 Introduction
to Finnish Culture - Virtual Finland
Information
Bank (Infopankki)
Kulttuuri:
A Gateway to Finnish Culture
on the Net
Caisa:
International Cultural
Centre
Ovi
Magazine
SixDegrees
Magazine
Finlandlive
Agenda
Magazine
Museums
in Finland
Public
Libraries in Finland
Finnish
News in English
Other
Sites of Interest
See
also Events
& Happenings
Apart from language
training, you will probably want to learn more
about the Finnish way of life, the culture and
how it came to be, where cultural events take place
and where to mix with Finns socially.
Expat Finland does not wish to replicate
the many excellent sites on the Web providing cultural information
about Finland; this page is therefore primarily a portal to
other sites which can help you become truly enmeshed in Finnish
society!
If you do not have the time or inclination
to explore by yourself, you may wish to employ a relocation
service to assist you.
Introduction
to Finnish Culture - Virtual Finland
If you are new to Finnish culture there
are numerous sites providing facts and figures about Finland,
its history and development, and the Finnish way of life
- many are listed on this page.
Surely the most comprehensive introduction
to Finnish culture is available at Virtual
Finland, produced by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs,
Department for Communication and Culture. Their menu currently
includes (direct links):
Go to Virtual
Finland: http://www.virtual.finland.fi
Information
Bank (Infopankki)
The pages of Info Bank contain important
basic information for immigrants on the functioning of society,
and opportunities in Finland. The links take you to information
on the services of authorities and organisations. This comprehensive
guide is available in 15 languages, and is constantly updated.
The menu includes:
- Welcome to Finland » When
you move to Finland…
- Permits » Residence
permit, citizenship…
- Accommodation » Where
to find accommodation...
- Finnish Language » Courses,
studying on the Internet…
- Work » Jobs, working
life, unemployment…
- Education » Studying,
school…
- Health » When you
are poorly…
- Social Services » Family,
children, the elderly…
- Crises » Where to
get help…
- Culture and Leisure » What
to do, where to go…
- Associations » Founding
an association, operation…
Go to Infopankki: http://www.infopankki.fi
Kulttuuri:
A Gateway to Finnish Culture on the Net
Kulttuuri.net is
a truly comprehensive portal which aims to include all Internet
links related to Finnish culture. It is the product of a
working group set up by five cultural organisations: Finland
Festivals, The Finnish Museums' Association, The Association
of Finnish Symphony Orchestras, The Artists' Association
of Finland and The Finnish Theatre Information Centre.
Kulttuuri's menu
currently includes:
|
- Architecture
- Comics
- Dance
- Design
- Film
- Media
- Literature
|
- Art
- Music
- Photography
- Theatre
- Opera
- More....
|
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Caisa:
Finnish International Cultural Centre
Caisa is
the International Cultural Centre in the heart of Helsinki
(Mikonkatu 17 C). Its aim is to support the multicultural
development of the city by promoting the interaction of
people from different countries, and by providing information
about various cultures and about Finnish society.
Since its founding in 1995, half of Caisa's
visitors and partners have been immigrants and half have
been Finns. Caisa welcomes all visitors interested in or
dealing with multicultural and/or immigration issues.
Caisa's details can be found at their Web
site, or by calling 09-169 3316
Ovi
Magazine
 OVI
(The Door) is a free daily, multi-lingual online publication
by Asa Butcher (hates tea, bananas and panpipes), Thanos
Kalamidas (loves jazz music, burritos and sports on tv),
and Tony Watts (an Englishman with high choloestrol in his
late 20's).
After sixteen monthly issues which contained over 700 articles
and contributions from almost 45 people, OVI went daily in
mid-2006 because contemporary events were changing too fast
to allow incisive comment and opinion in a monthly magazine.
The site now contains over 1000 articles,
plus weekly updates to the Le Métèque content,
exhibitions, cartoons and other sections.
