FLGS 2025 Pre-Assignments

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Pre-Assignments

Please complete these pre-assignments before your arrival to Finland to ensure you get the most out your time here. During the study tour you will also take part in the Fulbright Finland Foundation Orientation for U.S. Grantees, which is divided into different modules, each including learning objectives, short pre-assignments, and other resources to help you to gain the best understanding of the different themes important to you.

MODULE 1: The Fulbright Finland Foundation, Its Global Network, and Your Role as a Grantee

Goals of the module:

  • To get acquainted with the unique features of the Fulbright Finland Foundation as a private Finnish non-profit organization, and to be able to talk actively and knowledgeably about the Foundation and its mission and programs both in Finland and in the United States.
  • To learn the key facts about the global Fulbright Program with over 160 participating countries, and to understand how this provides all the Foundation’s grantees a direct access to the Foundation’s worldwide collaboration and alumni network.
  • To become familiar with some of the key concepts related to the Foundation's programs, such as citizen diplomacy, science diplomacy, knowledge diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, and public diplomacy.
  • To begin to think about and shape your own role as a grantee and citizen diplomat. 

Pre-assignments

1. Learn about the Fulbright Finland Foundation's Global Network
Over 160 countries participate in the global Fulbright Program with the United States, and the Fulbright Finland Foundation is a part of this global network. 

2. Learn about the Fulbright Finland Foundation
The Fulbright Finland Foundation is a private not-for-profit organization registered under Finnish law. When you applied for your grant program to Finland and when you were preparing for coming to Finland, you went through carefully the Fulbright Finland Foundation's website. Hence you already know about the Foundation's vision, mission, and brand promise. Please remind yourself of these key details. After that, it is time to learn more:

3. Begin to design your own role as a Fulbright Finland Foundation grantee
All of the Foundation’s programs are leadership programs. In this context, “leadership” does not refer to rank or titles, but rather to a conscious decision to take responsibility to create meaningful change – a decision that does not depend on age, background, field, or a specific grant program. 

  • For a discussion on “leadership” and how it is understood in the context of the Fulbright Finland Foundation, please read the following interview: "Seeking Solutions for Global Challenges" (Fulbright Finland News 1/2020) (reading time 5 mins)

All Foundation grantees are citizen diplomats. It is up to each grantee to decide what that role will look like in practice. It will likely be different, for instance, for a senior researcher than to a young undergraduate, or a professional. But all are equally important. 

As a grantee, you are not an official representative of your government. As a citizen diplomat, you serve as a cultural ambassador, sharing your own, individual cultural background, characteristics, and thoughts. 

  • Reflect on your personality, preferences, and strengths, and start to think about how you wish to shape the role for you so that it feels comfortable and empowering.

To help you design your own role, it is important to understand the different dimensions and emphasis that it can take. For this reason, take some time to become familiar with some key concepts, such as science diplomacy, knowledge diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, and public diplomacy, just to mention a few. 

TASK:
Think about your own role as a citizen diplomat. What would you like that role to look like? Come to the joint session with your own reflections and thoughts and be prepared to share them with others.

Please share your questions and thoughts on this Whiteboard in advance before the orientation day (you can do it anonymously). It may help the others in their thinking process as well. Please include your comments and questions in the Jamboard by January 14, 2025.

4. Optional: If you have time and you are interested in learning more, please consider viewing the following additional resources:

MODULE 2: Education System

Learning objective: To learn about the Finnish education system, universities and universities of applied sciences, how they differ, and how they operate.

MODULE 3: Your Role in Publicity and Outreach

Learning objective: To understand your role in the Foundation's publicity and outreach efforts, and as an ambassador for your own country and home institution, and also for the Fulbright Finland Foundation and Finland. We want to showcase your program to our partners in the U.S. and Finland!

Acknowledging the Fulbright Leaders for Global Schools partners:

The Fulbright Leaders for Global Schools Program (FLGS) is funded by the U.S. Department of State, and administered by IREX in the United States and by the Fulbright Finland Foundation in Finland. We hope you proudly acknowledge the program partners when communicating about your FLGS experience.

MODULE 4: Your Support Network in Finland

Learning objective: Ensure the health and safety of the Fulbrighters, and to ensure you know what to do and who to contact if something happens to you.

Pre-assignments:

MODULE 5: Finnish Language and Life in Finland

Learning objective: Learn about Finnish culture and language, and to learn some useful phrases in Finnish, to get inspired to use them or study more.

  • Read about languages of Finland on the Institute for the Languages of Finland (KOTUS) website.
  • Learn about sisu and sauna. You can watch e.g. these two videos about sauna culture in Finland:
    • Saunaperinne Suomessa - Sauna Culture in Finland (length 9 minute and 45 seconds). Finnish sauna was added to UNESCO’s Cultural Heritage List in December 2020. The video is the candidature film for the nomination file on "Sauna culture in Finland" to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2020. For English subtitles, click the "CC" on the bottom of the video.

Please see the bottom of the page if you are interested in learning Finnish, or reading more about Finnish society and culture.

MODULE 6: This is Finland

Learning objective: Get to know Finnish history, economy, and foreign policy.

 

Additional Resources

If you have time and you are interested in learning more, here are additional resources:

Module 5:

Learn Finnish Online

Learn about recycling in Finland:

A few recommendations from an alum:

  • Study with Sisu - "This page provides a good survey of Finnish and many links for resources for studying the language."
  • "I have become a believer in Stephen Krashen's theory of language acquisition which emphasises comprehensible input (the way we all learn our first language). A couple of my favorite Youtube sites that use this approach are: www.youtube.com/@finnished, and www.youtube.com/@EasyFinnish. The producer of the Finnished blog offers an introductory course for 150 euros. Both of these resources provide a lot of short videos speaking puhekieli (spoken language)."

 

Book recommendations:

If you want to read more about Finnish society and culture, here are some book recommendations: 

  • Richard Lewis: Finland, Cultural Lone Wolf
  • Anu Partanen: The Nordic Theory of Everything

For lighter reading:

  • Karoliina Korhonen: Finnish Nightmares
  • Michael Booth: The Almost Nearly Perfect People