New book on expatriate Finns highlights the diversity of emigration from Finland
6.2.2012
A joint publication of the Migration Institute and the University of Lapland, aims at broadening our understanding of Finnish emigration and the multitude of different types of transnational mobility.
Common stereotypical images of Finnish migrants range from the early 20th century lumberjack who left his native country to work in the timber trade in North America or to work in Swedish factories in the 1960s or 1970s.
As the articles in the book edited by Elli Heikkilä and Saara Koikkalainen demonstrate, the days when entire villages in the peripheries had to contemplate international migration to a single destination as a survival strategy are long gone.
Current migration from Finland is much more diverse, as people make individual mobility choices. For some the motivation is grounded in career aspirations, while for others it is linked to love, family or a personal lifestyle choice, such as wanting to experience life in a global city or retirement in sunny Thailand.
Finns Abroad – New Forms of Mobility and Migration takes the reader on a trip that spans over four continents and explores different types of mobility, such as marriage and family migration, company secondments and highly skilled migration. The articles discuss Finnish migrants in Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, the United States and India, for example.
The publication of the edited volume is one result of the project called Spatial citizenship in European labour markets, led by professor Asko Suikkanen (University of Lapland). The project was funded by the Academy of Finland research programme on the Future of Work and Welfare (WORK, 2008–2011).
The writers of the articles are Elli Heikkilä, Krister Björklund, Saara Koikkalainen, Salla Saarela, Johanna Leinonen, Carol Marie Kiriakos, Nicol Foulkes, Anu Warinowski, Leena Vuorinen, Tiina Lammervo ja Sanna-Mari Vierimaa.
Volume
Heikkilä, Elli & Koikkalainen, Saara: Finns Abroad. New Forms of Mobility and Migration. Migration Studies C21. Siirtolaisuusinstituutti, Turku.
The book can be ordered from the Migration Institute.
Price: 20 € + postage costs
E-mail: satu.lopponen(at)utu.fi
Telephone: +358-2-2840 440
Further information:
Ms Elli Heikkilä, Research Director, Institute of Migration, tel. +358-2-28 40 450
Ms Saara Koikkalainen, Researcher, University of Lapland, tel. +358-40-48 44 236