The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has invited 19 young foreign journalists and journalism students to attend the 21st Foreign Correspondents’ Programme (FCP) in Finland. The training programme provides an opportunity for these young professionals to learn more about Finland and Finnish society.
This year the programme runs from August 5 to 30. The participants come from the following countries: Argentina, Belarus, Brazil, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Japan, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, the UK, Ukraine, the United States, and Vietnam.
The aim of the FCP is to provide the participants with a broad knowledge and understanding of Finland. In the longer term the programme can be seen as an investment in future media relations and as an integral part of the Ministry’s efforts in the field of public diplomacy.
The cross-cutting theme of this year’s FCP is “How does Finland work?” The purpose is to use real-life examples to explain why Finland keeps appearing at the top of various ranking lists measuring the functioning of societies.
During the programme the FCP participants will meet with the country’s political leadership, including Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen, Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja and Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade Alexander Stubb. They will also meet former President of the Republic Tarja Halonen.
The FCP includes visits to various Finnish organisations and business companies and trips around the metropolitan Helsinki region and to Turku and Rovaniemi. The participants will also spend a weekend with a Finnish family.
The programme can be followed on Facebook and the FCP blog, where the FCP participants will report their experiences and impressions of Finland.
Further information: First Secretary Anna Yletyinen, mobile phone +358 40 505 6642, e-mail [email protected]
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland
