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ASIA FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE FINNISH INSTITUTE IN JAPAN

ASIA FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE FINNISH INSTITUTE IN JAPAN. Kauko Laitinen Director. What the Finnish Institutes are and what they do. Since 1954 in total 17 Finnish Institutes have been established by private foundations with support from the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture.

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ASIA FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE FINNISH INSTITUTE IN JAPAN

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  1. ASIAFROM THE PERSPECTIVE OFTHE FINNISH INSTITUTEIN JAPAN Kauko Laitinen Director

  2. What the Finnish Institutes are and what they do • Since 1954 in total 17 Finnish Institutes have been established by private foundations with support from the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture. • Four of them are academic institutes: Athens, Japan, Middle East, and Rome. • The rest, 13 institutes, are cultural institutes: Berlin, Benelux, Budapest, Denmark, Hanasaari, London, Madrid, New York, Oslo, Paris, Tallinn, St. Petersburg, and Stockholm. • Reasons for establishment: cultural, economic, geographic, historical, scientific ties and needs to develop them • Many institutes cover several countries • In East Asia only one institute – Finnish Institute in Japan (FIJ)

  3. Background of the FIJ • FIJ is maintained by the Foundation of the Finnish Institute in Japan, a private foundation established in 1997 in Finland by parties in the fields of research, education, technology, arts and business. • At the moment 34 member organisations in the Foundation: all universities in Finland, research funds such as Academy of Finland, National Technology Agency and Finnish Cultural Foundation, Technical Research Centre of Finland, economic organisations including Confederation of Finnish Industries, Finland Trade Centre Finpro, and five major Finnish enterprises, academic and cultural organisations including Federation of Finnish Learned Societies, Arts Council of Finland, Union of Finnish Writers, Finnish Association of Architects, Design Museum, City of Helsinki, as well as the two main friendship societies of Finland and Japan.

  4. FIJ Executive Board, Advisory Board and Staff meeting in November 2011

  5. Background of the FIJ, con’d • The foundation is supported by the Ministry of Education and Culture in Finland. • The Finnish Institute in Japan promotes cooperation in research, higher education, art and culture between Finland and Japan. It encourages joint projects and mobility of researchers, students and artists. • One of FIJ’s main tasks is to create and maintain networks connected to its strategic activities in Japan and Finland. It builds bridges between Finland and Japan and increasingly with other regions in East Asia.

  6. Background of the FIJ, con’d • FIJ is located in Tokyo in the same building as the Embassy of Finland.

  7. FIJ Strategy 2010-2014 • The FIJ aims at increasing collaboration between Finnish and Japanese academics, artists and related organizations. The objective is to offer a platform for long-standing co-operation. • The FIJ pursues and promotes cultural activities suitable to its aims as well as interaction in research and higher education between Finland and Japan. • The FIJ supports researchers, students and artists in their work in Japan. For this purpose it maintains networks in both countries. • The Finnish Institute in Japan supports the activities of its founding organisations in Japan.

  8. Priority areas in 2012-2014 • Higher education • Co-operation with East Asia • Architecture • Design

  9. Research and Education • FIJ encourages academic collaboration between Finland and Japan, increasing student and researcher exchange and joint research between top-level universities and research institutes. • It concentrates on development of frameworks such as joint tenure track and international doctoral school cooperation. • It initiates symposia and workshops of interest to both countries

  10. Research and Education • Sendai Finland Wellbeing Centre project in Sendai, 1999- • Feel Finland 2003; Feel Finland in Science 2006 • Japan-Finland Programme 2007-2011 • Kawaguchischoolproject 2008-2010 • Japanese-FinnishDictionary 1999- • Culture and Society of Swedish-speakingFinns 2013-2015 • HigherEducation: FinnishLanguage and Culture Education, Teachertraining 2013-2014 (planned) • Co-operation on BuiltEnvironmentbetween Finland, Japan and China (Shenyang)

  11. Art and Culture FIJ brings contemporary Finnish and Japanese artists, producers, curators and organisers together in order to realize cultural events both in Finland and Japan. The FIJ art projects are typically carried out as joint productions with relevant professional partners in Japan and Finland. Someprojects: • Feel Finland 2003 • HIRAMEKI Design x Finland 2010- • Helsinki-Tokyo Composer-in-Residence Programme 2011- • Tokyo Midtown Christmas 2012- • Finnish Glass Exhibition at Suntory Museum of Art 2012 • Sami Exhibition at Hokkaido UniversityMuseum 2012

