About Us

Switch to the dark mode that's kinder on your eyes at night time.

Switch to the light mode that's kinder on your eyes at day time.

SKY: Suomen Kulttuurienvälinen Yhteisö (Finnish Intercultural Community) is a Working Group (WG) under the civil society organization ‘Fin Polar Kulttuurikeskus ry’, registered in Helsinki in 2005 with a registration number 190.987.

SKY was born with an aim of developing a community of shared values, shared challenges, and equal opportunity within Finland, based on a sense of cooperation, trust, hope and reciprocity among all living in Finland.

In other words, as The Council of Europe (Europe 2008) defines social cohesion, SKY aims to advance “the capacity of a society to ensure the well-being of all its members, minimizing disparities and avoiding marginalization” with the following characteristics:

(1) reciprocal loyalty and solidarity
(2) strength of social relations and shared values
(3) sense of belonging
(4) trust among individuals of society (the community)
(5) reduction of inequalities and exclusion

It aims to do this first by learning the national language(s), culture, customs, history and engaging in civic participation, cross-cultural relations, developing a sense of belongingness to Finland. Second, it does by bringing different people and communities together through a diverse range of activities such as creative discussions, capacity building and active participation initiatives, online/offline campaigns, trips, as well as conferences and exhibitions.

People

As newcomers to Finland, we do not want to live in a bubble (ghetto’s) isolated from culturally rich, diverse, and open people of Finland. We want to foster interaction and learning. Our exposure to different people enriches us and broadens our perspectives on life.

At the moment, Finnish Intercultural Community (SKY) working group members are residing in various cities of Finland, representing different professional backgrounds such as art, economy, communication, IT, education, and others.

Members

CHAIR

Migration, media and intercultural communication I consider to be my strong side. I am true integrationist and aim to mediate between fellow immigrants and the host society. Travelling, campfire and hiking is my passion. In painful times, I tend to write poems. Being chosen as a chair in SKY, I aim to facilitate societal initiatives and work together with the team to increase inter-personal / inter-ethnic contacts for the benefit of the cohesive & inclusive society.

VICE CHAIR

I am from Turkey and currently living in Helsinki. I’m a biologist and interested in nature, environment and science. I like learning and getting to know different cultures. In SKY, my aim is to know cross-cultural issues and contribute to the “culture of living together”.

HIZMET-FINPOLAR COOPERATION

I am Gulten, a newcomer to Finland and resident in Tampere. I am Biology teacher. I was also an activist in my country of origin, helping minority groups and individuals who were lonely and victimized for various reasons and tried to provide humanitarian support. My reason for joining the SKY working group is to meet new people, get to know more customs and traditions, engage in dialogue activities and improve my skills and capacity. In community spirit, I believe I can reach more then I would alone.

WEB-DESIGN

I’m an educational technologist and cyber security expert. I have ten years of work experience in different workplaces in Turkey. I have been living in Finland for about 2 years. I am in SKY because I believe that doing volunteered works is a good way to be integrated, to participate in, and learn about the society. . I am trying to contribute to SKY by designing the website, by doing some graphical works like designing brochures etc).Moreover, I am participating in the activities of the SKY because I am interested in Intercultural affairs as well.

MEMBERSHIP COORDINATION

I’m Merve and living in Finland. Graduated from International Relations, Vistula University, Poland. Currently I’m learning Finnish language and advancing my English.

As a SKY’s new member, it is improving my relations with people as well as my skills. Especially, it’s helping to understand or look at things from different perspectives. I think that I’m good at communications and maintaining them. I love to organize events and I would like to be good at it because it makes me happy and feel better. Initially, I will be contributing by my activism in SKY.

TRANSLATION

I used to be a physics and math teacher. I taught for ten years in Turkey. I came to Finland in 2018. I want to improve my Finnish language level and become a teacher in secondary schools in Finland. I also believe that the world will be a better place by contact and dialogue. We may think differently, be of different races, have different beliefs, but we can understand each other by accepting each other.

Tulin Suomeen vuonna 2018 ja olen Turkkilainen. Olen turkin kielen ja kirjallisuuden opettaja. Asun Hämeenlinnan kaupungissa. Tykkään pelata jalkapalloa, koripalloa ja pöytätennistä. Pidän myös matkustaa ja tutustua uusiin kulttuuriin. Olen SKY: n jäsen, koska haluan tutustua ja oppia uusia kulttuureja ja ihmisiä täällä. Tämä on yhteisö, joka uskoo rakkauden ja vuoropuhelun voimaan. Uskon myös, että osaan integroida ja osallistua yhteiskuntaan SKY:n kautta paremmin. Mielestäni ei ole ongelmaa, jota ei voida voittaa käsitteillä rakkaus, kunnioitus, empatia ja vuoropuhelu. Ja SKY valmistaa sopivan ympäristön tälle polulle ja kehittää projekteja.

