thisisFINLAND Foreign Correspondents' Programme
Experiencing Finland through the young journalist's eyes
I have never stayed with a foreign family alone. When I was a student, I visited my friends in Russia and Kyrgyzstan, but it was different from my last weekend.
Before the start of thisisFINLAND Foreign Correspondents’ Programme I read several articles about Finnish people, because I wanted to be prepared for my family weekend. I’m from Kazakhstan. You know, according to these articles, blog ...
I come from Oslo, Norway, and we are often told that the culture here is very weird for foreigners. There is even a popular blog that explains how Norway and Norwegian are actually seen from foreigner’s perspective. You should read some of it to get an idea of how we are.
We don’t talk to strangers here, unless we meet them in the middle of nowhere or in the mountains while hiking, skiing or ...
“What do you know about Finland?” a friend asked me recently. I had just told him I was lucky enough to go there for three weeks this summer.
“Quite a bit,” I replied confidently.
I listed the staggering statistics: world-leading in press freedom, gender equality and transparency. Not doing too badly in education either.
My friend seemed impressed.
“The landscape is jaw-dropping, the standard ...
Gender equality is one of the issues that I focus the most on as a journalist. I think that gender equality is a human right and an important element in the society. It is also a precondition for advancing development and reducing poverty. I believe that empowered women could give a huge positive impact for a country.
Yet gender equality remains an unfulfilled promise in my country Indonesia. On ...