LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Finnish Institute in London, in collaboration with The British Library, The National Archives of Finland and The National Library, has established a digital gallery titled A Tale of Two Countries, which dives into the shared history of Finland and Britain. Visitors can take part by sharing their stories and pictures in the online gallery. Several other archives, including those of The Guardian and The Observer, Yle Archives and Päivälehti, as well as the Archives of President Urho Kekkonen and the Migration Institute of Finland, have also contributed to the project.
The aim of the digital gallery is to invite people to share their personal experiences, to collect and store cultural heritage in a digital format and strengthen international cooperation between archives. The gallery grants access to historical articles, pictures, videos, and audio recordings. An entire English version of the Finnish national epic Kalevala has also been digitised for the reader’s delight.
A Tale of Two Countries also contains a series of video interviews, in which well-known Finns and Brits share their experiences of the two countries. Amongst them are ski jumper Eddie Edwards, singer-songwriter Alma, television director Neil Hardwick and Members of the Finnish Parliament Pertti Salolainen and Maria Guzenina.
The digitized memories include stories about how punk made its way to Finland, how Elizabeth II strolled in the Finnish woods in high heels, and how president Paasikivi welcomed international guests to the Helsinki Olympics in 1952 in English.
"It's a wonderful living record of the very close connection that there is between The United Kingdom and Finland", says Karen Bradley, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
"The British Library is delighted to be partnering with The Finnish Institute in London, the National Archives of Finland and the National Library of Finland to be able to highlight our shared European cultural heritage. We hope everyone will enjoy and share this Tale of Two Countries", says Caroline Brazier, Chief Librarian of the British Library.
“This year is the centenary of Finnish independence. A Tale of Two Countries encourages people and institutions to preserve and share history as well as memories in a digital and globally accessible format”, says the director of The Finnish Institute in London, Pauliina Ståhlberg.
The website can be found at: www.taleoftwocountries.fi
(technical implementation by Mediapool Finland)
