The Mundo Project S Final Testament Summary in English
CASE CLOSED?
The Mundo Project’s Final Testament – Summary in English
Preface…………………………………………….2
1. The Mundo project…………………………….3
1.1. Organisation and staff5
1.2. The students8
1.3. Training11
1.4. Work placement training11
1.5. Summary of the project14
2. Ghetto Love……………………………………..15
2.1. Language15
2.2. Is it because I’m black?16
2.3. Group belonging and17
commitment
2.4. Ghetto19
3. Press coverage and mainstreaming…………….20
4. International Co-operation…………………….22
4.1.International partners and cooperation22
4.2. Further international cooperation24
4.3. International applause25
5. Results…………………………………………….26
5.1. Qualifications26
5.2. TV Programmes26
5.3. Magazine articles and radio27
programmes
5..4 Working events28
Case: Carlos Marroquin's work placement29
6. Good Practises……………………………………30
6.1 The tutoring format30
6.2 Work learning format31
6.3 DigiTales33
6.4 Media education format35
6.5 The new Basaari programme format38
6.6 Diversity Toolkit38
7. Rooting…………………………………………… 40
7.1 Getting rooted?40
7.2 Case closed?42
Preface
In the spring of 2004, when the Mundo project proposal was being drafted for the European Social Fund (ESF), Finland was rapidly growing more international. The number of immigrants arriving in Finland had increased. Meanwhile, as the aging population and low birth-rate of the European population foretold of a labour shortage in the coming years, Finns were observing from a distance the unfolding of worrying incidents of intercultural clashes elsewhere in the world.
The media presence of immigrants and ethnic minorities was limited, and the ways in which they were being represented in the media conveyed a very one-sided and negative picture of the greater situation. Official authorities viewed and handled the affairs of these new groups of people largely in terms of the problems they posed, while immigration and refugee issues were considered a threatto society at large. Yet Finland was not exceptional in this. The mainstream media of other European countries were working in a similar way.
The number of people from minority backgrounds working in the Finnish media was next to nothing in the early years of the new millennium. Although there were dozens of experienced media professionals residing in Finland at the time, few of them had succeeded in finding employment in their new home country. Nor was there any broad programme for further education and training available.
In a situation like this, the only way to bring more equality to the handling of minority affairs in the media was to give those concerned the chance to work within and influence the media.
Thus, in the spring of 2004, there was clearly a societal need for a project such as Mundo, aimed at education, training and work placements in the media for people from immigrant and ethnic minority backgrounds living in Finland.
This book takes a closer look at the goals, the work and the results of the Mundo project.
Have an inspiring read!
The Mundo project staff
1. The Mundo project
What?
The Mundo project was a three-year media training and work placement project, which was aimed at people from immigrant and ethnic minority backgrounds living in Finland.
Why?
The purpose of the Mundo project was to create new cultural know-how in the field of media, to promote tolerance and multicultural understanding among employers and employees as well as the greater public, and to improve the opportunities of minority-based media professionals, immigrants, and people from ethnic minorities to work in their own field as independent producers, rather than subjects, of media productions.
When?
The project began in November 2004 and ended in October 2007.
Who?
The national cooperating partners of the project were the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE), Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia, and Dream Catcher. The project also had five international cooperating partners from the UK, the Netherlands, Greece, Germany, and Slovakia.
The Mundo project was funded mainly by the European Social Fund Equal Program. Funding from the municipality came from the City of Helsinki. The representative of the funding agency was the Employment and Economic Development Centre. The overall budget for the project was 1,5 million euros.
For Whom?
24 students of different ages from 18 countries participated in the project. Some of the students already had extensive experience in various media; others were just getting started with their careers.
How?
Mundo students began a programme of further education and training at Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia in May 2005, and completed their diplomas during the spring and autumn of 2007. Work placements in YLE's Basaari: Mundo-staff and Dream Catcher's SixDegrees-staff began in August 2005. Over the course of their two-year media training the students supplemented their training in accordance with their individual learning programmes and worked in different media, television, radio and print newspapers, in addition to creating web-based services.
