Foreign Ministry opens doors to the public on Helsinki Day
The ministry’s doors will be open to visitors at these venues: the Merikasarmi main building at Merikasarminkatu 5 D and Laivostokatu 22 A 3, at the press and cultural affairs department at Kanavakatu 3 C, and at the development cooperation department at Katajanokanlaituri 3 and the Vanhan rahapaja building at Kanavakatu 4 A.
Merikasarmi
The ministry will present its work in EU enlargement, security affairs, globalisation, consular work and activities concerning neighbouring areas at the Engel Hall in the Merikasarmi main building. Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja and the Minister for Foreign Trade Jari Vilén will be present. The staff of the political, trade policy, legal and administrative departments, and of the divisions of European and Eastern affairs will also be on hand to introduce their work to visitors. Publicity material explaining the work of the ministry will also be available.
Visitors to the Engel Hall will also be able to listen to short presentations about the tasks of the Foreign Ministry. They will also be able to visit the permanent exhibition at the Merikasarmi Museum about the history of the ministry, which will include a showing of the first Finlandia PR film, made in 1922, and learn about the history and architecture of the Merikasarmi building.
The press department, located at Kanavakatu 3 C, will show programmes about Finland by foreign TV companies and videos about the leading influence of the architecture of Finnish embassies. There will also be a live transmission visit to the Finnish embassies in Stockholm and Washington.
In addition, the press and culture department will present the various areas of its work, such as on Finnish cultural events abroad, the press arrangements for international conferences and state visits, articles on Finland produced for the foreign press, publicity on Finland produced and distributed by the Foreign Ministry, the ministry’s internet pages and services, and the information and work of the Europe information unit. Programme at Merikasarmi (in Finnish)
The Foreign Ministry’s development cooperation department and the regional divisions handling Finland’s relations with developing countries will be presented at the Meripaja and Vanhan Rahapaja buildings. Suvi-Anne Siimes, the minister responsible for development cooperation, will be present during the afternoon. Displays presenting Finland’s relations with developing countries and development cooperation work in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America will be on show in the entrance foyer to the Meripaja building, Katajanokanlaituri 3. Visitors can also find out about the work of Finnish and international organizations dealing with development, and about the opportunities for Finns to become involved in development work abroad.
A short seminar will be held at the information section of the Department for International Development Cooperation, in the Vanhan Rahapaja building at Kanavakatu 4 A, on the theme ‘development cooperation in practice’. The speakers at the meeting will explain how development work is carried out. The department’s library will feature an exhibition of newspapers published in developing countries and the staff will be on hand to explain how the library is run.
Cafes
Visitors can buy snacks and light refreshments at the Amica restaurants located in the Meripaja and Merikasarmi buildings. They’ll also be able to taste exotic snacks at the Meripaja café.
Map on the Katajanokka area where various Foreign Ministry buildings are locatedProgramme at the museum (in Finnish)
Programme at the Press Department (in Finnish)
Programme at the Development Cooperation Department (in Finnish)