Go to Ovi
Magazine: http://www.ovimagazine.com
SixDegrees
SixDegrees is
a free English language magazine, published monthly, aimed
at Finland-based open-minded people who are interested in
the multicultural scene of today.
SixDegrees provides
information on Finland-related multicultural events, people,
matters and phenomena. It does not take part in negative
discussion about minorities and migrants. Instead, it creates
a rich and positive arena for the interaction of different
cultures - a meeting point, where all areas of life in a
multicultural community can be explored.
SixDegrees can
be obtained from nearly 400 distribution spots in Helsinki,
Tampere, Turku and other cities in Finland, as well as Tallinn.
SixDegrees includes:
- Reviews of current cultural events
- Films and Literature
- Business and politics
- Portraits
- Presentations of NGO´s and friendship societies
- Lifestyles
- Music
- Out&See event calendar of Helsinki, Tampere and Turku
Go to SixDegrees Online: http://www.6d.fi
Finlandlive
- Your Finland Travel Community
Apart from a comprehensive list of upcoming events
Finland-wide, Finlandlive's web site includes:
- Finlandlive Forum Discuss all
topics related to Finland with other members
- Finland Images View & upload pictures
of Finland
- Networking Chat, Instant Messenger & more
- News Find the latest News about travelling
in and to Finland
- Downloads Download the latest tourist
brochures of Finland
Go to Finlandlive: http://www.finlandlive.info
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Agenda
Magazine
 Agenda,
published in Helsinki and available online, features a wide
range of Finland-related articles on governement, EU issues,
culture & lifestyle and more, as well as interviews and
high-profile guest writers.
Go to Agenda Magazine: http://www.agendafin.com
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Finnish
Museums
There are over 1000 museums in Finland.
Apart from providing links &/or contact information for
Finland's museums, museums.fi includes
a fascinating online experience. Choose a topic from
the following list and you will be taken on a comprehensive
and well-presented photo-illustrated historical tour:
- Ancient Finland
- Lapland
- Eastern Wilderness
- Tar and Sails
- Russian Czars in Finland
- Industrial Finland
- Finnish Design
- Helsinki the Capital
- Famous Finns
Finnish
Public Libraries
Public libraries are of course a great source
for Finnish literature! There are 936 public libraries and
202 bookmobiles in Finland, with a public library open to
all in every Finnish municipality. Most libraries also feature
an impressive selection of material in languages other than
Finnish.
Apart from books, CD's and videos can also
be borrowed, usually for a renewable two-week period. Libraries
are free of charge. Once the borrower has a library card,
library items can be borrowed from any branch.
A comprehensive directory of all Finland's
public libraries, with details of their web pages and catalogues,
can be found at http://www.libraries.fi
How to obtain a Library
Card
You can obtain a library card and borrowing rights from
any library by presenting a photo-enhanced ID-card such as:
- I.D. card from EU countries
- Passport
- Finnish driver’s licence
- Finnish SII card with photo
- Finnish residence permit
Your home address must be in Finland. However, PO Box,
PosteRestante as well as a long-term hotel address are
also acceptable.
Finnish
News in English
On the Web: Finnish
news is available in English from some excellent sources:
Helsingin
Sanomat - International Edition
The free site of Finland's largest newspaper contains abstracts
of a number of daily stories, and also a weekly digest of
edited articles from the newspaper.
Newsroom
Finland
Produced by Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
YLE
Produced by the government broadcasting networks, this newspaper-style
Web site is comprehensive and current.
On Radio & TV:
A 3-minute News in English broadcast can be heard on YLE
Radio 1 at 5:55 p.m. weekdays, 5:45 p.m. at weekends. Tune
in on 87.9 MHz in the Helsinki region, 89.8 MHz
in Turku, 90.7 MHz in Tampere, and other local frequencies.
YLE 1 television broadcasts 5 minutes of News in English
on weekdays at 9:09 a.m.
News in English can also be found on YLE's teletext pages
190-193.
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