Kesseli project

Closed

The contacts between the Finnish and the Russians have increased. Th e need for people with knowledge of the Russian language has increased in Finland, but the number of students of Russian has nevertheless decreased. Moreover, the status of the Finnish language has deteriorated in the Republic of Karelia. When the knowledge of another culture and another people’s customs is limited, this often leads to prejudices, misinterpretations and disappointments. Th ere was no comprehensive presentation about Finnish society and culture for use, e.g. in the education of immigrants. By increasing language and cultural education, it was deemed possible to increase mutual interaction and make it more fl exible. Th e project wanted to produce generally educating, culturally comparative learning material for the needs of education and teaching, which would improve the cross-border communication and mutual understanding between Finns and Russians. Another goal was to develop new teaching material for teaching both Finnish and Russian as foreign languages, considering both the requirements of the Matriculation Examination Board of Finland and the European framework. Th e intention was also to increase the number of language students. Additionally, one aim was to establish service points in the libraries of Petrozavodsk and Kostomuksha to off er information about the neighbouring country and its culture.

Medium