Finns score high again in PISA

Life & society Education

Girls read better than boys all over the world, and Finland does better than just about every other country – again – in the newest PISA results.

In the newest edition of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), based on results gathered in 2009, Finland again placed close to the top, although it did not maintain the number one overall status that it attained in the previous PISA.

The main focus area for the 2009 version of the triannual assessment, reading literacy, sees Finland ranked second among the 33 participating OECD countries, after Korea, and third among all 65 PISA countries, with Shanghai-China placing first.

PISA 2009 shows that Finnish 15-year-olds’ reading ability has dropped a percentage point or two compared to the country’s own results for 2000, the last time reading literacy formed the focus of the assessment. However, the overall level is still excellent, with only three points separating Finland’s 536 from Korea’s 539.

Best-performing school systems

In every participating country, girls outscored boys in reading. On average, girls are more active readers and possess better reading skills. Reading was assessed based on five subscales: access and retrieve; integrate and interpret; reflect and evaluate; continuous texts; and noncontinuous texts.

The PISA organizers note that the best-performing school systems manage to provide high-quality education to all students, regardless of social background. In Finland, Canada, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong-China and Shanghai-China, children "tend to perform well regardless of their own background or the school they attend." This is called "equity in learning opportunities and outcomes."

Finland scored well in the secondary portions of PISA 2009 as well: mathematical literacy and science literacy. In mathematics, the Finns placed second among OECD nations and sixth among all 65 participants, while in science they scored first among OECD countries and second overall. For the Finnish data, 6,415 students, all 15 years old, participated from 203 schools.

Links:

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment website
Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture: PISA 2009 results
Finnish Core Curriculum (National Board of Education)

By Peter Marten, December 2010

Beginning to taste a lot like Christmas

Christmas Cuisine

By Peter Marten, December 2010

Chef Hans Välimäki of Finland’s undisputed number one restaurant, Chez Dominique, teams up with Helsinki design hotel Klaus K to create Christmas Wonderland, a pop-up fine dining experience open only for the holiday season.

The Finns have a tradition of pre-Christmas parties called pikkujoulut, which translates to "little Christmas." Much like the Christmas shopping period, the pikkujoulut season seems to edge a little bit earlier every year.

Starting in late November and lasting through most of December, you may have the opportunity to attend pre-Christmas lunches and evening events held by your office, your university department, your company, your business contacts, your clients, your sports teams and other organisations you belong to. All that wining and dining is fun, but it can also get exhausting, which means that people want to make their pikkujoulut stand out from the crowd.

Here today, gone by Christmas

This forms the background behind Christmas Wonderland, a here-today, gone-by-Christmas restaurant at Klaus K Hotel. Chez Dominique, the only restaurant in Finland with two Michelin stars, simply doesn’t have room to accommodate all the seasonal diners who would like to reserve tables, so the esteemed Välimäki has developed a pre-Christmas menu that is carried out just up the road in collaboration with Klaus K chef Fillip Forsberg.

Although the special menu is also available at the hotel’s Ilmatar restaurant, the Christmas Wonderland atmosphere is found upstairs in the stately Rake Hall. In the centre of this ballroom stands a circular, rotating gourmet buffet, and in the middle of that a real jukebox contributing a carnival-like good humour that somehow complements the seasonal but staid décor.

Diverging developments

Photo: Mika Huisman

The food itself diverges from traditional Finnish Christmas fare. On the whole, the spirit of a transitory pop-up establishment also allows Välimäki to try things that may fall outside the scope of his "day job" at Chez Dominique. Baked ham forms the usual holiday mainstay, but Christmas Wonderland instead offers miso-glazed pork belly with ponzu sauce, which everyone at our table agreed was superb, almost seeming to melt in your mouth.

Forsberg describes how they developed the menu: "Hans suggested something, and then we worked on it with him in Klaus K’s kitchen until we were satisfied. For some dishes it took a couple times before the result was as we’d imagined it."

For one of the other main courses, Christmas Wonderland visits Nordic neighbour Norway. The Norwegian-style Christmas cod forms a version of what some call lutefisk, served with delicate sauces that may well convert you to this acquired taste.

