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Our mission is to promote the well-being and improve the quality of life of intercultural families and their family members living in Finland. We raise awareness about the special characteristics and needs of intercultural families in our society.
At the same time, we support and develop structures for an equal and multicultural Finnish society. Familia acts as an advocate for intercultural families and seeks to influence decision-making processes that have an influence over them. |
Support our citizens' initiative!
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In January we launched the Äidinkielenä monikielisyys (Multi Mother-Tongued) citizens' initiative campaign. The initiative advocates for the registration of multiple mother tongues in the population information system. Currently only one mother tongue can be registered, although Finland is officially bilingual and many people speak more than one language. You can read more about the issues from the campaign's own website.
Our campaign finished on July 11, 2023. Our citizens initiative received the support of 35 organizations. We thank all signatories, persons involved, volunteers, survey respondents and all people in general who got involved in this initiative. |
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OUR OBJECTIVES FOR the new GOVERNMENT PROGRAMME
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The elections for the Finnish parliament were held on April 2nd 2023. We hope that following these elections, we will get a Finland that takes better into account multilingual and intercultural families.
To achieve that, we composed a list of propositions that we hope would be included in the new government programme. You can read our objectives in the section about the Finnish parliamentary elections on our website. Please share this if you and your intercultural family support these objectives and let us know if you have anything to add! |
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Advocacy news
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JOIN US IN THE PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR CAMPAIGN!
Are you interested in multilingualism? Do you want to improve the situation of multilingual people in society? Are you passionate about advocacy? Are you ready to make a long-term commitment? If so, you could be the perfect fit for our campaign team. We are now looking for volunteers for our campaign team who are interested in multilingualism and especially in promoting registering several mother tongue’s in society. Familia is launching a campaign to highlight the importance of several mother tongue’s and to promote the recognition of multilingualism in society. If you have experience in citizens' initiatives, campaign planning, communication, advocacy, or lobbying, these are definitely an advantage. However, you do not necessarily need to have previous experience in any of these areas if you are otherwise enthusiastic about the subject. We hope that you will commit to joining the campaign team for at least six months and be willing to dedicate time to the campaign. For more information, please call Elina Helmanen, Executive Director, 050 433 5411. Please register for our campaign team via the link. |
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OUR ÄIDINKIELENÄ MONIKIELISYYS - THE CITIZENS' INITIATIVE DISCUSSED IN YLE'S ALL POINTS NORTH PODCAST
2.2.2023 Yle's All Points North podcast talked with Familia's executive director, Elina about our Äidinkielenä monikielisyys - the citizens' initiative. Go and listen what they talked about the meaning of registering many languages. Podcast is in English. https://yle.fi/a/74-20016059 International talent Finland Blog: Spouses of intercultural families more quickly into working life Read here our executive director Elina Helmanen's blog piece published on the blog of International talent Finland Research Project. Central Union for Child Welfare's "Give a voice to the child" blog series: Intercultural young people have the right to belong
9.2.2023 Read our executive director Elina Helmanen's blog piece published on "Give a voice to the child" blog series (in Finnish) of the Central Union for Child Welfare. Väestöliitto Blog: Is Finland a good country for people to move here? 16.1.2023 Read our executive director Elina Helmanen's blog piece published on Väestöliitto blog section (in Finnish) Helsingin Sanomat opinion letter: D-visa should be also possible for family members of Finns 8.7.2022 Read the opinion piece of our Executive Director Elina Helmanen published on the Helsingin Sanomat opinion section (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat opinion letter: The maternity package should be given to every family with a baby 13.11.2021 Read the opinion piece of our Executive Director Elina Helmanen published on the Helsingin Sanomat opinion section (in Finnish). Finnish Pensioners' Federation podcast: Finland through my own eyes: Love and families of two cultures in Finland. Listen here to our executive director Elina Helmanen's talking on the Finnish Pensioners' Federation podcast (in Finnish) |
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THE PANDEMIC IS ALSO AFFECTING APPLICANTS FOR RESIDENCE PERMITS FOR FAMILY REASONS
The pandemic has also affected the situation of those waiting for a residence permit. The majority of those involved in the Side by Side project activities are couples, one of whom is a Finnish citizen and the other is from a non-EU country. Due to the impact of the pandemic, the process of applying for a residence permit has been delayed at various stages. Finnish governmental and public offices may have been closed and travel to them has become more difficult. "We need more flexible practices from delegations abroad and in Finland from the Finnish Immigration Service so that the identifications required by the residence permit process can be handled without delay and people can move forward in their processes and make decisions within a reasonable time," writes Sanna Rummakko and Anu Kytömäki from the Side by Side project. Read the full blog post here. #Loveisnottourism #loveisessential |
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THE STATE DEPARTMENT MUST ACT - BICULTURAL COUPLES AND FAMILIES HAVE THE RIGHT TO SEE THEIR LOVED ONES
Over the past weeks, the media has focused on bicultural couples and families who are still waiting for the opportunity to see each other. Their involuntary wait has now been going on for nine months. Finland has still not opened its visa services to third-country nationals, which has made the situation of the families unbearable. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has justified the closing of citizens' services on the grounds of public health safety. This week we highlight the stories of these families and couples who are separated by the pandemic. It is now time for the Finnish authorities and policy makers to find solutions for these families and enable what other countries managing their pandemic situation are offering already. Read the full blog post here. You can follow our advocacy campaign on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. #LoveIsNotTourism |
