure compliance. Their API integration provides crucial visibility and powerful remediation capabilities, while their traditional gateway (MX record) deployment delivers true inline, pre-delivery blocking for outbound traffic. Integration methods 1. API Integration: No MX record changes are required for this deployment method. Integration is done with Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. How it works: Through its API integration, Proofpoint gains deep visibility into outbound emails and provides layered security and response features, including: Detect and alert: Identifies sensitive content (Data Loss Prevention violations), malicious attachments, or suspicious links in outbound emails. Post-delivery remediation (TRAP): A key capability of the API model is Threat Response Auto-Pull (TRAP), which enables Proofpoint to automatically recall, quarantine, or delete emails after delivery. This is particularly useful for internally sent messages or those forwarded to other users. Enhanced visibility: Aggregates message metadata and logs into Proofpoint’s threat intelligence platform, giving security teams a centralized view of outbound risks and user behavior. Protection level: API-based integration provides strong post-delivery detection and response, as well as visibility into DLP incidents and suspicious behavior.  SPF/DKIM/DMARC impact: Proofpoint does not alter SPF, DKIM, or DMARC because emails are sent directly through Microsoft or Google servers. Since Proofpoint’s servers are not involved in the actual sending process, the original authentication headers remain intact. 2. Gateway Integration (MX Record/Smart Host): This method requires updating MX records or routing outbound mail through Proofpoint via a smart host. How it works: Proofpoint acts as an inline gateway, inspecting emails before delivery. Inbound mail is filtered via MX changes; outbound mail is relayed through Proofpoint’s servers. Threat and DLP filtering: Scans outbound messages for sensitive content, malware, and policy violations. Real-time enforcement: Blocks, encrypts, or quarantines emails before they’re delivered. Policy controls: Applies rules based on content, recipient, or behavior. Protection level: Provides strong, real-time protection for outbound traffic with pre-delivery enforcement, DLP, and encryption. SPF/DKIM/DMARC impact: Proofpoint becomes the sending server: SPF: You need to configure ProofPoint’s SPF. DKIM: Can sign messages; requires DKIM setup. DMARC: DMARC passes if SPF and DKIM are set up properly. Please refer to this article to configure SPF and DKIM for ProofPoint. Mimecast – Outbound Handling and Integration Methods Outbound Logic Mimecast inspects outbound emails to prevent data loss (DLP), detect internal threats such as malware and impersonation, and ensure regulatory compliance. It primarily functions as a Secure Email Gateway (SEG), meaning it sits directly in the outbound email flow. While Mimecast offers APIs, its core outbound protection is built around this inline gateway model. Integration Methods 1. Gateway Integration (MX Record change required) This is Mimecast’s primary method for outbound email protection. Organizations route their outbound traffic through Mimecast by configuring their email server (e.g., Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, etc.) to use Mimecast as a smart host. This enables Mimecast to inspect and enforce policies on all outgoing emails in real time. How it works: Updating outbound routing in your email system (smart host settings), or Using Mimecast SMTP relay to direct messages through their infrastructure. Mimecast then scans, filters, and applies policies before the email reaches the final recipient. Protection level: Advanced DLP: Identifies and prevents sensitive data leaks. Impersonation and Threat Protection: Blocks malware, phishing, and abuse from compromised internal accounts. Email Encryption and Secure Messaging: Applies encryption policies or routes messages via secure portals. Regulatory Compliance: Enforces outbound compliance rules based on content, recipient, or metadata. SPF/DKIM/DMARC impact: SPF: Your SPF record must include Mimecast’s SPF mechanism based on your region to avoid SPF failures. DKIM: A new DKIM record should be configured to make sure your emails are DKIM signed when routing through Mimecast. DMARC: With correct SPF and DKIM setup, Mimecast ensures DMARC alignment, maintaining your domain’s sending reputation. Please refer to the steps in this detailed article to set up SPF and DKIM for Mimecast. 2. API Integration (Complementary to Gateway) Mimecast’s APIs complement the main gateway by providing automation, reporting, and management tools rather than handling live outbound mail flow. They allow you to manage policies, export logs, search archived emails, and sync users. APIs enhance visibility and operational tasks but do not provide real-time filtering or blocking of outbound messages. Since APIs don’t process live mail, they have no direct effect on SPF, DKIM, or DMARC; those depend on your gateway (smart host) setup. Barracuda – Outbound Handling and Integration Methods Outbound Logic Barracuda analyzes outbound emails to prevent data loss (DLP), block malware, stop phishing/impersonation attempts from compromised internal accounts, and ensure compliance. Barracuda offers flexible deployment options, including both traditional gateway (MX record) and API-based integrations. While both contribute to outbound security, their roles are distinct. Integration Methods 1. Gateway Integration (MX Record / Smart Host) — Primary Inline Security How it works: All outbound emails pass through Barracuda’s security stack for real-time inspection, threat blocking, and policy enforcement before delivery. Protection level: Comprehensive DLP (blocking, encrypting, or quarantining sensitive content)  Outbound spam and virus filtering  Enforcement of compliance and content policies This approach offers a high level of control and immediate threat mitigation on outbound mail flow. SPF/DKIM/DMARC impact: SPF: Update SPF records to include Barracuda’s sending IPs or SPF include mechanism. DKIM: Currently, no explicit setup is needed; DKIM of the main sending source is preserved. Refer to this article for more comprehensive guidance on Barracuda SEG configuration. 