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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 13 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:
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- Architecture
- Comics
- Dance
- Design
- Film
- Media
- Literature
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- 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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