Finland’s Faces in the U.S.: Culture and Country Branding Is All About Working Together!
Annina Aalto is the new Cultural Counselor at the Embassy of Finland. She arrived to Washington, D.C. in August. We sat down with Annina and asked her a few questions about her background and expectations for her tenure.
You are working now as a Cultural Counselor at the Embassy of Finland in Washington, how did you end up here?
I wanted to do something totally different and new compared to my previous positions. I can't imagine a better place to find new challenges than here in this extremely interesting and inspiring city, Washington, D.C.! Before coming here I was working in Helsinki with export control issues. I have been working for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland since 2012 in various positions, but my working duties were very different than here. Before joining the ministry I worked at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki.
Tell us about your working days here in D.C.
This is a classic answer but I have to say that none of my work days are the same. My days are very diverse and it's wonderful that I get to do a lot of different things. I follow the cultural field in the US and especially Washington D.C. as well as in Finland in order to understand what type of country image work we should do and what types of events we could organize here in D.C. to promote Finnish culture and our creative industries.
I also work on trade promotion and Team Finland issues especially related to the creative industries together with colleagues at the Consulate Generals in New York and Los Angeles, Tekes and Finpro. In addition to this, I work with education questions, which is a topic that Finland is well known for and which raises a lot of interest.
Next year is extremely important and interesting because we are celebrating Finland's centennial. We are currently working together with many people and planning different centennial events for example on themes related to education and the Arctic as well as a number of cultural events.
Have you found some differences in the field of culture here compared to Finland?
These places are not very different from each other especially if I'm comparing Washington to Helsinki which is my home town. Of course Washington is more versatile, broader and bigger than Helsinki which can be seen for example in the amount and sheer size of museums. Both cities are to some degree going through a similar transition in terms of urban culture. D.C is growing and a lot of young people are moving to the city, which creates a new cultural mindset. The city has for example an extremely dynamic restaurant scene and offers a lot of different cultural events. This is a very exciting time to be working and living here!
What new will you bring here during your time at the embassy?
I'd like to introduce Finnish culture with a new and fresh perspective. Often people abroad are familiar with Finnish cultural icons such as Jean Sibelius and Tove Jansson, but in addition to these I'd like to present new Finnish talents. I appreciate the Finnish way of thinking about sustainability and practicality in design, which can be seen in our everyday life. I hope to showcase some of these solutions as well as increase knowledge on slightly less known things such as innovative Finnish food products. However, our main goal remains the same as before: present and promote interesting things where Finland has competence and knowhow.
What are you expecting from the next years at the Embassy of Finland?
As mentioned before, the coming year will be very busy but most importantly very interesting because of the centennial celebrations. I hope that during the year we not only look back at Finland’s history and what we’ve achieved so far, but also look towards the future. We want to keep our iconic cultural brands and names alive but also present new ones.
There is an abundance of cultural activities organized by embassies in Washington. We, therefore, really need to work hard to create and offer interesting and diverse events for a wide audience and also try to reach new people. Culture and country branding is all about doing things together. The embassy is only one part of the entity. I look forward to meeting a lot of interesting people and working together with old and new friends of Finland in D.C. as well as all around the country!