2. API Integration (Complementary & Advanced Threat Focus) How it works: The API accesses cloud email environments to analyze historical and real-time data, learning normal communication patterns to detect anomalies in outbound emails. It also supports post-delivery remediation, enabling the removal of malicious emails from internal mailboxes after sending. Protection level: Advanced AI-driven detection and near real-time blocking of outbound threats, plus strong post-delivery cleanup capabilities. SPF/DKIM/DMARC impact: Since mail is sent directly by the original mail server (e.g., Microsoft 365), SPF and DKIM signatures remain intact, preserving DMARC alignment and domain reputation. Cisco Secure Email (formerly IronPort) – Outbound Handling and Integration Methods Outbound Logic Cisco Secure Email protects outbound email by preventing data loss (DLP), blocking spam and malware from internal accounts, stopping business email compromise (BEC) and impersonation attacks, and ensuring compliance. Cisco provides both traditional gateway appliances/cloud gateways and modern API-based solutions for layered outbound security. Integration Methods 1. Gateway Integration (MX Record / Smart Host) – Cisco Secure Email Gateway (ESA) How it works: Organizations update MX records to route mail through the Cisco Secure Email Gateway or configure their mail server (e.g., Microsoft 365, Exchange) to smart host outbound email via the gateway. All outbound mail is inspected and policies enforced before delivery. Protection level: Granular DLP (blocking, encrypting, quarantining sensitive content) Outbound spam and malware filtering to protect IP reputation Email encryption for sensitive outbound messages Comprehensive content and attachment policy enforcement SPF: Check this article for comprehensive guidance on Cisco SPF settings. DKIM: Refer to this article for detailed guidance on Cisco DKIM settings. 2. API Integration – Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense How it works: Integrates directly via API with Microsoft 365 (and potentially Google Workspace), continuously monitoring email metadata, content, and user behavior across inbound, outbound, and internal messages. Leverages Cisco’s threat intelligence and AI to detect anomalous outbound activity linked to BEC, account takeover, and phishing. Post-Delivery Remediation: Automates the removal or quarantine of malicious or policy-violating emails from mailboxes even after sending. Protection level: Advanced, AI-driven detection of sophisticated outbound threats with real-time monitoring and automated remediation. Complements gateway filtering by adding cloud-native visibility and swift post-send action. SPF/DKIM/DMARC impact: Since emails are sent directly by the original mail server, SPF and DKIM signatures remain intact, preserving DMARC alignment and domain reputation. If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to reach out to EasyDMARC technical support.

Key Takeaways The European Commission will introduce the new International Digital Strategy that will focus on tech collaboration with the US and other countries. This is in contradiction to the growing pressure in Europe that calls for tech sovereignty and reducing tech dependence on the US. Low venture capital funding and a diverse regulatory landscape have been major challenges for tech innovation in Europe. Europe is seeing an increasing push to establish technological sovereignty and reduce the region’s reliance on US technology. However, there’s always been an undertone of acceptance that the EU is years behind the US when it comes to technological innovation and advancements. Now, the European Commission is planning to acknowledge this publicly. The EC will introduce a new International Digital Strategy, which will focus on collaboration with the United States and other tech-forward countries, such as Japan, South Korea, and India. The lawmakers believe that “decoupling” from the West is unrealistic and will instead push Europe further back in the technological race. Europe’s Call for Tech Sovereignty Several prominent political leaders and lawmakers have advocated for European sovereignty over technology and artificial intelligence.  For instance, Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, said in a speech in 2024 that Europe’s strategic autonomy is a conscious choice to end the region’s dependence on others. In an earlier speech, he also said that if Europe fails to build champions in areas such as digital and artificial intelligence, its choices will be dictated by others.  