Pilot project of the International Students Integration Program on the move
Within the framework of contributing to a more humane and orderly management of immigration issues for the benefit of Vaasa and the Ostrobothnia region and as a people-centered organization with longstanding experience in dealing with the integration of immigrants in Finland, the Finnish Red Cross Ostrobothnia Swedish District has been working on a pilot project to facilitate the integration of international students in Vaasa and Ostrobothnia region.
The project has been moving at a smooth pace and within this short period, we have been able to gather a group of international students and we planned some activities that have helped to introduce them to the city of Vaasa, the local community as well as the culture. We have had a couple of meetings at the district office where the students had an open discussion about the difficulties they face as international students in Finland and how they think the Finnish Red Cross Ostrobothnia Swedish District could help them in the integration process.
The students familiarized themselves with the fundamental principles of the Red Cross as well as the seven principles of safer spaces, the Finnish work culture, and some values sacrosanct to the Finns like Equality, Trust, Modesty, Honesty, and Punctuality. We visited VASEK to acquaint ourselves with the entrepreneurial opportunities in Vaasa and were happy to hear about the willingness of the Finnish Government to support brilliant entrepreneurship ideas and the availability of Startia-VASEK to accompany the students from the conception stage of their business ideas to the materialization of these business ideas into profitable businesses.
We also had the opportunity to volunteer with the Finnish Red Cross Ostrobothnia Swedish District like the case during the Korsholmskalaset at Botnia Hallen in Mustassari and in the relief warehouse where we packed gift bags, and we are happy about this and intend to continue taking part in the voluntary activities. We enjoyed the Lucia Day – seeing the “coming of light into the darkness of the Winter” at Kulturhuset Fanny.
These various activities enabled us to experience a direct connection with the local community and culture as one of the participants Ms. Khoula Liaquat, puts it: “This pilot project gives me valuable insight into the Finnish culture and makes the vision of living in Vaasa as an international a lot more clearer”. The students have expressed their satisfaction and gratitude to the Finnish Red Cross Ostrobothnia Swedish District for undertaking this project and hope for the continuity of the project.
Text: Franklin Etarh, International Project Intern (nov 2023 - jan 2024)