FCP students to visit Rovaniemi, Saariselkä and Inari

Press Release 236/2010
23 August 2010
 

The group of 21 young foreign journalists invited to Finland by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will be visiting Rovaniemi on August 24, Saariselkä on August 25 and Inari on August 26. The visits are part of the media training programme organized by the Ministry for newly graduated or graduating journalism students. The average age of the students on the Foreign Correspondents’ Programme (FCP) is 23 and they come from Austria, Brazil, Chile, China, Egypt, France, Iceland, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Germany, Malaysia, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, Ukraine, and the United States.

On Tuesday August 24, the students will make visits to Arktikum, the Santa Claus Village at the Arctic Circle, and Lappset, a major manufacturer of playground equipment. They will also be joining their hosts from the City of Rovaniemi for a lunch reception. On Wednesday August 25, the group will visit the Urho Kekkonen National Park. On Thursday the students travel to Inari, where the itinerary includes a visit to the Finnish Sámi Parliament, the Sámi Museum Siida, Sami Radio and a local reindeer farm.

The FCP media training programme started on Monday, August 2 and runs through to Friday, August 27. Its aim is to broaden the participants’ interest in Finland, to foster a positive attitude towards and a deeper understanding of Finland, and to sharpen Finland’s profile. In the longer term the programme is an investment in future media relations and as such part of the Ministry’s efforts in the field of public diplomacy.

The participants will gain a broad perspective on Finnish society, its politics, history, the economy and culture, with instruction provided by some of the best experts in the country. Among the central themes of the programme are the Baltic Sea, cleantech and design.

The Ministry’s first ever corresponding media training programme was organized 20 years ago. Since then almost 300 foreign journalists have taken part in the four-week programme.

 Follow the progress of the course through the FCP blog, where students will be taking turns to report their experiences and impressions.

Further information on training programme: Ms Päivi Harju-Heikkilä, Media Coordinator, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 40 749 2687, [email protected]

Further information on the programme in Rovaniemi: Mikko Jylhä, Communications Director, City of Rovaniemi, tel. +358 40 503 9819, [email protected]

FCP blog(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)