Similarly, Thierry Breton, the former EU Commissioner for Internal Markets, said that digital spending in the EU will breach the 20% target, underlining the importance of investing in European tech sovereignty. He focused on Europe’s declining market share in the semiconductor industry and called for the development of groundbreaking European tech. The Eurostack movement in the EU has also been gaining a lot of traction and support from various think tanks, academic researchers, and industry voices. Eurostack staff calls for the development of an indigenous infrastructure stack in the European region, including cloud, AI, semiconductors, digital services, and data centers. The main aim is to reduce Europe’s dependence on Chinese and US technology. This growing concern among EU well-wishers is quite understandable. Excessive reliance on the United States puts the US (meaning Donald Trump) in a controlling position, where he can arm-twist the European Union in matters of trade and even politics.  We have already seen an example of this during the tariff war, where Trump imposed a 25% tariff on automobiles (and their parts) and steel and aluminum products imported from the EU. Also, the fact that Google, Microsoft, and Amazon account for around 69% of the cloud market in the EU is quite concerning, too. Europe Wakes Up to Reality Despite positive speeches and statements by people in power in the EU, the fact remains that Europe is still lagging behind the United States. Bulgarian lawmaker Eva Maydell said that Europe should “sober up” and accept that the train has left the station. Dan Nechita, the current EU director for the Transatlantic Policy Network, said that it’s not the right time to be politically absolute and say that “we are going to do everything in Europe.” EU tech chief Virkkunen has been working hard to bring home the support of influential tech lobbies and emphasized the need to continue working with the United States. To put it in a nutshell, the European Commission is ready to accept the fact that the damage is done, and now Europe needs to play second fiddle and forge strategic partnerships with key technological leaders (primarily in the US) to stay alive in the race. Lack of Investments and the EU’s Regulation-First Approach One of the major reasons behind the European Union’s sluggish tech development is the lack of venture capital investments in the region. As per an IMF post, EU VC funds raised around $130B between 2013 and 2022. During the same time, the US raised $924B.  Similarly, annual VC investments in the EU are only 0.2% of the GDP when compared to 0.7% in the US. Currently, the United States accounts for a massive 52% of the global VC funds, whereas the EU holds just 5%.  Lack of investments has forced European startups to look elsewhere, especially the United States, for funding and support. One of the major reasons for such low venture capital interest in Europe is its diversity. Each of the 27 countries in the EU has its own regulatory and legal challenges, which make it difficult for multinational corporations to operate in the region.  Plus, the EU has adopted a regulation-first approach, which is very different from the United States. Of course, this approach has its own merits, but it has surely slowed down the speed of technological investments in the region.  For instance, the GDPR puts a truckload of regulatory and moral responsibility on companies to protect user data. Similarly, the AI Act focuses on the more ethical development of artificial intelligence that’s aligned with human values and refrains companies from exploiting public data. Sure, all of these are positive tech regulations important to protect the long-term sovereignty of the public at large. Even global tech advocates have praised the EU’s efforts for the development of safe and ethical technologies. However, we cannot ignore the fact that this has come at the cost of sluggish tech investments and overall growth. With its back against the wall, Europe needs to reassess its strengths and focus on areas such as open-source technologies, such as France’s La Suite numérique, and government-backed technological initiatives to have a say in the upcoming artificial intelligence and semiconductor race. Krishi is a seasoned tech journalist with over four years of experience writing about PC hardware, consumer technology, and artificial intelligence.  Clarity and accessibility are at the core of Krishi’s writing style. He believes technology writing should empower readers—not confuse them—and he’s committed to ensuring his content is always easy to understand without sacrificing accuracy or depth. Over the years, Krishi has contributed to some of the most reputable names in the industry, including Techopedia, TechRadar, and Tom’s Guide. A man of many talents, Krishi has also proven his mettle as a crypto writer, tackling complex topics with both ease and zeal. His work spans various formats—from in-depth explainers and news coverage to feature pieces and buying guides.  Behind the scenes, Krishi operates from a dual-monitor setup (including a 29-inch LG UltraWide) that’s always buzzing with news feeds, technical documentation, and research notes, as well as the occasional gaming sessions that keep him fresh.  Krishi thrives on staying current, always ready to dive into the latest announcements, industry shifts, and their far-reaching impacts.  When he's not deep into research on the latest PC hardware news, Krishi would love to chat with you about day trading and the financial markets—oh! And cricket, as well. View all articles by Krishi Chowdhary Our editorial process The Tech Report editorial policy is centered on providing helpful, accurate content that offers real value to our readers. We only work with experienced writers who have specific knowledge in the topics they cover, including latest developments in technology, online privacy, cryptocurrencies, software, and more. Our editorial policy ensures that each topic is researched and curated by our in-house editors. We maintain rigorous journalistic standards, and every article is 100% written by real authors.

