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13 million euros will be awarded in the January Round of Applications

Regional Fund Special Purpose Grants

Priority is given to applicants who are currently living or have born in the region, work carried out in or for the region, and cultural and development projects of special regional importance.

Spearhead projects requiring larger-than-usual funding will receive a minimum of 40,000 euros in the form of one or two grants. Such projects require fresh or exceptional points of view, content, quality, or design.

20,000 euros have been earmarked for Art for Institutions projects in the January round of applications. The aim of this form of support is to promote the equal realisation of cultural rights and to improve the quality of life of people in need of special support or care, through art. The work or project may take place in welfare and nursing institutions or other environments, the residents or users of which may otherwise have limited access to art. Possible institutions include sheltered homes, day centres, and homes of the elderly, hospitals, prisons, reception centres, care units for substance abusers, and child welfare institutions.

The Local Culture Projects grants are specified for projects that aim to preserve and rejuvenate the local culture and cultural environment, such as documenting and increasing awareness of local heritage, as well as histories, exhibitions, and events of local communities and societies.

A person engaged in full-time gainful employment is eligible for a working grant (so called passion grant) for the purpose of carrying out a scientific or an artistic project not related to their full-time work. It is possible to apply for this grant as an individual or as a part of a working group. The size of the project is not specified, but the maximum amount of a working grant per person is limited to 3 000 euros.

For more information go to skr.fi/en/januaryround Please read the application guidelines carefully before sending the application. More information about the regional funds and contact information can be found on skr.fi/en/regional-funds

The application period closes at 4.00 pm on Feb 10. Ask also your referee to submit a reference in the Online Reference Service on the application deadline date.

Building Finnish national identity with dreams and danger

Text and photos: Laura Iisalo

When Finland gained independence in 1917, border security became a mutual concern. During the years of 1922-1924 the Finnish parliament defined an area consisting of 44 borderland municipalities along the Eastern border from Southern Karelia up to Northern Lapland, to be developed to the same level as the rest of the country by means of educational borderland activity.

Arkistomateriaalia Verna Kotirannan tutkimustyöhön

The work was carried out by various fellowships that doctoral student in Finnish history, Verna Kotiranta, looks into in her doctoral thesis, for which she received funding from the Central Fund in 2018, and from the South Karelia Regional Fund in 2020.

Helsinki-based Kotiranta has travelled the country studying the records at The National Archives of Finland, and rummaged through piles of private correspondence, speeches, newspaper articles, and literature.

– I have put my research together like a puzzle, which is time-consuming but rewarding, like detective work always is, she tells.

Finnish ideal was patriotic and modest

According to Kotiranta, fellowship-based borderland activities were intended to improve economic conditions, and to offer counselling and education in rural areas. Previous research has shown that the national identity of the newly independent Finland was built on sharp political views that painted threatening images of Russia and Eastern Barbarism.

The ideal Finn was considered patriotic, modest, firmly Christian, and abstinent. Unkempt appearance, vulgar habits, and ignorance were considered signs of Eastern influence. The polarized perspective was not atypical, since eugenics was a popular concept in Europe at that time.

The ideal Finn was considered patriotic, modest, firmly Christian, and abstinent.

– These activities were nevertheless moderate compared to fascism and extremist movement. After the Finnish Civil War the borderland areas were seen as a threat to safety. The main objective was to counter communism by means of Christian nationalism, like much of the fellowship activity at that time. The attitudes became less steep by the late 1930’s when the inhabitants met the expectations that were set for them, says Kotiranta.

Networks had central role in borderland activity

When conducting her research, Kotiranta noticed that different types of networks and connections to such parties had a central role in borderland activities. Those included army officers, the Finnish nationalist activist association Academic Karelia Society, and at later stage churchmen with a background in Patriotic People’s Movement. The operators represented diverse domains but were united by their mutual goal, which was to ensure border security.

– It has been interesting to notice how such a small circle of people was outlining the rules and defining the ideals of Finnishness. These were people who came from just a few noble families that were connected through marriages, Kotiranta says.

She is planning to finalize her thesis within the next two years, and after that she is keen to bring her findings to a wider audience by popularizing science. Her investigations are ongoing, and therefore Kotiranta is not yet ready for final conclusions.

– I have unexamined material left, so right now I’m just contemplating. I am open to information that goes against my bias, and I’m confident that something like that comes up, she says.

Doctoral student Verna Kotiranta received a 26 000 euro grant in 2020 from South Karelia Fund to examine nationalist borderland activity after the Civil War.

The January Round of Applications has begun, the Regional Funds will award a total of EUR 13 million in grants

Regional Fund Special Purpose Grants

Priority is given to applicants who are currently living or have born in the region, work carried out in or for the region, and cultural and development projects of special regional importance.

Spearhead projects requiring larger-than-usual funding will receive a minimum of 40,000 euros in the form of one or two grants. Such projects require fresh or exceptional points of view, content, quality, or design.

20,000 euros have been earmarked for Art for Institutions projects in the January round of applications. The aim of this form of support is to promote the equal realisation of cultural rights and to improve the quality of life of people in need of special support or care, through art. The work or project may take place in welfare and nursing institutions or other environments, the residents or users of which may otherwise have limited access to art. Possible institutions include sheltered homes, day centres, and homes of the elderly, hospitals, prisons, reception centres, care units for substance abusers, and child welfare institutions.

The Local Culture Projects grants are specified for projects that aim to preserve and rejuvenate the local culture and cultural environment, such as documenting and increasing awareness of local heritage, as well as histories, exhibitions, and events of local communities and societies.

A new type of grant available

A person engaged in full-time gainful employment is eligible for a working grant (so called passion grant) for the purpose of carrying out a scientific or an artistic project not related to their full-time work. It is possible to apply for this grant as an individual or as a part of a working group. The size of the project is not specified, but the maximum amount of a working grant per person is limited to 3 000 euros.

For more information go to skr.fi/en/januaryround Please read the application guidelines carefully before sending the application. More information about the regional funds and contact information can be found on skr.fi/en/regional-funds

The application period closes at 4.00 pm on Feb 10. Ask also your referee to submit a reference in the Online Reference Service on the application deadline date.