Ministry invites young foreign journalists for one-month stay in Finland
Press release 189/2011
1 August, 2011
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has invited 20 newly graduated or graduating journalism students to attend a four-week media training programme in Finland. The average age of the students on the Foreign Correspondents’ Programme (FCP) is 24 and they come from Armenia, Brazil, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, India, Japan, Germany, Poland, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey, the UK, Ukraine, and the United States.
The course begins on Monday, August 1 and runs through to Friday, August 26. Its aim is to broaden the participants’ interest in Finland, to foster a positive attitude towards Finland and a deeper understanding of the country, and to sharpen Finland’s profile. In the longer term the programme can be seen as an investment in future media relations and as such as an integral part of the Ministry’s efforts in the field of public diplomacy. The first ever training programme was organized in 1990. Since then almost 300 foreign journalists have had the opportunity to learn more about Finland through the media training programme.
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 this year’s programme are Nordic cooperation, cleantech and design.
During the programme the FCP students will meet President of the Republic Tarja Halonen, Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade Alexander Stubb and Minister for International Development Heidi Hautala. They will also visit a number of Finnish business companies and spend a whole day in training with Finnish media. Furthermore the programme includes trips to Turku, Naantali, Rovaniemi and to Ruka in Kuusamo. Programme partners include the cities of Helsinki, Turku and Rovaniemi.
The young journalists will spend one weekend with host families in different parts of the country, learning about the Finnish lifestyle. They will also get to experience the Finnish smoke sauna during a visit to Nuuksio, see the film Lapland Odyssey directed by Dome Karukoski, enjoy music at Flow Festival Helsinki, sample local food at Eat & Joy, and hike in Lapland wilderness.
Follow the progress of the course through the FCP blog, where students will be taking turns to report their experiences and impressions of Finland. http://formin.finland.fi/public/default.aspx?nodeid=36545&contentlan=2&culture=en-US(Link to another website.)
Inquiries: Media Coordinator Päivi Harju-Heikkilä, tel. +358 40 749 2687, [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>.