ZDNET's key takeaways The Eufy E28 robot vacuum, mop, and spot cleaner combination is available for $999.The mop performs better than more expensive flagships, and the water tank system doubles as a portable spot cleaner with a self-cleaning hose.Unplugging the spot cleaner also unplugs the charging station, and the spot cleaner requires you to brush it to scrub. more buying choices The Eufy E28 Omni robot vacuum and mop just hit its lowest price ever at $850, a total of $450 off with an on-page Amazon coupon.Robot vacuum manufacturers are constantly trying to outdo one another. One company develops a detachable cordless vacuum for the robot's dock, and the next makes the robot's dustbin a detachable cordless vacuum. Now, Eufy is upping the ante with the first robot vacuum to also have a detachable spot cleaner for carpet and upholstery. Also: Finally, I found a robot and handheld vacuum combo that's ideal for apartment dwellersThe Eufy Omni E28 is a robot vacuum and mop with a portable spot cleaner for carpets and upholstery. You can run your robot vacuum as you would any other, but you can also pick up the top with a built-in retractable handle and do some deep cleaning on carpets, rugs, or upholstery. I've been testing this robot vacuum over the past couple of weeks, and I'm happy to report on its performance.  details View at Amazon Essentially, the deep cleaner you carry is the Omni station's clean and dirty water tank, so it's where the robot autonomously sources clean water for its mop when it's at the dock. The deep cleaner has a handle for spot-cleaning with a hose, so you can set it down near where you want to clean and plug it in without holding it as you clean. Aside from detachable cordless vacuums, a mop roller system is another big thing for robot vacuums; many makers, including SwitchBot, Yeedi, and Ecovacs, are moving away from detachable rotating mop pads and using mop rollers instead. Eufy's also done this before with the flagship S1 Pro.  Maria Diaz/ZDNETThe Omni E28 also has a mop roller, which looks similar to the S1 Pro but not identical. The Eufy Omni S1 Pro is unequivocally the best mopping robot vacuum I've ever tested, so I was excited to test the new Omni E28, which features a very similar system. Thankfully, the Omni E28 didn't disappoint. The large mop roller covers the length of the vacuum's width and leaves no streaks behind during mopping. Streaky floors are one of my biggest pet peeves when testing robot vacuum and mop combinations, and they're a more common occurrence than I'd like. Also: My favorite indoor security camera has no subscription fees and is on sale right nowEufy is also launching an E25 robot vacuum, which features the same HydroJet self-cleaning mop system as the E28. The robot's mop roller is continuously scraped clean as it spins, and it keeps clean and dirty water in separate tanks within its body, so it only mops with clean water. The mop also exerts more downward pressure to ensure deep cleaning than the S1 Pro, with 1.5kg (3.3 lbs) instead of 1kg.  Maria Diaz/ZDNETHowever, continuously spraying the roller with clean water inside the robot keeps it moist. Scraping off the dirt and wringing out the dirty water as the roller spins ensures your floors are clean instead of streaky or filmy. The Eufy Omni E28, like the S1 Pro, is the closest thing to a manual mopping result you can get from a robot vacuum and mop. Also: I love a vacuum and mop to clean dry and wet messes, especially when it's on saleThe E28 and E25 robot vacuums have 20,000Pa of suction power and anti-tangle technology, including a DuoSpiral double roller brush to remove pet hair and avoid entanglements. The robots are self-emptying robot vacuums with a self-washing mop roller. The only difference is the portable spot cleaner, which only the E28 has. The Eufy Omni E28 robot vacuum and mop has dual brush rollers and a roller mop. Maria Diaz/ZDNETThe spot cleaner proved to be very effective. It's heavy, like most spot cleaners when full of water, but it has a retractable handle on top that makes it easy to carry around. You also don't have to press any buttons or move anything to release it; just unplug it, pull the retractable handle, and go. I didn't like that the spot cleaner powers the base station, so if you take it somewhere else in your home to clean, the robot's charging station is left without power until you return it. This is fine for quick cleanups, but it can be annoying when a forgetful house member takes the spot cleaner upstairs and leaves it in a room for two days after they're done (totally not me). Also: This simple Amazon tablet became one of my biggest smart home upgrades yet (and it's on sale)The spot cleaner has a self-cleaning hose attached, but no other attachments. The hose ends in a static brush head that sprays clean water, which you use to clean messes on soft surfaces, like carpets, rugs, and upholstery. Since it isn't motorized, you must manually brush the rug or fabric with the brush head to scrub it clean. Once you're done, you just have to press a button along one end of the brush head to make the spot cleaner cycle clean water through the hose without spilling, cleaning the hose for you.  These pictures were taken three minutes apart. The left (before) shows yogurt stains on an ottoman. I sprayed a liquid spot cleaner and went over it with the brush and water; the results are on the right (after). Maria Diaz/ZDNETThere's no separate detergent tank for the spot cleaner, though you could add some detergent directly into the clean water tank. I recommend using just water in the clean water tank and spraying your preferred carpet or upholstery cleaning solution directly on the stains to pre-treat them. You can then scrub the mess clean with the Eufy E28 brush and rinse out the detergent. ZDNET's buying adviceThe Eufy Omni E28 is designed to solve a big problem for many US customers: the need for regular floor cleanings and the ability to quickly clean up messes on soft surfaces in a single device. This device isn't meant to replace your existing carpet cleaner, but it's perfect for consumers who may need a spot cleaner and are also in the market for one of the best robot vacuum and mops available.Also: Spring cleaning takes me no time with my favorite smart home devicesI'm not a fan of fully carpeted living spaces, but my home has carpeted bedrooms, one of which we use as our TV room. With three young kids who have movie nights and play time in that TV room, its carpet unfortunately sees a lot of spills. I was in the market for a spot cleaner for a while, but decided to buy a full carpet cleaner instead, which I use to clean our carpets at least once every quarter.  