Member Article

Finland comes to Southampton

To mark the centenary of Finland’s independence, The Finnish Institute in London visited Southampton Central Library and donated ten books from Finnish authors.

The Finnish Embassy representative Pirjo Pellinen, the representative of the Finnish Institute in London, Johanna Sumuvuori, and Honorary Consul of Finland and Partner at Southampton law firm Bond Dickinson, Christina Tolvas-Vincent all visited the Library yesterday ( Wednesday 26th April) to donate the books which had been translated into English.

The initiative is part of ‘10x10 Stories from Finland’, a national campaign launched by the Finnish Institute in London to mark Finland’s 100th year as an independent nation and to highlight the importance of literacy and literature. As part of the campaign, the Finnish Institute in London has collected 100 books, all written by Finnish authors and translated, which will be donated to 10 different libraries across the UK in 2017. Southampton is the first library to have received the donation.

“We wanted to celebrate Finland’s centenary in the UK by bringing 10 wonderful Finnish stories to British readers and library users. We believe these stories offer great literary travels across Finnish culture. We will start our campaign in Southampton 26 April together with the Embassy of Finland,” says Johanna Sumuvuori, Head of Society and Culture at the Finnish Institute in London.

Christina Tolvas-Vincent, Honorary Consul of Finland and a Partner at law firm Bond Dickinson LLP added: “As an avid reader and a Finn, who has lived in the Southampton region for more than 20 years, I am delighted to have been able to bring this project to Southampton and to strengthen the cultural links between my native country and my adopted home. I hope this project will enable local residents to share in the joy of reading and, in particular, get to know Finnish literature.”

The selection of books includes a wide range of literature from modern masterpieces through to beloved classics, including the Finnish national epic Kalevala. Some books are from some of Finland’s most celebrated contemporary authors including Tove Jansson , Rosa Liksom , Sofi Oksanen , Philip Teir , Markus Majaluoma and Ulla-Lena Lundberg.

Through this campaign, the Finnish Institute in London together with the Finnish Embassy want to convey the power of literacy, as a fundamental human right and the foundation for lifelong learning. Finland is the world’s top country in literacy, which is one of the key factors behind the welfare and academic success of any society.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Womble Bond Dickinson LLP .