Ministry’s media training programme for young foreign journalists gets underway
Press Release 225/2010
2 August 2010
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has invited 21 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 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.
The course begins 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 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 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 the Baltic Sea, cleantech and design.
During the programme the FCP students will meet Ministers Alexander Stubb and Paavo Väyrynen. They will also visit the Finnish Parliament and selected business companies and attend a workshop hosted by Demos Helsinki. Furthermore the programme includes trips to Turku and Naantali, the Åland Islands, Rovaniemi, Saariselkä and Inari. The students will spend one weekend with host families in different parts of the country. They will also have the chance to learn about the Finnish lifestyle and traditions first hand, exploring and enjoying summer festivals, Finnish cuisine and of course the Finnish sauna.
Follow the progress of the course through the FCP blog http://formin.finland.fi/services/media/fcp/blogs, where students will be taking turns to report their experiences and impressions.
The Ministry’s first media training programme was organized in 1990. Since then almost 300 foreign journalists have taken part in the four-week programme.
For further information, contact Ms Päivi Harju-Heikkilä, Media Coordinator, tel. +358 40 749 2687, [email protected]