The theme of Finland’s centenary celebration year is ‘Together’. On 6th December 1917 Finland became independent after a long struggle. The newly born state was willed into being by the Finns but despite hard times, the Finnish people would thereafter engage in the building of the country and togetherness of the nation. With the same courage, determination, feeling for equality and democracy, the Finns now lead their country into a new century. The activities and events taking place throughout 2017 will help Finland and the world better understand Finland’s past, experience the jubilee in partnership and set the course for the country’s future.
The concept of ‘Together’ will be explored in a variety of ways from a variety of partnerships across disciplines as well as regional and national borders. Overall responsibility for putting the programme together rests with the ‘Finland 100 Years’ organisation established in the Prime Minister’s Office. However as the centenary programme is also being created through the joint efforts of Finns and friends of Finland, it is expected that the programme’s implementation and themes will be as diverse as Finland itself.
On this page you will find information about some exciting projects being run jointly by Finland and the UK to celebrate Suomi 100.
A Tale of 2 Countries
To celebrate Finland’s centenary of independence the Finnish Institute in London has worked with the British Library, The National Archives of Finland, The National Library of Finland and several other archives to launch an online gallery titled A Tale of Two Counties. Other partners include The Yle Archives, The Päivälehti Archives, The Archives of President Urho Kekkonen and The Migration Institute of Finland.
A Tale of Two Countries highlights the shared past between Finland and Britain through items that encapsulate aspects of cultural, political, social and personal history. The Gallery preserves digital cultural heritage, inspires the further use of digital collections and invites people to enrich the gallery with personal keepsakes by making archives available to the public.
The gallery is part of the official programme of the Finland 100 anniversary.
Celebrating togetherness with ‘Mobile Home London’
What does home mean to people moving from one place to another? How does the mobility of people impact the idea of home and how homeland is perceived?
Celebrating independence in Finland means that the idea of home and the homeland is important. To explore this concept a collaborative project between the Finnish Institutes in London, Paris, Berlin and the Benelux countries is being developed that looks at the meaning and the future of ‘home’ in different ways.
Mobile Home London will study the meaning of home though architecture and collective dialogue in a century marked by mobility. The year will see Mobile Home London work between the UK and Finland to create opportunities for a sustainable and innovative wood construction combining wood building know-how, university collaboration and technology.
The project is produced in collaboration with architecture professionals and students and will be an integral part of the architecture studies of the University of Westminster. Architect and Head of the Department of Architecture at the University of Westminster, Professor, Harry Charrington and Architect Sami Rintala are the forces behind the project, in collaboration with Harry Paticas and Tom Raymont of Arboreal Architecture. Under their guidance, the students will research and develop environmentally friendly building materials and models with low emission. The end result will be a wooden shelter for a wilderness trail at Lusto Finnish Forest Museum in Punkaharju in Finland.
The project kicks off in January with a three-day workshop in London run by Sami Rintala, followed by a second 10-day workshop in Finland in May 2017. The processes and end results of the project will be shown at the University of Westminster in London in June 2017 and Habitare Showroom in Helsinki in September 2017.