The E28 cleaned up the soy sauce stains comparably to the larger carpet cleaner. Maria Diaz/ZDNETBut there are always little messes in between -- whether it's spilled ketchup on the carpet, a muddy shoeprint on the entryway rug, or yogurt on the fabric ottoman. So I appreciate having the Eufy Omni E28's spot cleaner always handy. Instead of dragging out a heavy carpet cleaning machine and filling it with water to clean a 6-inch in diameter spill, I can just unplug and grab the E28, clean the mess, and return it to the dock with little work on my end. It's also priced quite well for a first-of-its-kind device with a flagship-level robot vacuum and mop. The Eufy Omni E28 robot vacuum, mop, and spot cleaning combination is now available on Eufy's website and Amazon for $1,000. The Eufy E25 robot vacuum and mop without the spot cleaner will be available in June for $900. When will this deal expire? While many sales events feature deals for a specific length of time, deals are on a limited-time basis, making them subject to expire at any time. ZDNET remains committed to finding, sharing, and updating the best offers to help you maximize your savings so you can feel as confident in your purchases as we feel in our recommendations. Our ZDNET team of experts constantly monitors the deals we feature to keep our stories up-to-date. If you missed out on this deal, don't worry -- we're always sourcing new savings opportunities at ZDNET.com. Show more Featured

House in Palm Springs | © Sydney Turturro via Unsplash Moving from an apartment to a house is a major life milestone. It usually means more space, more responsibility, and more freedom. But unless you plan it right, it can also come with more stress.  Whether upgrading to accommodate a growing family or simply looking for more room to breathe, here are five essential steps to help you move from an apartment to a house confidently and easily. 1. Start with a Clear Plan and Timeline One of the most common mistakes people make when moving from an apartment to a house is underestimating how long it takes. It’s not just about packing up your belongings; it’s about handling logistics, paperwork, and scheduling around daily life.  As soon as you know your moving date, create a moving checklist.  Outline what needs to be done weekly: notifying your landlord, scheduling the elevator if you’re in a high-rise, collecting packing materials, and booking your moving company. Planning ahead helps you avoid last-minute stress and unexpected costs. If possible, give yourself at least 6–8 weeks. That gives you enough time to declutter, coordinate with service providers, and ensure you’re fully prepared for move-in day. The earlier you start, the smoother everything flows. Hiring professional movers early in the process can also secure your preferred date and provide access to helpful services, such as packing, storage, or specialized transportation. With everything scheduled well in advance, you’ll have the peace of mind needed to focus on your new adventure. 2. Downsize Before You Upsize It may sound counterintuitive, but moving to a bigger space doesn’t mean you should bring everything with you.  Over time, we accumulate furniture, clothes, gadgets, and kitchen tools that serve little purpose. And in a small apartment, many of these items might have been crammed into closets or storage bins and forgotten altogether.  Now’s the perfect time to declutter and lighten the load before the move. Start by walking through your apartment and taking stock of everything. Ask yourself what truly adds value to your life and what’s just taking up space. If you haven’t used something in over a year, it’s probably safe to let it go. You can donate, sell, or recycle items as needed. A good rule of thumb is to be ruthless. A cleaner move means a cleaner start in your new home. By purging the excess, you’ll reduce moving costs and arrive at your new house with a fresh mindset. There’s no sense in transporting items you no longer want or need. Instead, you’ll be able to unpack more quickly and enjoy your new space without clutter. 3. Prepare for a Different Kind of Space Living in a house is very different from apartment life. The layout, square footage, and storage options all change, which means your furniture and lifestyle habits may also need to adapt. That cozy loveseat that fits perfectly in your apartment living room might look dwarfed in a larger house.  Before moving, visit the house if possible and take room measurements.  Consider creating a rough floor plan to determine where each piece of furniture will fit. This not only helps your local movers place items on move-in day, but it also ensures you don’t waste time and energy relocating things that won’t work in the new space. Apps and online tools can help you visualize your layout ahead of time. Beyond furniture, also think about what your new home may need.  Will you have a backyard that needs maintenance? A garage that requires storage shelving? An extra guest room or home office that needs furnishing?  While you don’t have to buy everything at once, it’s smart to budget for future purchases so you can comfortably and intentionally grow into your home. 4. Handle Utilities, Address Changes, and Logistics © Peter Thomas via Unsplash © Mitch via Unsplash Unlike apartments, where utilities may be partially covered or managed by the landlord, houses typically require you to set up and manage everything yourself.  This includes electricity, water, gas, internet, trash collection, and sometimes even lawn care services. Don’t wait until the last minute; contact providers at least a week before your move to schedule installation or transfers. At the same time, update your address with your bank, subscription services, and relevant government agencies. This helps ensure you continue to receive important mail and prevents service disruptions. If you’re moving within the same city, this can be fairly straightforward. If you’re moving to a different region or province, however, make sure you check for local utility providers and regional services. Elevator bookings and parking permits are other key details to address, especially when moving out of an apartment in a busy area.  Confirm all building rules and moving hours in advance, and inform your movers so they can plan accordingly. Clear communication on these details makes the moving day smoother for everyone involved. 5. Rely on a Trusted Moving Partner Perhaps the most important step in this process is choosing the right moving company.  Apartment-to-house moves require experience, careful coordination, and physical effort, especially when dealing with tight stairwells, narrow hallways, or long distances from the apartment to the truck.  