  12. Alumni networking activity by the FIJ • Finnish-Japanese Alumni Network (FJAN) established by FIJ in 2010. Japanese students who studied in Finland are eligible to membership. • Link to FJAN website through on FIJ website www.finstitute.gr.jp • Link from FB will be opened in Spring 2013 • Sharing experiences about studying in Finland, offering hints to students going to Finland for study • Meetings at the FIJ, information about Finland-related events in Japan • Opportunities to meet Finnish students studying in Japan • Possibilities to increase and develop contacts between FJAN and JSPS as well as MEXT alumni organisations need to be studied

  13. A Finnish-Japanese Alumni Network meeting at FIJ in May 2012 celebrating the publication of the Japanese edition of Japaninkielicompiled by Univ. of Helsinki students

  14. Japan (in mid-March 2013) • In 2013, East Asia’sfastestgrowingeconomy! • Tokyo StockExcxhange 40 % growth in value! • Yen weakened 25 % in valuetoward the Euro! WHY? • Boldecomicrecoverypolicy (”Abenomics”) byShozoAbe’s new government (LiberalDemocraticParty) – ”Beautiful Japan”, ”Strong Japan” • Japan Central Bank forced to adoptmoreflexiblepolicyconcerning the value of the yen • ”Abeducationpolicies” by MEXT • After ”2 lostdecades” , Japan’s ”lastchance”

  15. Japan • Criticssay: Abenomics = ”beginning of Japan’slastbubble” • Public debt (already 239% of GDP) increasing = dangerouslevel? • Recoveryfrom the tripledisaster of 2011 slow • Energy: nuclearornon-nuclear? • Studentsdecreasinginterest in foreignstudysince 2004 • Japan’srelationswithneighbouringcountries

  16. Advantages of Japan as the FIJ’soperationalenvironment • Historicallyclosest country to Finland in East Asia • Democratic, opensociety. Freepress. • Highlevel in scientificresearch • Well-developededucationalsystem • Safe, cleanenvironment • Receptive to foreign culture

  17. Trainees at the FIJ • Twochannels: CIMO and Svenska Kulturfonden • Workingholidaysystemdesired • JET programme as an opportunity • Traineeopportunitiesbased on College exchanges • Traineepositions in Japaneseuniversities?

  18. FIJ’S regionalcooperation in East Asia(plan in 2012 – postponed to the future) • Growth of the importance of the East Asian Region as a whole (Japan, China, Taiwan, South Korea) • Ministry of Education and Culture has repeatedly inquired the Finnish Institute in Japan about the possibility to expand its activity to China and other countries in the East Asian region • A flexible form of cooperation, based on networking, is needed to link the Finnish Institute in Japan with the rest of East Asian region • Changing needs in the future (emerging new fields for co-operation, new centres and stakeholders, etc) must also be taken into consideration • Based on the depth / breadth of co-operation, there can be different levels in the Finnish Institute in Japan’s co-operation with the rest of East Asia

  19. Level 1: co-operation with a single partner • Example: co-operation with Shenyang Jianzhu University – a Chinese architecture university in Northeast China. It already has exchange agreements with Aalto University and Tampere University of Techology (agreements not yet operative). University of Oulu will soon join.

  20. Level 2: co-operation network in East Asia • Representatives of Finland-related units in local universities/research institutes in the region form a consultative group, meeting 2 times a year in order to exchange information and plan future co-operation projects. • The meetings rotate between units • The Finnish Institute in Japan serves as the secretariat and co-ordinates the meetings.

  21. Level 2: co-operation network in East Asia, con’d Potential fields • Higher education (including area studies) • Environment • Architecture and Design Potential partners in East Asia • Institute of Finnish Language, Beijing Foreign Studies University (Beijing) • International Urban Center for Human Co-habitation, Shenyang Jianzhu University (Shenyang) • Sino-Finnish Centre (Aalto-Tongji Design Factory), Tongji University (Shanghai) • Sino-Finnish Environment Research Institute & Chinese-NordicCultural Centre, Nanjing University (Nanjing) • A Taiwanese partner (Taipei)? • A South Korean partner (Seoul)?

  22. Level 3: Deepening co-operation (organisational ) • The Finnish Institute in Japan may officially become Finnish East Asia Institute (FEAI). • No change to current Japanese name (“Finland Centre”), location and activity in Japan. • Network partners become FEAI Partners. • The Institute may despatch supporting staff to partner offices.

  23. Visions for the coming years of the FIJ • Inreasing Finland-Japan cooperation, with links to East Asia (China, South Korea, Taiwan) • Feel Finland in Education (2014-)? • Feel Finland in Culture (2014-)?

  24. Finding the same tune with mukkuriat Shiraoi, Hokkaido

  25. Thank Youfor your AttentionYour Advice is alwaysHighly Appreciated

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