thisisFINLAND

Live gigs with fewer climate worries: Finland’s music industry has a plan

When you’re out with friends at a concert or festival, you’d probably rather not worry about the event’s greenhouse gas emissions. What if it was carefully planned to minimise emissions, or even certified as carbon-neutral?

Life & society Cuisine

We love Finnish rye bread: A baking story that stretches across borders and generations

A Finnish American reporter talks food and family history as he remembers his grandmother, and uncovers a long-lost rye bread starter dough in the process. The article includes a Finnish sourdough rye bread recipe, so do try this at home.

Business & innovation Work

Gathering experiences of working life in Finland

Finland is looking for international talent to join its workforce, especially for positions in the health and ICT sectors. Professors of practice Jamie Hyneman and Jorma Turunen talk about their experiences working in Finland. We also speak to startup entrepreneurs Iranthi Gomes and Anna Fatima Sambou about launching a business in the country.

Arts & culture Film

In northern Finland, three unconventional Sámi artists talk about culture and craft

A documentary directed by Auri Ahola traces the career trajectories of three unusual Sámi artists as they discuss their connections to Sámi culture and the landscape of the far north. The film is embedded in our article for you to watch.

Arts & culture Music

Hold on to summer: Sunny Flow Fest memories in Helsinki last through the autumn and beyond

Flow Festival is an extravaganza, the highlight of the summer for multitudes of music fans in Finland. With interviews and a photo show, we attempt to bottle its essence so we can make the summer last longer, even as autumn is increasingly in the air.

Arts & culture Film

Radical liberty: Finnish director Alli Haapasalo’s movie Girl Picture lets girls be girls

In Girl Picture, three teenage girls say and do what they want – without suffering any retribution. While directing the film, Alli Haapasalo realised how incredibly rare that kind of freedom is in movie plots. We talk with her about making films in Finland.

Life & society Media

Finland promotes media literacy as a civic skill

Julia Alajärvi is a senior adviser at the National Audiovisual Institute’s Department of Media Education and Audiovisual Media. In this column, she writes about the current place of media literacy in Finland and the world.

Arts & culture Visual arts

Island and mainland: At Helsinki Biennial, art inspires viewers and makes summer linger longer

We jump on a ferry to the lush island of Vallisaari to visit the 2023 Helsinki Biennial and meet a couple of the artists. (Lots more photos in the slideshow at the end of the article.)

Life & society Sustainability

Six Finnish pioneers in carbon neutrality

Six Finnish cities have received recognition from the European Commission as pioneers in climate-neutrality efforts.

Arts & culture Music

Music in the Finnish capital: The Flow must go on

Finland loves summer festivals; there’s at least one in almost every city and town. Flow Festival, a massive music event held in Helsinki in early August, is the urban festival.

Life & society National park

Nature is for everyone: Finland adds to accessibility at national parks and nature areas

Recent years have seen numerous improvements in accessibility in the great outdoors at national parks and nature areas. Dozens of accessible trails are available in regions all over Finland.

Life & society Sports

Having fun on the water in Finland

People in Finland love spending time outdoors. Finland’s 188,000 lakes, hundreds of rivers and long coastline offer plenty of opportunities to enjoy nature. The Finnish Lake District is the largest such area in Europe.

Arts & culture Visual arts

Amos Rex’s Generation triennial spotlights talented young artists in Finland

In the Generation 2023 exhibition at Helsinki’s Amos Rex, 15-to-23-year-old artists display images of themselves and the world around us. What are they trying to tell the viewers? We check out the show.

Life & society Universities

What’s the deal with the overalls you see university students wearing in Finland?

They’re a trademark of student life at Finnish universities: Durable overalls in various bright colours, decorated with imaginative patches and badges, contribute to a sense of community.

Business & innovation Universities

At a university in northern Finland, international cooperation thrives

You never know who you’ll bump into at the Arctic Centre in the city of Rovaniemi. Each of the researchers and students has their own story of how they found their way to northern Finland.