A professional moving team can handle the logistics efficiently while protecting your belongings from damage. Instead of doing it all yourself, you can count on us to carry the load literally. We bring the right equipment, vehicles, and muscle, so you don’t have to worry about heavy lifting or unexpected delays. More importantly, we offer peace of mind during an exciting and overwhelming time. A good moving experience sets the tone for your new chapter. Let us help make that transition smooth, stress-free, and even enjoyable. Final Word Moving from an apartment to a house is more than just a physical shift; it’s a lifestyle change. With the right planning, thoughtful decisions, and support from experienced movers, you can make the process simple and even fun. Whether it’s your first home or your dream upgrade, we’re here to guide you every step of the way. Frequently Asked Questions  1. How far in advance should I book a moving company when moving from an apartment to a house? We recommend booking your moving company at least 4–6 weeks in advance, especially during peak moving seasons (spring and summer). This gives you the best chance to secure your preferred date and time while also allowing time for proper planning, packing, and coordination with building management if needed. 2. What’s the best way to downsize before moving into a house? Even though you’re moving to a larger space, it’s wise to declutter before your move. Sort items by category, keep, donate, sell, or discard, and be honest about what you actually use. Unused furniture, duplicate kitchenware, and old clothes often don’t need to make the move. A lighter load means a faster, more affordable, and more organized transition. 3. Will all my apartment furniture fit properly in a house?  Some furniture from a compact apartment may not always feel too small or awkward in a larger home. We recommend measuring key pieces and comparing them with the dimensions of the new space before moving. Our team can help you decide what’s worth moving and even assist with layout planning to ensure everything fits where it should. 4. What should I do about utilities when moving into a house?  Unlike apartment living, homeowners are responsible for setting up all their utilities individually. Be sure to contact providers for electricity, water, internet, gas, and waste collection at least a week before your move. Scheduling ahead ensures your new home is move-in ready, and you won’t experience any service interruptions. 5. Do I need professional movers for a short move from an apartment to a house? Even if you’re moving just a few blocks, a professional moving team makes the process faster, safer, and far less stressful. We handle the heavy lifting, stairs, tight corners, and transportation logistics, so you don’t have to. Our experience ensures that your belongings arrive safely, regardless of the distance. GuidesTips by ArchEyes Team Leave a comment

Text embedding and reranking are foundational to modern information retrieval systems, powering applications such as semantic search, recommendation systems, and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). However, current approaches often face key challenges—particularly in achieving both high multilingual fidelity and task adaptability without relying on proprietary APIs. Existing models frequently fall short in scenarios requiring nuanced semantic understanding across multiple languages or domain-specific tasks like code retrieval and instruction following. Moreover, most open-source models either lack scale or flexibility, while commercial APIs remain costly and closed. Qwen3-Embedding and Qwen3-Reranker: A New Standard for Open-Source Embedding Alibaba’s Qwen Team has unveiled the Qwen3-Embedding and Qwen3-Reranker Series—models that set a new benchmark in multilingual text embedding and relevance ranking. Built on the Qwen3 foundation models, the series includes variants in 0.6B, 4B, and 8B parameter sizes and supports a wide range of languages (119 in total), making it one of the most versatile and performant open-source offerings to date. These models are now open-sourced under the Apache 2.0 license on Hugging Face, GitHub, and ModelScope, and are also accessible via Alibaba Cloud APIs. These models are optimized for use cases such as semantic retrieval, classification, RAG, sentiment analysis, and code search—providing a strong alternative to existing solutions like Gemini Embedding and OpenAI’s embedding APIs. Technical Architecture Qwen3-Embedding models adopt a dense transformer-based architecture with causal attention, producing embeddings by extracting the hidden state corresponding to the [EOS] token. Instruction-awareness is a key feature: input queries are formatted as {instruction} {query}<|endoftext|>, enabling task-conditioned embeddings. The reranker models are trained with a binary classification format, judging document-query relevance in an instruction-guided manner using a token likelihood-based scoring function. The models are trained using a robust multi-stage training pipeline: Large-scale weak supervision: 150M synthetic training pairs generated using Qwen3-32B, covering retrieval, classification, STS, and bitext mining across languages and tasks. Supervised fine-tuning: 12M high-quality data pairs are selected using cosine similarity (>0.7), fine-tuning performance in downstream applications. Model merging: Spherical linear interpolation (SLERP) of multiple fine-tuned checkpoints ensures robustness and generalization. This synthetic data generation pipeline enables control over data quality, language diversity, task difficulty, and more—resulting in a high degree of coverage and relevance in low-resource settings. Performance Benchmarks and Insights The Qwen3-Embedding and Qwen3-Reranker series demonstrate strong empirical performance across several multilingual benchmarks. On MMTEB (216 tasks across 250+ languages), Qwen3-Embedding-8B achieves a mean task score of 70.58, surpassing Gemini and GTE-Qwen2 series. On MTEB (English v2): Qwen3-Embedding-8B reaches 75.22, outperforming other open models including NV-Embed-v2 and GritLM-7B. On MTEB-Code: Qwen3-Embedding-8B leads with 80.68, excelling in applications like code retrieval and Stack Overflow QA. For reranking: Qwen3-Reranker-0.6B already outperforms Jina and BGE rerankers. Qwen3-Reranker-8B achieves 81.22 on MTEB-Code and 72.94 on MMTEB-R, marking state-of-the-art performance. Ablation studies confirm the necessity of each training stage. Removing synthetic pretraining or model merging led to significant performance drops (up to 6 points on MMTEB), emphasizing their contributions. Conclusion Alibaba’s