FCP journalists visit Turku and Naantali
The group of 20 young journalists invited to Finland by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will be visiting Turku on 3–4 August and Naantali on 5 August. The visits are part of the Foreign Correspondents’ Programme (FCP), a media training course organized by the Ministry for newly graduated or graduating journalism students. The average age of the participating students is 24 and they come from Armenia, Brazil, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, India, Japan, Germany, Poland, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey, the UK, Ukraine, and the United States.
On Thursday, August 4, the City of Turku will organize visits for the FCP participants to the Turku Main Library, to the newsroom of the local newspaper Turun Sanomat, and to some of the key sites of Turku 2011 European Capital of Culture. The programme for the day also includes dinner at Villa Solin and a reception at Turku City Hall together with journalists covering the 2011 Kalevan Kisat athletics event in Turku.
On Friday, August 5, the young journalists will visit Naantali. The programme includes a guided walk through the old town, a visit to Moomin World and a meeting with the President of the Republic at Kultaranta, the President’s summer residence.
The FCP training programme began on Monday, August 1 and runs through to Friday, August 26. Its aim is to broaden the participants’ interest in Finland, to foster a positive attitude towards Finland and a deeper understanding of the country, and to sharpen Finland’s profile. In the longer term the programme can be seen as an investment in future media relations and as such as an integral part of the Ministry’s efforts in the field of public diplomacy.
The participants will gain a broad perspective on Finnish society, its politics, history, the economy and culture, with instruction provided by some of the best experts in the country. Among the central themes of this year’s programme are Nordic cooperation, cleantech and design.
Follow the progress of the course through the FCP blog, where students will be taking turns to report their experiences and impressions of Finland.
http://formin.finland.fi/public/default.aspx?nodeid=36545&contentlan=2&culture=en-US
Inquiries on the training programme: Media Coordinator Päivi Harju-Heikkilä, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 40 749 2687, [email protected]
Further information on the programme in Turku: Communications Coordinator Jaana Räsänen-Nauska, City of Turku, tel. +358 50 559 0449, firstname.lastname @turku.fi