We are proud to introduce most of our speakers on this page. The lecturers are appearing in about the same order as they will speak. A more precise schedule, brief summaries of the contents and all the other programs you will find under Seminar Program. Don’t forget to register before Sunday midnight 19th of May and choose lectures through the link you have got from your journalist organisation! Practical things and answers to most questions you will find under FAQ.
Category Archives: International
A writer in exile
Oksana Chelysheva is a Russian journalist and human rights defender. Since 2003 she has been covering the situation in the North Caucasus being the editor of the Russian-Chechen Information Agency established by the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society. After the organization was banned in Russia, being one of the first victims of the anti-extremism legislation, the work has continued by moving the legal entity of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society to Finland.
Photo: Maris Morkans
In 2008 Chelysheva had to stay in Finland, due to the never-ending threats. She has been contributing to Novaya Gazeta, Svobodnaya Pressa, kasparov.ru as a journalist covering a broad range of HR problems starting from the right of the people for the cultural and architectural heritage, to the situation in the armed conflict-affected North Caucasus as well as politically motivated reprisals against NGOs and activists of the movements in opposition to the Kremlin.
Chelysheva is the author of the book “I have been followed in the streets” published in Finland by INTO in 2013 and a co-author of the “International Tribunal for Chechnya” legal study published in 2009 by Sputnik Oy in Finland.
You can read more about Oksana Chelysheva in an article on the upcoming Reporter Without Borders branch in Finland.
Russia – different media pictures
Jarmo Koponen has extensive experience of the society, politics and history of ex-Soviet countries. He is a project co-ordinator for The Finnish Foundation for Media, Communication and Development (VIKES). The 52-year old journalist is assisting in developing unions of journalists in Central Asia. Vikes is also providing training for young Georgian, Armenian and Azerbaijani journalists in the conflict-ridden area of Caucasus.
Photo: Petteri Paalasmaa
Koponen is a former correspondent for Finnish Broadcasting Company in Soviet Union and Russia and a diplomat. He worked as a Press Councillor at the Finnish Embassy in Moscow in 1994-1999. Currently Koponen is also a producer for the web pages of the online newspaper Uusi Suomi. Under the old daily newspaper trade mark they publish blogs and news.
Koponen is preparing his PhD thesis in History about the propaganda war of Russia and Georgia.
Koponen has on his blog published the basis for his lecture “Krigarna i de ryska medierna” for the seminar Mediespråk in Vaasa.
The need for professional inter-cultural competencies
Originally born in London in 1954, Michael Hutchinson-Reis is a British-Finnish-Trinidadian university lecturer, consultant, television journalist and media trainer, who moved permanently to Finland in 2004 and now lives in Helsinki with his young family. Photo: Asta Turtiainen
Michael Hutchinson-Reis’ career started in community work in London and soon developed during the 1980’s into becoming a specialist professional in the U.K’s criminal justice system. From 1987 he worked as a political policy researcher and adviser, local government police monitoring unit manager, NPS Public Protection unit manager, lecturer, writer and journalist in London.
MHR has now worked continually as a visiting and full time university lecturer in British, Finnish and Estonian universities and Police colleges since 1984. At present he teaches police, military and security degree students and professionals in managing cross-cultural conflict and degree social work and health students and professionals on “acculturation”, social inclusion theory and practice, media literacy and managing diversity issues in the media. He has published numerous written reports and articles on multicultural issues, civil disorder and community conflict since 1985 and has directed and filmed several documentaries for YLE, the Finnish Broadcasting Company.
MHR is a member of the Icebreaker Productions cooperative in Helsinki Finland. He is at present researching and developing an investigative documentary project which looks at the recent rioting by young people, many of so called “immigrant” backgrounds, in various cities in the UK, France and Sweden and if it could happen in Finland. He also has a photographic exhibition scheduled for showing around Finland and the UK by Multicultural Finland during 2013. The exhibition addresses his own use of photography as a means of integration and acculturation in a new environment.
Life is a big risk – take it!
In November 2011 the Finnish journalist Heikki Kauhanen met mullah Krekar – ex leader of Ansar al-Islam terrorist organization. Kauhanen made an interview for MTV3 and Turun Sanomat. The meeting caused big headlines in Norway. Dangerous? Maybe – maybe not.
All of his life Kauhanen has been very curious and courageous as a person. These attitudes have been very useful when he has been working for radio, newspaper and television.
Kauhanen is a lifestyle journalist who did his first interview when he was a three year old boy. He feels that he has a dream work, because he knew what he wanted to do already over 44 years ago.
Heikki Kauhanen is working for the daily Turun Sanomat in South-West Finland. He has been a TV-journalist for ten years too. He would like to do more features of Africa but mostly he has to do short news very fast. His strongest experience has been visits in refugees’ camps in Africa. There he has been six times.
A global documentary experiment
Paulina Tervo is a documentary film maker, multimedia journalist and web producer. As well as making films, she is experimenting with digital innovation, non-linear storytelling and using film as a tool for social change. These three areas are combined in her upcoming project Awra Amba due to launch early 2014.
Photo: Serdar Ferit
Tervo studied and worked in London for 15 years, where she founded Write This Down Productions – a film and multimedia production company with her partner Serdar Ferit – and is based in Istanbul since 2012.
Tervo has worked in over 15 countries worldwide. Her work has been broadcast on many international channels including the BBC, CNN, ITN, The Discovery Channel, Al Arabiyah, TRT, YLE and Link TV; been screened at over 50 film festivals and won prestigious awards in Hollywood and London. Tervo also works as a film trainer and consultant for film and interactive projects.