Besides training and learning through work placements, the project offered students a great deal of visible presence in different media along with opportunities for networking and cooperative association both in Finland and abroad.
What came of it?
As a result of the project students were presented with numerous opportunities for independent work within YLE and in independent production companies.
What else?
The project included the production of a weekly ten minute Mundo programme for television, which, from the start, became a permanent feature of the Basaari television series. The programme aired short documentaries, directed by Mundo students, who chose the varying topics, perspectivesand modes of presentation for the documentaries.
From autumn 2007 the programme will be aired in a new programming slot on YLE TV1 on Wednesdays at 18:30.
Organisational plan
MINISTRY OF EMPLOYMENT / EMPLOYMENT AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CENTRE
Representatives of the funding agency
THE EXECUTIVE TEAM
Representatives of the national cooperation partners
SUPERVISORS
Board of experts, which directed and oversaw the operation and expenditures in accordance with the plan of the project
THE FINNISH BROADCASTING COMPANY (YLE) (juridical responsibility)
National cooperating partner
Administration, work placement (television), communications, international cooperation, mainstreaming
DREAM CATCHER LTD
National cooperating partner: work placements (print newspapers, radio, internet)
HELSINKI POLYTECHNIC STADIA
National cooperating partner: education and training
INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS
Mira Media, The Netherlands
Hi8us, United Kingdom
BGZ, Germany
ACEC, Slovakia
Dimitra, Greece
TARGET GROUP
Mundo students
EXTERNAL AFFILIATES
including communications media, funding agencies, potential employers, public audience, organisations
1.1. Organisation and staff
Of the appointed tasks among the cooperating partners, YLE's Basaari: Mundoeditorial staff was responsible for the administration and coordination of the project, television work training placements in the Basaari: Mundostaff, communications involved with the project and mainstreaming as well as international cooperation. Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia provided the media education and training which gave the students basic technical and production skills in different areas of audiovisual and other media production. Dream Catcher was responsible for the newspaper, radio and internet related work training placements.
THE FINNISH NATIONAL BROADCASTING COMPANY (YLE)
The Basaaristaff of the YLE documentaries section has worked for several years in multicultural programming with directors, speakers and reporters from other countries, arranged training programmes and participated in international cooperative productions.
During its eleven year run, the Basaari programme series has changed its format, but continues to be the only Finnish television series that focuses on productions documenting the lives of immigrants.As a result of the Mundo project a new ten minute Mundo programme, showing short documentaries directed by Mundo participants on a weekly basis, became a part of the Basaari series.
Marita Rainbird
Project Manager
Project administration and finance, coordination of the work of national partners and students' work training placements, design and implementation of initiatives to broadcast and mainstream the project in cooperation with the press secretary, coordination of activities aimed at creating and maintaining a sense of belonging among the students and commitment as a group, and international cooperation.
Taisto Lapila
Head Instructor
The direction and execution of work training placements in the Basaari: Mundostaff, subediting of Mundo television programmes.
Linda Lappalainen
Press Secretary
Design and implementation of communications related to the project and television programming and of mainstreaming initiatives in cooperation with the Project Manager, creation and management communications among the network of affiliates, design and editing of printed materials, production and updating of web pages.
Helga Kaislo
Project and Programming Assistant
Practical arrangements related to production of Mundo television programmes, and familiarising the students with YLE's programming practices.
Elina Paloheimo
Project Officer
Managing Editor of YLE's multicultural programming.Management of legal, financial and staff-related affairs of the project; part-time.
Terhi Koivisto
Camerawoman/Editor
YLE appointed for programming production, responsible for filming and editing Mundo television programmes
Michael Hutchinson-Reis
International Consultant
Assisting the Project Manager with international affairs, part-time
HELSINKI POLYTECHNIC STADIA
Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia is one of the largest polytechnics in the country, with over 9300 diploma candidates. Stadia has 31 professional training programmes in thediverse fields of culture, services, social work and healthcare, technology and transportation. Graduates are experts in their respective fields.