Qwen3-Embedding and Qwen3-Reranker Series present a robust, open, and scalable solution to multilingual and instruction-aware semantic representation. With strong empirical results across MTEB, MMTEB, and MTEB-Code, these models bridge the gap between proprietary APIs and open-source accessibility. Their thoughtful training design—leveraging high-quality synthetic data, instruction-tuning, and model merging—positions them as ideal candidates for enterprise applications in search, retrieval, and RAG pipelines. By open-sourcing these models, the Qwen team not only pushes the boundaries of language understanding but also empowers the broader community to innovate on top of a solid foundation. Check out the Paper, Technical details, Qwen3-Embedding and Qwen3-Reranker. All credit for this research goes to the researchers of this project. Also, feel free to follow us on Twitter and don’t forget to join our 95k+ ML SubReddit and Subscribe to our Newsletter. Asif RazzaqWebsite |  + postsBioAsif Razzaq is the CEO of Marktechpost Media Inc.. As a visionary entrepreneur and engineer, Asif is committed to harnessing the potential of Artificial Intelligence for social good. His most recent endeavor is the launch of an Artificial Intelligence Media Platform, Marktechpost, which stands out for its in-depth coverage of machine learning and deep learning news that is both technically sound and easily understandable by a wide audience. The platform boasts of over 2 million monthly views, illustrating its popularity among audiences.Asif Razzaqhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/6flvq/A Step-by-Step Coding Guide to Building an Iterative AI Workflow Agent Using LangGraph and GeminiAsif Razzaqhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/6flvq/From Clicking to Reasoning: WebChoreArena Benchmark Challenges Agents with Memory-Heavy and Multi-Page TasksAsif Razzaqhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/6flvq/Mistral AI Introduces Mistral Code: A Customizable AI Coding Assistant for Enterprise WorkflowsAsif Razzaqhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/6flvq/NVIDIA AI Releases Llama Nemotron Nano VL: A Compact Vision-Language Model Optimized for Document Understanding

As a Canadian who has spent the last two and a half years working as an intern architect in Helsinki, these questions have been on my mind. In my current role, I have had the opportunity to participate in numerous architectural competitions arranged by Finnish municipalities and public institutions. It has been my observation that the Finnish system of open, anonymous architectural competitions consistently produces elegant and highly functional public buildings at reasonable cost and at great benefit to the lives of the everyday people for whom the projects are intended to serve. Could Canada benefit from the adoption of a similar model? ‘Public project’ has never been a clearly defined term and may bring to mind the image of a bustling library for some while conjuring the image of a municipal power substation for others. In the context of this discussion, I will use the term to refer to projects that are explicitly in-service of the broader public such as community centres, museums, and other cultural venues. Finland’s architectural competition system Frequented by nearly 2 million visitors per year, the Oodi Central Library in Helsinki, Finland, has become a thriving cultural hub and an internationally recognized symbol of Finnish design innovation. Designed by ALA Architects, the project was procured through a 2-stage, open, international architectural competition. Photo by Ninara (flickr, CC BY 2.0) In Finland, most notable public projects begin with an architectural competition. Some are limited to invited participants only, but the majority of these competitions are open to international submissions. Importantly, the authors of any given proposal remain anonymous with regards to the jury. This ensures that all proposals are evaluated purely on quality without bias towards established firms over lesser known competitors. The project budget is known in advance to the competition entrants and cost feasibility is an important factor weighed by the jury. However, the cost for the design services to be procured from the winning entry is fixed ahead of time, preventing companies from lowballing offers in the hopes of securing an interesting commission despite the inevitable compromises in quality that come with under-resourced design work. The result: inspired, functional public spaces are the norm, not the exception. Contrasted against the sea of forgettable public architecture to be found in cities large and small across Canada, the Finnish model paints a utopic picture. Several award-winning projects in my current place of employment in Helsinki have been the result of successes in open architectural competitions. The origin of the firm itself stemmed from a winning competition entry for a church in a small village submitted by the firm’s founder while he was still completing his architectural studies.  At that time, many architecture firms in Finland were founded in this manner with the publicity of a competition win serving as a career launching off point for young architects. While less common today, many students and recent graduates still participate in these design competitions. On the occasion that a young practitioner wins a competition, they are required to assemble a team with the necessary expertise and qualifications to satisfy the requirements of the jury. I believe there is a direct link between the high architectural quality outcomes of these competitions and the fact that they are conducted anonymously. The opening of these competitions to submissions from companies outside of Finland further enhances the diversity of entries and fosters international interest in the goings-on of Finland’s architectural scene. Nonetheless, it is worth acknowledging that exemplary projects have also resulted from invited and privately organized competitions. Ultimately, the mindset of the client, the selection of an appropriate jury, and the existence of sufficient incentives for architects to invest significant time in their proposals play a more critical role in shaping the quality of the final outcome. Tikkurila Church and Housing in Vantaa, Finland, hosts a diverse range of functions including a café, community event spaces and student housing. Designed by OOPEAA in collaboration with a local builder, the project was realized as the result of a competition organized by local Finnish and Swedish parishes. Photo by Marc Goodwin Finland’s competition system, administered by the Finnish Association of Architects (SAFA), is