Traditional rice pudding forms one of the desserts on offer – the Finns just can’t go without it – along with chocolate mousse with marinated cherries, or how about cognac-and-plum charlotte? And the Christmas elves have even left a few gingerbread cookies out for you.

Link:

Chez Dominique’s Christmas Wonderland, until December 21, 2010

Strangest Greetings from Santa and 23 other extraordinary Finns

Christmas Finnishness

A wildly different Christmas movie

Arts & culture Film

This one is not for kids: Jalmari Helander’s Rare Exports turns the concept of the Christmas film – and of Christmas itself – on its head.

Glittering snowdrifts, flying reindeer, the magic of Christmas and wide-eyed wonderment – we’ve all been there and seen that, professionally produced and packaged. Finland has had success in this department, recently reaching all over the world with the animated film Niko and the Way to the Stars, about a young reindeer’s search for his father.

But there are other ways to do a Christmas movie.

That’s what director Jalmari Helander had in mind. His Rare Exports is guaranteed to rattle Christmas decorations and burst through the kitsch by revealing the “true” nature of Santa Claus – and we must warn you that it’s not for the faint of heart, and it’s definitely not kids’ stuff.

In Helander’s film a huge, monstrous Santa slumbers, frozen, inside Korvatunturi, a mountain in Finnish Lapland. He’s protected by an army of ancient but violent elves. A boy named Pietari and his father – who just happens to be a butcher – find themselves at the centre of a surreal chain of events. They uncover the plans of the vile elves, and the magic of Christmas builds towards an explosive conclusion.

Zombie movies and gothic moods

Photo: Cinet

However, Rare Exports is not anti-Christmas. It simply represents a Christmas movie of a different genre. Instead of following Disney, or even Dickens, Helander finds inspiration in zombie movies, blood-splattered chainsaws à la Tobe Hooper, and the gothic moods of Tim Burton.

Rare Exports pokes fun at sugar-sweet Christmas clichés, viewing them through a lense of parody and black humour. Nonetheless, the underlying story lends a certain harmony and warmth to the film: Pietari grows and prevails through frightening challenges to emerge victorious and win the approval of his father.

This is a movie that demands more from viewers than your average mainstream flick. That could work to its advantage in our world of subcultures and varied tastes. Festival audiences gave a warm reception to the short film Rare Exports Inc, which was released in 2003 and formed the seed of the current feature-length movie.

According to Jay Weissberg of Variety magazine, “The sheer fun of classic kids’ adventure movies is perfectly captured and slightly lampooned in the deliciously winning Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale. Conceived with winking humor and a terrific visual style, the pic is a rare treat that could accrue cult status on screens followed by [big] ancillary [sales].”

Finns find solutions

Photo: Mika Orasmaa/Cinet

The film takes place in the Far North, and at first glance it would seem there’s nothing unusual about the remote location, the winter darkness, the men of few words and the stilted English lines sprinkled into the script. Elements such as these are familiar from famous Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki’s work. Yet here they all add up to something quite different. Exaggeration and stylisation turn into a postmodern ability to laugh at oneself – actually, despite the remote setting, the atmosphere seems pretty urban and contains echoes of modern pop culture.

With tongue firmly in cheek, you could even claim that Rare Exports actually promotes Finland to the rest of the world. It shows how Finns find functional solutions to the trickiest of challenges posed by Mother Nature and, beyond that, by myth-enshrouded figures – and how Finns combine it all into a well-made, entertaining movie.

By Harri Kilpi, December 2010

Old-time magic at Finland’s Christmas markets

Christmas Christmas traditions

During the festive season, merchants in the southern Finnish town of Porvoo and many other places across the country set up their stalls of homemade delicacies and traditional handicrafts, bringing the Christmas spirit to locals and visitors alike.

Warm, genuine, enchanting: these are some of the traits that reflect yuletide in Porvoo. A stroll through the old town, its streets hung with Christmas lights, and a visit to one of its markets form the perfect remedy for anyone allergic to commercial Christmas with its inflatable Santas and cheesy songs.

