News from Berlin

Finnland, Cool - Finnish Cultural Diplomacy in Germany

September 25th, 2014
20140916_Finnland_Cool.jpg

News from Berlin – This year, the country of Finland will be represented in a special way at the Frankfurt Book Fair this Fall, with the country being designated as the fair’s guest of honor for 2014. As such, several parties from both the Finnish public and private sector are working together on a project called Finnland, Cool. The project aims not only to make the Finnish participation in the fair a great success, but also intends to showcase Finnish culture in general for the German-speaking public.

The organizers of the project intend to use its central theme, reading, to engage in dialogue with the audience, looking to tear down social barriers still existing in the fields of culture and education. Lectures and workshops given in Frankfurt will focus on what the accessibility and openness of culture mean, both now and in the future, and what role the European Union can play in this.

The Frankfurt Book Fair itself is the largest international book and media fair in the world. Around 7500 exhibitors from over 110 countries will be represented at the fair. Apart from the many activities organized in light of Finnland, Cool surrounding the Frankfurt fair, there will also be events in many other German cities, including Berlin. These will be organized through a subsidiary program named COOL2014, which is being coordinated by the Finnish Institute in Berlin.

The satellite program takes place not only in Germany, but also in Austria and Switzerland, and is meant as an outreach to the German-speaking audience in Europe. People are able to sign up their own events as part of COOL2014, as long as it has to do with Finnish art, education, science or society, and has a clear connection to Germany, Austria, or Switzerland. In this way, the program is not only rapidly turning into a diverse display of Finland-related projects, but also as cultural diplomacy in practice. The involvement of both public and private sector only adds to this.

News from Berlin – Berlin Global