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OUR COMMENTS ON THE GOVERNMENT'S ACTION PLAN AGAINST RACISM AND DISCRIMINATION
Familia participated in a hearing organised by the Ministry of Justice on the drafting of the Action Plan on Anti-Racism, Anti-Discrimination and Good Relations with the Population, which was included in the Prime Minister Sanna Marin's Government Programme. Following the hearing, we submitted written comments to the Ministry of Justice on the development of the Action Plan, outlining the discrimination and racism experienced by our members and suggesting areas for improvement in the development of anti-racism policies and necessary legislative reforms. Read our full comments here. |
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Surveys
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MOTHER TONGUE/HOME LANGUAGE SURVEY RESULTS
In February 2022 we conducted a survey to the parents of bi- and multilingual school kids about mother tongue/home language instruction in elementary school. With this survey we wanted to find out
Three main points resulted:
The results point out following needs:
DISCRIMINATION AND RACISM EXPERIENCED BY INTERCULTURAL COUPLES AND FAMILIES
During autumn 2020, Familia conducted a survey on racism and discrimination experienced by intercultural couples and families in Finland. An intercultural family is a family where the spouses come from different countries and have different cultural backgrounds. Familia is the only organisation in Finland that organises activities for intercultural families, provides specialised advice and acts as an advocate for such families. For Familia, the well-being of multicultural couples and families is the basis of its activities and therefore we felt it was important to map their experiences with racism and discrimination. We wanted to use the survey to find out the experiences and perspectives of all members of the family - both the immigrant, the Finnish spouse and the child. It is important to know about both good and bad experiences so that we can better advocate for our target group in the society. We wanted to find out how we in Familia could do even better to prevent racism and discrimination. The aim was to gather information that we could use, for example, to develop our activities and to plan training courses for professionals in this field. |
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Share your opinion!
Your opinion matters to us, and we want to consider it when designing our activities. We want to ask those interested in our activities, whether members or not members, what kind of activities could you like us to have in the future?
Share your opinion by taking the survey!
Share your opinion by taking the survey!
Bilingualism
OUR POSITION ON BILINGUALISM AND MULTILINGUALISM
Familia ry, an expert on intercultural families, believes that Finland should allow the possibility to be officially bilingual or multilingual, which will only happen if the population information system allows for the registration of more than one mother tongue. Read our position paper published on 12 March 2019 in full (in Finnish): Useamman kuin yhden äidinkielen rekisteröinti on mahdollistettava.
Familia ry, an expert on intercultural families, believes that Finland should allow the possibility to be officially bilingual or multilingual, which will only happen if the population information system allows for the registration of more than one mother tongue. Read our position paper published on 12 March 2019 in full (in Finnish): Useamman kuin yhden äidinkielen rekisteröinti on mahdollistettava.
MOTHER TONGUE BILINGUALISM PUBLICATION
The publication highlights the results of our survey and examines the current state of bilingualism in Finland, especially from the perspective of intercultural families. The different perspectives are highlighted in the text with examples supported by quotes and comments of the respondents. The publication reflects on mother tongue and bilingualism and offers answers to questions such as: What is bilingualism and how is it supported? What does bilingualism mean in intercultural families? Why should it be possible to register more than one mother tongue in the population register? Read the full publication (PDF) (in Finnish): Äidinkielenä kaksikielisyys - Kaksikulttuuristen perheiden näkökulmaa kaksikielisyyteen
The publication highlights the results of our survey and examines the current state of bilingualism in Finland, especially from the perspective of intercultural families. The different perspectives are highlighted in the text with examples supported by quotes and comments of the respondents. The publication reflects on mother tongue and bilingualism and offers answers to questions such as: What is bilingualism and how is it supported? What does bilingualism mean in intercultural families? Why should it be possible to register more than one mother tongue in the population register? Read the full publication (PDF) (in Finnish): Äidinkielenä kaksikielisyys - Kaksikulttuuristen perheiden näkökulmaa kaksikielisyyteen
Familia's articles on bilingualism (only in Finnish)
- Artikkeli: Vähemmistössä muttei vähempiarvoinen (Familian Duo -hanke, 2015)
- Artikkeli: Kaksi kulttuuria ja kaksi kieltä (Familian Duo -hanke, 2015)
- Artikkeli: Miksi vanhempien tulisi puhua omaa äidinkieltä lapsilleen? (Familian Duo -hanke, 2015)
- Artikkeli: Vähemmistössa, muttei vähempiarvoinen (Familian Duo -hanke, 2015)
- Artikkeli: Kaksikielisten lasten "oman äidinkielen" opetus (Familian Duo -hanke, 2015)
- Artikkeli: Pitäisikö väestörekisteriin voida merkitä useampi kuin yksi äidinkieli? (Familian Duo -hanke, 2015)
Yhdessä maailmassa Podcast
Welcome to Yhdessä mailmassa, a podcast by Familia where we advocate for intercultural families in Finland. Elina Helmanen, Execute Director of Familia, explores different points of views side by side with experts in topics such as employment, intercultural relationships, wellbeing, bilingualism, migration, social causes and more. Stay with us and be part of the change!
You can listen to our episodes on:
You can listen to our episodes on:
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Episode 1
We start this journey by talking to advocacy volunteer Kateřina Buchtová
about employment in Finland and what it's like to be a foreigner and a worker in this country . |
Episode 2
Registering more than one mother tongue in Finland: challenges, opportunities, and insights! Our expert Tanja del Angel explains in detail what is the fuss over this topic and why it is relevant for intercultural families. Learn also how registration of more than one native tongue has evolved over recent years, and what opportunities do we have for a more multilingual Finland!
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