Once upon a time, in the winter of 2014, there was a woman living in Reykjavík, Iceland who saw an add on Facebook about a creative writing workshop at one of the city libraries. She thought to herself “ætti ég?” And signed up. At the workshop, she met women she had never met before. The facilitator, […]
Have you heard the story about how the Spider captured the Python, a bunch of bees and the Leopard? What about that one about how the Hare managed to steal milk from Buffalo? Well, I could go on, and on, and on about these Ghanaian traditional children stories that are little known here. Story-telling has
Reading and library services should be accessible to all – regardless of their language. Multilingual Library brings services to the customer’s local library. Free access to education and libraries is a strength which may have made the greatest contribution to equality. The library services are based on the Public Libraries Act, which was reformed just
Our library – My language Read More »
This year we celebrate the UN’s International Year of Indigenous Languages. The purpose of the year is to make the situation of the Indigenous languages of the world more visible. In order for the linguistic rights of the Indigenous people to be guaranteed and the languages preserved and transferred to future generations, strong investments, knowledge and
Call to Action – the indigenous language challenge! Read More »
we could learn more about Nordic-Somali poetry, literature and storytelling It was more than ten years ago when I had my first, unexpected contact with Somalian storytelling. I was working as a museum guide at Ateneum, Finnish National Art Gallery, and my task was to focus on the art related to Kalevala, which has the
When Kullervo met Araweelo Read More »
By 2019, in all countries in Europe where Roma live, a number of publications for children varying from materials to support the education of the Roma to original books by Roma authors with tales, short stories, poetry and educational materials have appeared. These are primarily bi-lingual books written in Romani and/or in the language of
Romani publications for children in the nordic countries Read More »
Immigration and globalization have broadened the definition of Finnish literature that was traditionally defined as a piece of literature written by a Finn in Finnish in Finland for Finns. As a result of immigration to Finland, some immigrants have produced and continue to produce literary works that deal with Finnish culture, society and history in
Multilingualism and polyphony in immigrants’ literature in Finland Read More »
Blog-entry by Tania Nathan The effects of our globalising world has been that of gain, and loss. There is no denying the gains some have seen from our shrinking borders, but that too has not been without costs. With increased migration, comes the intermingling of cultures, and a certain amount of conflict. Some parties insist
Will learning the language of the country one inhabits lead to seamless integration? Read More »
Blog-entry by Sebastian Drude The year 2019 is the ‘International Year of Indigenous Languages’. On this occasion, you may have wondered, “what exactly is an indigenous language”? So, what exactly is an indigenous language? Starting with the expression itself, there are two words, and the meaning of each, “indigenous” and “language”, seems at first straightforward.
Indigenous Languages Read More »
By Gáppe Piera Jovnna Ulla / Ulla Aikio-Puoskari [in Finnish] In 1992, Michael Krauss issued a warning that came to be observed worldwide. Krauss’ message was that during the next century, 90% of the languages still spoken by mankind will disappear unless there is a decisive change working towards their survival. The majority of the
Wouldn’t it be better, if we all spoke the same language? Read More »