The highlights include a visit to the Old Time Christmas Market at the Volunteer Fire Department headquarters, as well as the traditional Porvoo Christmas Market on Raatihuoneentori (Town Hall Square) – both places attract throngs of visitors every year. The town’s Christmas market tradition stems from its character as a trading centre since medieval times.

The real deal

Porvoo tourist office Porvoo has centuries of experience in getting it right when it comes to markets. Photo: Angelina Palmen

Porvoo has centuries of experience in getting it right when it comes to markets.Photo: Porvoo tourist office

Porvoo Christmas markets aim to keep things local. “Every item we sell is from the region – home-crafted or organically grown by inhabitants of Porvoo,” says Joachim Silberstein, chairman of the Old Porvoo Residents’ Association, which manages the Old Time Christmas Market, held on December 10 and 11. Dressed in the fashion of bygone times, the vendors sell regional handicrafts and homemade edibles.

Porvoo Christmas Market, on December 10 and 11, offers a similar range of charming local products, with a particular emphasis on traditional Finnish Christmas cuisine.

The Old Station Depot and its café offer a market-style shopping experience throughout the Christmas season. Its 300 square metres contain such an impressive range of weird and wonderful items that it’s easy to believe owner Pertti Haajanen, who claims to have a Christmas present “for anyone who thinks he or she already has everything.”

Those who don’t mind having a little more can choose among everything from vintage Christmas cards and antique porcelain to fresh organic bread and flavoured truffles.

Christmas bustle

These vintage cards are among the seasonal wares offered at Porvoo’s Old Station Depot. Photo: Angelina Palmén

Porvoo has no internationally famous landmarks, but can boast about being a historical small town bustling with life to this very day. Silberstein playfully encourages visitors to have a peek through someone’s seasonally decorated window or stop a local for a quick chat.

“Porvoo’s old town is not a museum,” explains Silberstein. “It’s a community full of life. Its compact size and friendly and approachable people let market-goers get a real insight into people’s lives and traditional Finnish Christmas celebrations.”

By Angelina Palmén, updated November 2022

Finnish bioenergy show-how grows

Life & society Environment

Green energy promoters from around the world are increasingly taking an interest in eastern Finland, Europe’s leading region in the sustainable use of wood energy.

The search for renewable energy sources is becoming increasingly urgent due to worries about climate change. In regions of the world with extensive forests there is growing interest in using surplus wood to generate bioenergy.

But for wood energy to be truly sustainable, forests must be managed to ensure that the carbon released when using wood energy is bound up again in the growing forests.

“Eastern Finland is an ideal region for utilising wood energy, since forests cover more than two-thirds of the land, and the amounts of wood in the forests are increasing even though wood is widely used to manufacture timber and paper products, and nowadays also to generate wood energy,” says Jouko Parviainen [no relation to thisisFINLAND editor Paula Parviainen], coordinator of Wenet, a Joensuu-based network of expert consultants and suppliers working with all aspects of wood energy.

Cashing in on woodchips

Entrepreneurs come from as far away as Japan to see Wenet demonstrate chipping and other processes.Photo: Jouko Parviainen/Wenet

Hundreds of large and small wood energy businesses are already up and running in eastern Finland. The woodchips used for wood energy typically come from forest thinnings or logging residues – young trees, branches, treetops and stumps that cannot be economically used to make timber or paper products.

The use of wood chips to generate energy is rising rapidly in Finland towards ambitious targets set for 2020 as part of EU-wide efforts to find substitutes for nonrenewable fossil fuels.

Know-how and show-how

“Wenet organises show-how tours here in eastern Finland to demonstrate how wood energy works in action,” explains Parviainen. “Visitors see for themselves how energy wood is harvested from thinned forests and logging sites, and how the wood is chipped, dried and then used in heating plants or combined heat and power plants. They also typically want to investigate out how wood energy business models work in practice.”

Wenet has welcomed budding energy entrepreneurs from Canada and Japan, as well as visitors from around the EU and Russia. More than 150 international stakeholders hit the eastern Finnish town of Koli for the Wood Energy Solutions 2011 conference from January 31 to February 2, 2011.

