The idea to launch the Finnish Days emerged during Nordic Culture Week, which was organised in Ida-Viru County in autumn by the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in Estonia. “Nordic Culture Week was a real success and proved to us that there’s a lot of interest in Nordic culture in north-eastern Estonia,” said director Christer Haglund. “So why not showcase the culture of one Nordic country in particular in more depth once a year?” He added that the choice of Finland was an obvious one. “It holds the presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers this year, and as such it’s playing a very important role in guiding cooperation,” he explained. “Also, a lot of people will recall the Finnish Days that were held in Narva in the early 2000s.”
Finnish Ambassador to Estonia Kirsti Narinen points to the close historical ties between Narva and its northern neighbour. “It’s been an important place for Finland over the centuries, being so close to where the Ingrian Finns are found,” she said. “But it’s also especially important - the whole of Ida-Viru County in fact - in terms of economic and cultural cooperation. It’s great that we’re able to mark the start of Finland’s 100th anniversary celebrations in Narva as well, and with such a wide-ranging programme of events.”
The Finnish Institute will be bringing to Narva the majority of the films being screened there during the week, as well as an exhibition of Marimekko design. “We want to showcase the very best that Finnish culture has to offer,” said Anu Laitila, the director of the institute. “We’re particularly pleased that the audience in Narva will get to see ‘The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki’, which recently won an international accolade. It just won the Finnish National Culture Prize as well. It will be premiering at the Apollo Astri cinema at 19:00 on 9 December.”
A wide-ranging programme of films will be shown at the Astri cinema as part of the Finnish Days. There will also be a concert of song and dance by Ingrian Finns and a Finnish food tasting event at Narva Community Centre. Art and design lovers will enjoy the ‘Marimekko - A Finnish Design Classic’ exhibition at the Narva Art Residency. Adding to the display will be the personal collection of Marimekko dresses of Ambassador Narinen. Business relations will be promoted at Narva College of the University of Tartu via an Ida-Viru County investment conference, and a number of companies that are fully or partly owned by Finns will be opening their doors to anyone interested: the Narva factories of Fortaco and Hanza Mechanics and the Asko/Sotka and Prisma stores. Narva College will also be hosting a seminar entitled ‘Supporting the individual development of students with a project-based learning process’ at which those working in the fields of education and youth work will have one of the methodologies used in Finland’s world-renowned education outlined to them. Professional trainers will also be instructing anyone interested on the finer points of a true Finnish sport: Nordic walking. The Finnish Days will be brought to a close with a mass in Finnish at Alexander’s Cathedral in Narva, after which the attendees will be offered traditional church coffee.
The Finnish Days are being organised by the Narva branch of the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in Estonia in association with the Embassy of Finland, the Honorary Consulate of Finland in Narva, the Finnish Institute, Ida-Viru County Government, Narva College of the University of Tartu, Fortaco OÜ Estonia, the Narva Association of Ingrian Finns, Vestifex OÜ, the Narva Art Residency and Narva Gate OÜ.