Satu Hallenberg
Head of Vocational and Adult Education
Anitta Pankkonen
Head of Vocational and Adult Education
Matti Rantala
Project Officer
Eeva Jahkonen
Project Secretary, until spring 2006
Pauliina Shilongo
Project Secretary from May 2006, coordinator of the project for media upbringing
Birgitta Laitinen
Financial Secretary
Taku Kaskela
College Tutor; supervisor for education, thesis work and employment
Lasse Keso
College Tutor; supervisor for education, thesis work and employment
Anja Rouhuvirta
Employment Tutor; supervisor for education, thesis work and employment
Miikka Lyytikäinen
Subsitute Employment Tutor, spring 2006
Leena Kaján
Production Tutor, advice on student productions
DREAM CATCHER LTD.
Dream Catcher is a media production company founded in 1998. The company has produced numerous high quality documentaries, short fictional films and series for television.
Since 2003 Dream Catcher has published a free English-language magazine, SixDegrees. SixDegrees is a monthly multicultural publication, with a print edition of 48 000, and about 500 distribution outlets.
Alexis Kouros
Project Officer, in charge of the project at Dream Catcher Ltd.
Laura Seppälä
Main Instructor, supervision of students in work placement training, operative work, administration and finance
Sami Sallinen, Matleena Välinoro, Nina Toukoluoto, Kirby Wilson and Mahmoud Assiabi served as Work Placement Assistants during the project, which involved practical tutoring and special supervision for students in work placement training.
INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS
The Mundo project had five international partners: Mira Media from the Netherlands, Hi8us from the United Kingdom, BGZ from Germany, ACEC from Slovakia and DIMITRA from Greece. The purpose of the international partnerships was to enhance diversity in the field of European media.
1.2 The students
”I have a Finnish wife and we live in Länsi-Pasila. One day when we were out walking with my wife we passed YLE and she said: ”Look, there's the Finnish Broadcasting Company.” ”I'll tell you what,” I said, ”I'm going to work there some day.” I was joking, but guess what, soon I was a Mundo student and working for YLE. - Elihú Galván -
26 students of different ages from 20 countries were chosen for the programme on the basis of prior assignments and two-day entrance exams. Some of them already had experience working in media, others were just getting started with their careers.
There were 84 applicants in all, 42of whom were chosen for the entrance examination. The tasks inthe exam were devised in cooperation with international partners, taking into account the diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds of the applicants. The tasks could be completed in Finnish, English, German, French, Spanish or Russian. The most important criteria were the prior educational background and media experience of the applicant, an at least passable knowledge of Finnish and the motivation to study media in Finnish.
Of the 26 students chosen for the project, four gave up their place before the programme actually began in autumn 2005. Two of them gained places in higher education, one found permanent employment and one died of a sudden illness. They were replaced by new students on the basis of their scores in the application process.
In 2006 two students dropped out of the project, one after being accepted to study at a polytechnic in another city and one for personal reasons.
24 students took part in the project’s two-year training programme.Two student’s standard of participation was poor,one was prevented from attending by illness, and the other due to the compulsory Finnish language courses and studies in the familiarisation programme.
Student backgrounds
33 of the 42 applicants who took the entrance exam chose to participate in the optional background survey. 20 of those who did became Mundo students.
The typical applicant who was accepted was a 21-41 year old male, who described his ethnic background as white European and/or Latino. He spoke about three or more languages. He had earlier work experience in media, and hoped to find employment in television as a documentary film maker. His partner or spouse was usually born in Finland. He had a valid passport and an internet connection at home.
