An official Nordic cultural institution and a creative agency, joined by a common set of values. Nordic Match is a joint initiative by Nordic Culture Point and creative agency Måndag.
“Nordic Culture Point’s vision is for everybody to have equal opportunities to participate in society and cultural life. Nordic Match is an excellent way of getting closer to our vision, while also strengthening and promoting Nordic co-operation in the field of art and culture. In our day-to-day work we administer four Nordic grant programmes, run a library, and host more than 200 events every year, both in our Nordic cultural centre in central Helsinki and around Finland.”
– Ola Kellgren, director of Nordic Culture Point
“In the creative field, people are driven by passion: work is not just work. Sadly, we rarely have the opportunity to really get to know each other – when we are familiar with each other we also trust each other, and we have the courage to reveal our unfinished ideas. Nordic Match is built to make this collaboration possible: to learn from each other, to get to know each other, to work together. To build our cities and communities together with other Nordic countries. This is the reason for Nordic Match. Welcome aboard!”
– Arto Sivonen, CEO and founder of Måndag
Local partners
To ensure that the ideas and solutions created during Nordic Match reach their full potential, every Nordic Match week has a local partner who has an interest in utilising and building on the results.
The Finnish National Theatre – autumn 2019
”Over the past ten years the Finnish National Theatre has totally reimagined itself, yet it has remained committed to its high artistic profile. The theatre has received critical acclaim and several awards, such as the Theatre of the Year Award in 2012. Mostly recently, in 2018, it was recognized by the Disabled Rights Organisation Kynnys for ‘breaking boundaries and collaborating with various theatre practitioners and companies who give voice to those sectors of society that are perceived as marginal.’ This proves that our artistic mission – to be an open and inclusive theatre – is in touch with contemporary values.”
– Mika Myllyaho, Director of the Finnish National Theatre
The Empathy Movement by the Finnish Refugee Council – spring 2019
“Empathy Movement by the Finnish Refugee Council aims to bring more empathy to our everyday lives. We need the ability to see the world through someone else’s eyes to tackle global issues and create wellbeing for all. However, the complexity of the challenges we face often drive us to react with fear, negativity and denial instead. Together with Nordic Match we want to explore new ways to experience and express empathy and unleash its superpowers.”
– Linda Lehto, special adviser, Finnish Refugee Council
Other partners
Digitalents Helsinki
“Digitalents Helsinki is a community of young professionals interested in various digital fields. It is funded by the City of Helsinki and it operates within the Maria01-accellerator. The organization has a unique way of creating possibilities and work between young graduates and IT companies. We focus in the future areas of work such as digital media design, open licensed platforms, server-based technology development, augmented reality, virtual reality and programming.”
– Karoliina Leisti, Head of Digitalents Media
Helsinki Journal
“Helsinki Journal is a place for all the people loving (or willing to fall in love with) Helsinki. On Helsinki Journal we share our favourite places of our dear hometown. Get to know where locals eat pizza, have their drinks, enjoy quality coffee and spend their days off. Find the best 2nd hand places and hear about the local design brands. We also love culture, museums and galleries. Nature spots and the Baltic Sea surrounding Helsinki are also close to our hearts. We hope you’ll find your own favorite Helsinki things by following Helsinki Journal”.
– Johanna Lindberg and Petra Mallinen, writers of Helsinki Journal on Instagram and Facebook
Is it your turn next?
Could your organisation be our next Nordic Match partner? We have no deadline for new partnerships, so just get in touch on nordicmatch@nordiskkulturkontakt.org and we’ll get back to you.