Forestry machines and energy pellets

Winter wood harvest: Eastern Finland is an ideal region for utilising wood energy.Photo: Jouko Parviainen/Wenet

Parviainen points out that two-thirds of all the forestry machinery sold in Europe is manufactured in eastern Finland, and machine makers Andritz have a major wood energy boiler production facility in Varkaus. “Local municipalities are also active, with woodchip-fired district heating schemes spreading in urban areas as well as more remote communities,” he adds.

Wood pellets made of compressed chips and sawdust form another increasingly popular energy source. Clean-burning pellets can be used instead of heating oil in homes and larger premises like schools and sports centres.

Last year more than 300,000 tonnes of wood pellets were produced in Finland. Domestic demand is rising, but pellets are still widely exported on bulky barges that sail through the waterways of eastern Finland to the Baltic Sea. The University of Eastern Finland’s research centre at Mekrijärvi on the Finnish-Russian border is testing new ways to produce energy pellets from different raw materials.

International interest in eastern Finland’s wide-ranging wood energy expertise is likely to intensify as the world seeks to wean itself off fossil fuels by finding local and sustainable energy solutions.

By Fran Weaver, November 2010

Quiet corners in the Finnish capital

Life & society Slideshows

In our selection of Esko Jämsä’s photos from the book Helsinki: Quiet Nooks and Corners, you’ll see the Finnish capital from viewpoints you never noticed before – or never stopped to contemplate.

“Meandering tours” through Helsinki inspired writer Kaisa Raittila to create a bilingual book entitled Helsinki: Quiet Nooks and Corners (Hiljaisuuden Helsinki in Finnish – Kirjapaja Publishing, 2010). Her friend Esko Jämsä wandered with his camera, recording images to accompany Raittila’s words.

The resulting work provides beautifully arranged insight into some of the side streets, parks, fields, forests, churches and yards that are off the beaten path – or maybe even right in front of your eyes.

Flowers and buildings add colour to the city on this stairway off of Franzéninkatu in the Torkkelinmäki area of town. Photo: Esko Jämsä

Metal and stone flank a courtyard entryway on Meritullinkatu in the neighbourhood of Kruununhaka. Photo: Esko Jämsä

Sea air and Sisu: On the bridge to the island of Tervasaari, you can pause to admire the ice-breaker Sisu, a name that can be translated as "courage," "endurance" or just plain "guts." Photo: Esko Jämsä

The orthodox Uspenski Cathedral glows in the twilight beyond Esplanade Park. Photo: Esko Jämsä

Inside Uspenski Cathedral on Kanavakatu, candles and traditional décor contribute to the meditative atmosphere. Photo: Esko Jämsä

"When out strolling you can suddenly strike treasure," writes Kaisa Raittila about the statue of a girl lifting an urn, located in Katajanokka Park near Uspenski Cathedral. Photo: Esko Jämsä

A blanket of snow muffles footsteps along Pohjolankatu in the neighbourhood of Käpylä. Photo: Esko Jämsä

Located in the centre of Helsinki, Vanha Kirkko (Old Church) seems far from the bustle and traffic when viewed from across the park. Photo: Esko Jämsä

Five streets intersect at Viiskulma (Five-angle), downtown near St John’s Church. Photo: Esko Jämsä

Even we haven't managed to figure out exactly where this stairway is yet, but Kaisa Raittila and Esko Jämsä inform us that it's someplace in the waterfront park called Kaivopuisto. Photo: Esko Jämsä

Viewed from the tower of the Olympic Stadium, the neighbourhood of Töölö becomes a pattern of colour, texture and perspective. Photo: Esko Jämsä

Life goes on: Bright laundry dries beside an ageing battlement on the island fortress of Suomenlinna. Photo: Esko Jämsä

Photos by Esko Jämsä
Text by Peter Marten, November 2010

Big fuss about small beers in Finland

Life & society Cuisine

A growing number of Finns are voting with their taste buds (no pun intended) against the generic uniformity of so-called beers produced by the big global brewing conglomerates.

