Baltic Rim Economies - Baltic Port List

Expert article 894 Baltic Rim Economies, 21.12.2011 Quarterly Review 5�2011
Friendship between Finland and Poland
By Marjukka Mäyry
The main purpose for the existence of the Union of the
Finnish-Polish Associations in Finland is to strengthen
and fortify the friendly relations between Poland and
Finland in today's Europe, to make the co-operation firmer
and more intense at all levels. One significant way of doing
this is to increase and deepen the knowledge of Polish
history, society, economy, culture and your way of life in
Poland among Finns and vice versa, the awareness of
Polish people of Finland. Our relations as such is not a new
phenomenon, they go back a long way in history.
The Finnish-Polish Association was founded in
Helsinki as early as 1928. It started its work by taking every
opportunity to make Poland better known among Finns.
The initiators of founding the association were mainly
highly educated, academic people; many of them being
respected university professors and artists of great renown.
They were in close contact with their colleagues in Poland
and it was not too hard for them to pay visits to one another
in those days either.
It was the Finnish-Polish Association together with the
Warsaw Polish-Finnish Society, however, that actually
started the student exchange between Poland and
Finland. The associations organized many remarkable
cultural events, for instance, the 100th Anniversary of
Adam Mickiewicz in 1934. It was then that the Association
published a booklet of Adam Mickiewicz's life and work.
Another significant event was four years later, a
cultural exchange program was signed between Finland
and Poland, the initiator being the Finnish-Polish
Association.
Unfortunately, the Second World War broke up the cooperation
for some years, but it started again soon after the
war, to be more precise in 1947 and the co-operation has
gone on strongly and actively ever since.
In the course of years there were so many new Polish
societies all over the country, that in the year 1977 it was
considered vitally important to found an umbrella
organization in Finland the Union of the Finnish-Polish
Associations. The main office is located in Helsinki where
to hold meetings and where to arrange special events for
members and those interested in the Finnish-Polish
relations.
The main emphasis of the activity of the Union today
are on the language exchange program and the
publication of The Finnish-Polish magazine and also, in
order to make Polish films known in Finland and
Finnish films familiar with the Polish movie goers.
The Union in co-operation with the Warsaw Polish-
Finnish Society has organized language courses on an
exchange basis. Both parties choose three scholars for
the courses and pay for their course fees, accommodation
and teaching material. The exchange students can be
people of all ages; people who need Polish or Finnish in
their jobs or studies. These language courses are
organized by the Polonicum Institute in Warsaw and by
Helsinki University in Finland.
Traditionally, the annual Polish film week takes place
in October and during the month some two to four films are
shown in seven to nine cities all over Finland. We, Finns,
feel privileged to watch the latest Polish films chosen by
our very own film specialist. The Union organizes the film
week in co-operation with the Polish Embassy in Finland.
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To Poland the Union sends 3-4 documentary films to make
Finnish films familiar with the Polish movie goers. There the
Polish-Finnish societies organize the movies.
The Finnish-Polish magazine comes out annually
giving information to the Finnish people interested in Poles
and Poland, to make us Finns more aware about what is
going on in Poland. We Finns feel fortunate to have a
magazine published by our own Union. The Finnish-Polish
Magazine comes out every year; the first time it was
published was as early as the 1950's. It used to come out
twice a year, but times are getting rough in Finland as well
and the monetary funds are limited. The writers of the
magazine are the best Finnish experts on society,
economy, history and culture of Poland.
The magazine is, however, distributed not only in
Finland but also to the Finnish Embassy in Warsaw, to the
students studying Finnish at the University of Poznan and
Warsaw, various exhibition centers, libraries, the Polish
Embassy in Finland and the Finnish Embassy in Warsaw. It
is also given out in various kinds of events organized for
the public, not to forget passengers on the Finnlines ships
sailing from Gdynia to Helsinki.
Other forms of activities
Today we have some twenty Finnish-Polish Associations in
Finland. Most of them are in close contact with their Polish
Twin Cities and the Polish-Finnish Societies in those
places. The Union of the Finnish-Polish Associations has
been active in finding partner schools for Finnish schools
in Poland and Polish schools in Finland. The Union and the
Finnish-Polish Associations in co-operation with Polish-
Finnish Societies have also been busy finding contacts
for Finns in Poland and Polish people in Finland who for
various reasons need such help, e.g. for their study
opportunities, presentations, art exhibitions, lectures,
theatre performances, travels, drama performances,
puppet theatre shows, to name but a few. This co-operation
works both ways.
The Union of the Finnish-Polish Associations takes part
in an annual travel Fair in Helsinki. The representatives
of our Union answer the questions coming from the visitors
and give out different booklets on Poland. Many Finns find
travelling to Poland a fascinating idea, Poland not being too
far a destination and still quite a different country and
cultural surrounding from ours.
The Union has also supported the studies of those
Polish students who wish to learn our language or who
e.g. want to study in our universities or colleges by
donating Finnish literature to the universities in Warsaw
and Poznan. In return for similar privileges, some Finnish
students have been able to improve their skills in the
Polish language in Poznan and Warsaw Universities.
It was only recently that one of the greatest writers of
Finnish literature, probably the best-known Finnish writer in
Poland, Mr Mika Waltari, was celebrated for his great
production. Professor Panu Rajala, a real expert on Mika
Waltari, was sent over Poland to give a lecture on Waltari
and his production at the University of Poznan and
Warsaw.
The Union of Finnish-Polish Associations has supported
Finnish Studies at University of Warsaw and Poznan
donating Finnish literature to them and with the help of the
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