not limited to major public projects such as museums, libraries and city halls. A significant number of idea competitions are organized seeking compelling visions for urban masterplans. The quality of this system has received international recognition. To quote a research paper from a Swedish university on the structure, criteria and judgement process of Finnish architectural competitions, “The Finnish (competition) experience can provide a rich information source for scholars and students studying the structure and process of competition system and architectural judgement, as well as those concerned with commissioning and financing of competitions due to innovative solutions found in the realms of urban revitalization, poverty elimination, environmental pollution, cultural and socio-spatial renewals, and democratization of design and planning process.” This has not gone entirely under the radar in Canada. According to the website of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC), “Competitions are common in countries such as Finland, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. These competitions have resulted in a high quality of design as well as creating public interest in the role of architecture in national and community life.” Canada’s architectural competition system In Canada, the RAIC sets general competition guidelines while provincial and territorial architect associations are typically responsible for the oversight of any endorsed architectural competition. Although the idea of implementing European architectural competition models has been gaining traction in recent years, competitions remain relatively rare even for significant public projects. While Canada is yet to fully embrace competition systems as a powerful tool for ensuring higher quality public spaces, success stories from various corners of the country have opened up constructive conversations. In Edmonton, unconventional, competitive procurement efforts spearheaded by city architect Carol Belanger have produced some remarkable public buildings. This has not gone unnoticed in other parts of the country where consistent banality is the norm for public projects. Jasper Place Branch Library designed by HCMA and Dub Architects is one of several striking projects in Edmonton built under reimagined commissioning processes which broaden the pool of design practices eligible to participate and give greater weight to design quality as an evaluation criterion. Photo by Hubert Kang The wider applicability of competition systems as a positive mechanism for securing better public architecture has also started to receive broader discussion. In my hometown of Ottawa, this system has been used to procure several powerful monuments and, more recently, to select a design for the redevelopment of a key city block across from Parliament Hill. The volume and quality of entries, including from internationally renowned architectural practices, attests to the strengths of the open competition format. Render of the winning entry for the Block 2 Redevelopment in Ottawa. This 2-stage competition was overseen directly by the RAIC. Design and render by Zeidler Architecture Inc. in cooperation with David Chipperfield Architects. Despite these successes, there is significant room for improvement. A key barrier to wider adoption of competition practices according to the RAIC is “…that potential sponsors are not familiar with competitions or may consider the competition process to be complicated, expensive, and time consuming.” This is understandable for private actors, but an unsatisfactory answer in the case of public, tax-payer funded projects. Finland’s success has come through the normalization of competitions for public project procurement. We should endeavour to do the same. Maintaining design contribution anonymity prior to jury decision has thus far been the exception, not the norm in Canada. This reduces the credibility of the jury without improving the result. Additionally, the financing of such competitions has been piece-meal and inconsistent. For example, several world-class schools have been realized in Quebec as the result of competitions funded by a provincial investment.  With the depletion of that fund, it is no longer clear if any further schools will be commissioned in Quebec under a similar model. While high quality documentation has been produced, there is a risk that developed expertise will be lost if the team of professionals responsible for overseeing the process is not retained. École du Zénith in Shefford, Quebec, designed by Pelletier de Fontenay + Leclerc Architectes is one of six elegant and functional schools commission by the province through an anonymous competition process. Photo by James Brittain A path forward Now more than ever, it is essential that our public projects instill in us a sense of pride and reflect our uniquely Canadian values. This will continue to be a rare occurrence until more ambitious measures are taken to ensure the consistent realization of beautiful, innovative and functional public spaces that connect us with one another. In service of this objective, Canada should incentivize architectural competitions by normalizing their use for major public projects such as national museums, libraries and cultural centres. A dedicated Competitions Fund could be established to support provinces, territories and cities who demonstrate initiative in the pursuit of more ambitious, inspiring and equitable public projects. A National Competitions Expert could be appointed to ensure retention and dissemination of expertise. Maintaining the anonymity of competition entrants should be established as the norm. At a moment when talk of removing inter-provincial trade barriers has re-entered public discourse, why not consider striking down red tape that prevents out-of-province firms from participating in architectural competitions? Alas, one can dream. Competitions are no silver bullet. However, recent trials within our borders should give us confidence that architectural competitions are a relatively low-risk, high-reward proposition. To this end, Finland’s open, anonymous competition system offers a compelling case study from which we would be well served to take inspiration. Isaac Edmonds is a Canadian working for OOPEAA – Office for Peripheral Architecture in Helsinki, Finland. My observations of the Finnish competition system’s ability to consistently produce functional, beautiful buildings inform my interest in procurement methods that elevate the quality of our shared public realm. The post Op-Ed: Could Canada benefit from adopting Finland’s architectural competition system? appeared first on Canadian Architect.