Picture this: It’s a hot summer afternoon on the terrace outside the Beer Hunter’s bar on the main square in Pori, western Finland. The Pori Jazz Festival is in full swing and the strains of saxophones and a jangly piano drift up from the riverside Jazz Street. Beer Hunter’s tables are filling up and so are the punters’ glasses – but the refreshment here has a bit more character than the gassy vehicle for alcohol on sale at the town’s other bars.

Beer Hunter’s is at the vanguard of a small brewery movement in Finland that offers a welcome alternative to the generic, characterless excuse for beer churned out by certain Danish and British international corporate giants. The brewery stationed at the back of the bar produces 20,000 litres of its own Mufloni brands. It’s a drop in the flavourless ocean of the big beer boys, but it is eagerly supped by drinkers who like their beer for its character as much as its alcohol-delivery function.

“Most people who come here still drink Pori’s old local brand, Karhu, but that is now owned by Carlsberg and produced in Kerava near Helsinki,” laments Mika Heikkinen, Beer Hunter’s owner-manager. “We cannot compete with the big breweries but there is a young culture growing for fine beers on tap.”

Taking big steps

Homegrown delicacies such as Mufloni pull their weight alongside Czech and Belgian brews.Photo: Tim Bird

Switch to a new scene: Jari Tapanainen, marketing manager of Suomenlinnan Panimo (Suomenlinna Brewery – the biggest brewery within Helsinki’s city limits, even though it’s located on the eponymous island in the city’s south harbour) is holding fort at the company’s stand at the annual Big Beers, Small Breweries Festival. “Small breweries only account for about 1 percent of total beer consumption in Finland,” says Tapanainen. “But it’s taking big steps every year. More Finns want more from their beer, they like the taste of hops, the character that the bigger breweries can’t give.”

Step into one of Helsinki’s specialist bars on a Friday night and this interest becomes as clear as the head on a pint of stout. Some of the draft beers at the biggest of the lot, Oluthuone Kaisla (oluthuone means “beer room”), are quaffed at the sobering price of seven or even eight euros for a half litre, but the line at the bar remains long and eager.

It’s a similar scene at the beer restaurants such as Janoinen Lohi (Thirsty Salmon) and its cousin establishments around Helsinki – all named after different fish – and at William K., a pub chain where the produce of Finnish microbreweries sits comfortably beside Czech and Belgian imports.

Other good local Finnish beers have nudged aside the corporate standards on the supermarket shelves. Laitila Panimo’s Kukko beers have become firm favourites in stores and bars, while the Teerenpeli brand from Lahti has its own Helsinki outlet bar at the Kamppi shopping mall.

Beginner’s guide: Where to find small beers

It was tough work, but somebody had to do it. We’ve compiled a brief primer to some of the best Finnish beers and where to sample them:

Beer Hunter’s, Pori: try the delicious Mufloni Vaalea on tap (mufloni means “ram” (the woolly kind), vaalea is “light-coloured”). Their website is in Finnish but English-speakers can still browse the beer list.
Suomenlinnan Panimo, Helsinki: the brewery on the island offers pilsner, ales, lager a stout and porter. The beers can also be found in well-equipped stores.
Teerenpeli, Lahti, Turku and Helsinki: Onnenpekka (Lucky Guy) is the brewery’s flagship lager-type offering, in bottles in stores as well as on tap in Lahti, Turku and Helsinki pubs. Their website is in Finnish.
Malmgård, close to Porvoo: the brewery offers a variety of bottled ales that are also available in stores.
Stallhagen, Åland Islands : the brewery offers honey beer, various ales and other specialities as well as a porter. Stallhagen beers are available in most well-stocked stores.
Rekolan Panimo, Fiskars, Pohja: situated in the village of Fiskars, Rekola forms one of the newest additions to the Finnish brewery scene. It offers speciality beers and ales, including Indian pale ale.
Panimoravintola Koulu, Turku: the brewery is housed in an old school, hence the name “koulu”. Koulu offers both light and dark beers.
Lammin Sahti is Finland’s oldest microbrewery, founded in 1985. The traditional cloudy sahti is not to everyone’s taste, but it does enjoy EU Protected Designation of Origin status.

You can find more Finnish microbreweries here.

By Tim Bird, October 2010; updated by Lasse Mäki-Hokkonen, June 2014

Tag: English