Leeds was happy to welcome the Finnish Ambassador, Jukka Siukosaari last week, for the first ambassadorial visit in over 10 years.
Such visits always provide a fantastic opportunity to learn about our own international communities, and this was certainly no exception!
We discovered that Emmerdale is MASSIVE in Finland, so as well as being welcomed by the Lord Mayor, we of course made sure he had a chance to visit before he left! Who'd have thought?
Leeds has a small but active Finnish community, and a fantastic Finnish School which meets every two weeks at the Lutheran church in Headingley, to help young people learn and practice their language, as well as to celebrate Finnish culture.
Leeds also has also developed relationships with Finnish cities such as Espoo, to share knowledge and good practice - particularly in areas such as cultural education and programming.
Finland itself leads digitalisation in Europe. This can be seen in the digitalisation of services and society, as well as Finland’s vibrant start-up culture. In particular Finland is a leading developer of artificial intelligence, the internet of things, mobile apps and clean technologies.
Finland ranks number 1 in the United Nation’s Sustainable Development report 2021. Businesses and the policy environment in Finland are supportive of sustainable investments, making Finland an excellent market for sustainable goods and solutions.
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