The greatest differences among accepted and rejected applicants:
rejected applicants were usually older than those who were accepted
rejected applicants were mostly male
rejected applicants usually had a higher level of education
rejected applicants were usually unemployed or part-time students
The majority of those chosen for the Mundo programme had the following things in common: two thirds of them had lived in Finland for 1-5 years; most of them planned on working part-time during their studies; one in four was the custodian of a child at the start of the programme; and most of them had a prior university or polytechnic degree.
The languages used during the training were Finnish and English. In addition to these the most common languages of chosen applicants were Spanish and Russian.
”When I received the letter saying I had been accepted to Mundo, I thought, ”Could this be true?” Usually only young people are accepted in places. Young people are favored. Only here in Finland society has accepted that people can learn new things and educate themselves throughout their lives. In Russia they would almost certainly have said to someone my age, ”what are you trying to do, old lady? It's time to think about death, not new education.” When I came to the first Mundo meeting at Basaari I was feeling very emotional, it was a big moment for me.”
- Nadezda Pojasnik -
Statistics on the students
MARITAL STATUSEMPLOYMENT STATUS
Married or in a long-term relationship 85%Employed in the open market 23,1%
Married to a Finnish person 72%Employed elsewhere 11,5%
Elsewhere 7,7%
Entrepreneurs 3,8%
Gender parity: 58% male, 42% femaleUnemployed 53,9%
Age groups:
Of the applicants chosen for the course four withdrew their participation and one died of a sudden illness before the programme began. New students were chosen to replace them on the basis of their entrance exam scores. During 2006 two students left the course for personal reasons.
15-19-years 1
20-29-years 10 (9)
30-39-years 8
40-49-years 4 (3)
50+-years 3
The numbers in parentheses indicate the situation at the end of the course.
Students in a list
Pedro Beltrán Herrera, Cuba
Tahir Aliyev, Azerbaijan
Richard Cohen, USA
Anna Kulicka-Soisalon-Soininen, Poland
Pia Barclay, Finland, Jamaica
Diana Carolina Bermúdez Parra, Colombia
Carlos Marroquin, Mexico
Elihú Galván, Mexico
Fernando Colombo, Angola
Wenndell Allysson Coelho, Brazil
Gustavo Alavedra, Peru
Juliana Elo, Brazil
Tiina Madisson, Estonia
Maria Friman, Finland
Benjam Åkerlund, Finland
Victor Belousov, Russia
Nadezda Pojasnik, Russia
Tonislav Hristov, Bulgaria
Thu Nga Vu-Lilja, Vietnam
Mohamed El Aboudi, Morocco
Shukri Omar Ahmed, Somalia
Abdi Salah, Somalia
Samuel Abaijón-Nurmisuo, Spain, Finland
Davide Pavone, Italy
1.3. Training
The basic training part of the Mundo project was within the Stadia communications and education teaching programme. Part of the training involved personal study programmes individually tailored for the students.
The two year course in Stadia began with an orientation period in August 2005. The individual study programmes were devised to address the participants' needs to develop adequate professional skills and educational learning levels considering their earlier education and experience from the media field. The main focus of study was to learn the skills required for planning, production and development of tasks in television, radio, network communications, sound engineering, media education and the work of production companies.
Teaching of professional skills and practice also included the history and culture of the media, applied media analysis, communications in society and media literacy. The course also familiarised students with communications legislation and regulations.
The teaching methods included a combination of lectures, literature, individual and group exercises, research assignments, project work and workshops. After the two year training period, students had the option of passing competence tests for the professional degrees "Further Qualification in Audiovisual Communication" or "Specialist Qualification in Audiovisual Communication" in the spring and autumn of 2007.
1.4. Work placement training
The purpose of the work placements was to familiarise Mundo students with Finnish working life and culture, to give their productions a national audience and to establish relationships with various media agents through working with them. During work placements, students also had the opportunity to produce the necessary work samples for job applications in media. The work placements consisted of two periods of work in accordance with Stadia learning schedules, which lasted a total of four months.