VICE CHAIR

I am Neslihan from Turkey and I have been living in Finland since 2020. I have been learning Finnish language because I believe that this will be a great asset for me if I am competent in it. By profession, I am a Mathematics teacher. I am with 11 years experience of teaching in Thailand, which also served me to widen my networks, meeting new people and learning their cultures. These is actually the reasons why SKY attracted me as it aligns with my enthusiasm. I support volunteering for multicultural initiatives.

YOUTUBE-VIDEO EDIT

I have been traveling whole around the world past 13 years and my final destination is Finland in 2020 September. I am an electrical and electronic engineer. After visiting many countries and meeting cultures I found myself searching for bridges between cultures. Now I am with the SKY group as a volunteer. I am interested in IT projects and as much as possible I am helping my colleagues

SECRETARY OF BOARD

I am Nermin and I am a newcomer to Finland. Currently I am learning Finnish language and my aim is to study social services because, it’s a field where I can be helpful to people and I enjoy doing so. Before arriving to Finland, I have lived in India for 6 years where my interest for dialogue and intercultural topics was born. By engaging with more people, I got more interested in interfaith issues. Being a part of SKY, I wish to encounter and learn more about dialogue activities which sure will give me a different perspectives to look from.

SKY YOUTH COORDINATOR

I am a biology teacher and I have experience in education consultancy. I have been living in Finland since September 2018. Currently I am studying in the process industry field in Helsinki Stadin Ammattiopisto. I worked as a volunteer, as well as in managing roles in many youth associations when I was in Turkey. In Finland, I am working as a volunteer under the youth mentoring working group of Finpolar Kultturikeskus ry. Learning new things, helping others and being the part of organizational works always excite me. I always appreciate the richness of different cultures and diversity and because of this I am a member of SKY. I think that, all of us live under the same single and glorious sky, and I believe that it is worthwhile to learn from each other and to share experiences and perspectives .

SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR

Minä olen Buneyye. Tulin Turkista. Olin yhdeyskuntaoppin opettaja. Olen asunnut suomessa noin 2 vuotta. Nyt käyn suomen kielen kurssilla. Tein paljon vapaehtoistöitä monissa paikoissa, kun olin yliopiston opiskelija Turkissa. Tällä hetkellä, olen vapaaehtoinen finpolar kulturikeskus.ry:n sosiaalisen median ryhmässä. Olen sosiaalinen nainen ja olen utelias erilaisista kulttuureista ja pidän aktiviteeteista. Uskon, että minulla on mahdollisuus tutustua moniin erilaisiin kulttuureihin Sky:n kautta ja tietysti voin oppia paljon muilta ihmisiltä.

SKY NETWORK COORDINATOR

Hei, olen Murat. Olen asunut Suomessa noin 2 vuotta. Opettelen suomea. Olen tällä hetkellä valmaopiskelija RASEKO Ammattikoulunissa. Partio on suurin harrastukseni. Harrastan aktiivisesti partiokerhoa. Pidän erittäin tärkeänä kulttuurienvälistä vuoropuhelua ja Sky:ssa osallistun sellaiseen tapahtumaan.

EQUALITY AND EQUITY COORDINATOR

I’m a qualified and hardworking biologist and teacher, passionate about contributing to education as a unique opportunity to build a safe and empathetic environment for the upcoming generations.

When it comes to my future plans I’m diving into cybersecurity as I consider it a unique opportunity to work in Finland.

SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR

Hi. I am Feyza from Vantaa. I have been living in Finland since 2019. In Turkey I was an academician at Sociology. Now as a start I am studying finnish language. I love socializing with new people and my desire is to help anyone in need. There is a believe in me that the learning is a lifelong process and we can learn new things from new people in every new second.On this matter SKY can help me by being the strong bridge between new minds and perspectives from new people.

TRANSLATION

Muutin Suomeen vuonna 2018. Nyt olen opiskelija Helsingin yliopiston Suomen kielen ja kulttuurin kandiohjelmassa. Haluan osallistua yhteiskuntaan tekemällä hyödyllisiä projekteja. Minun mielestäni kun ihmiset, jotka ajattelevat eri tavalla, tuntevat ja kunnioittavat toisiaan, se tekee meistä paremman yhteiskunnan, siksi meille tarvitsee enemmän dialogia.

I am Mustafa. I studied business and administration in Turkey and worked in a bank for 4 years and then at the Ministry of Finance as a taxcontroller for 5 years. I have been living in Finland for 3 years. I’m studying accounting here and working as both a football coach and a referee. I am happy and honored to be a part of SKY, which always thinks that differences are richness.