CECN explores the Nordics

In early 2002, the Canadian Education Centre Network (CECN) hosted an educational fair in Norway. The event was such a success that the CECN wanted to extend this event to both Finland and Sweden, where Canada still had a relatively low profile when compared to more popular study destinations, such as the United States, Australia and England.

The organization of this event for Helsinki began in October 2002 and involved finding schools willing to host Canadian university and college delegates for a few hours of exposure to Finnish students. All of the logistical things had to be thought out carefully, including transportation, accommodation and, at the same time, an opportunity to meet with potential partner institutions in Finland.

After literally hundreds of e-mails, phone calls and personal visits, we were ready to roll on February 6, 2003. Seven representatives from six Canadian institutions chose to come to Helsinki: the University of Waterloo, Humber College, the University of Alberta, Kwantlen University College, the University of Victoria and the Vancouver Film School.

We visited Helsingin Suomalainen Yhteiskoulu, one
of the biggest high schools in Helsinki. The event there
was an all-day event and several hundred students and external visitors made their way through the booths set up by the visiting institutions. February 7 saw us at Ressun Lukio in Helsinki and Etelä-Tapiolan Lukio in Espoo. The attendance at the Friday events, though smaller than Thursday, was satisfactory for all involved.

After the school visits we headed to the Canadian Ambassador's residence in Helsinki for a reception. The attendees included the Canadian representatives and several International Coordinators from different institutions all over Finland. This was their opportunity to mingle and test the waters for potential partnerships.

Mr. Arvo Jäppinen from the Finnish Ministry of Education was invited to speak on recent developments in the Finnish education system and the importance of international partnerships between schools.

All in all, the two-day event was deemed a success by the CECN's Oslo representative Monique L'Heureux, the Ambassador and the representative schools from Canada. Some schools even managed to secure new Finnish partners!

With help from the Canadian Embassy, planning the visit went smoothly. Thanks to everyone there, including Peter Lönnberg and our most gracious Ambassador ? Adele Dion. Thanks also to the Fulbright Center in Helsinki for advertising the event to International Coordinators at Finnish educational institutions. A special thanks to the schools that were keen on our visit.

By Carmen Boudreau-Kiviaho