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.