Vikes Make Media More Diverse Now! project is based on a survey carried out in 2023, which identified the need of editorial staff to develop editorial practices that support diversity.
According to the survey, editorial offices would like to be more diverse, but change will not happen by itself. Vikes has received funding from the HS Foundation for a two-year project to strengthen media diversity. The project is coordinated by Kristiina Markkanen, Vikes’ global education expert.
Praktikantit mentoring programme brings professionals together
On Saturday 8.2.2025 the Praktikantit mentoring programme for journalists with an immigrant background was launched. Finnish-speaking journalists with an immigrant background were selected as interns for the programme. Experienced professional journalists were sought as mentors. The programme started with 10 trainees and 10 mentors. In addition to Kristiina, the programme is run by Nadiia Fedorova, producer of the multilingual Satakieli media at Haaga-Helia.
Mentors and trainees meet eight times between February and September. In between the meetings, the mentors will support the mentees in, among other things, brainstorming story topics, gathering information, finding interviewees, editing and selling stories.
The aim of the programme is to equip participants with the skills to work in Finnish editorial offices, strengthen their freelance work and adopt new journalistic practices, such as the principles of sustainable journalism.
During the mentoring programme, journalists will carry out their own journalistic projects under the guidance of a mentor.
Journalists with foreign background strengthen diverse journalism
Finland is rapidly becoming more multicultural. At the end of 2023, there were 558 294 foreign-language speakers living in Finland – one in ten Finns is a foreign language speaker, and the number is growing at a record pace. The media must keep pace with this change.
Editorial offices have to develop interesting and relatable content for an increasingly diverse audience. That is why the editorial workforce must also renew and diversify. There are many journalists with foreign backgrounds living in Finland, and we want to support their employment opportunities.
Six months of mentoring
In the first meeting, mentors and trainees got to know each other and formed mentoring pairs. The interns represented a broad spectrum of global journalism, coming from ten different countries: Venezuela, Iraq, Iranian Kurdistan, Morocco, Rwanda, Scotland, Yakutia, Russia, Ukraine, and Hungary. Mentors – journalists, photographers, radio journalists and writers – also came from all over Finland.
The interns shared their expectations and ideas for the programme, which ranged from international investigative journalism and foreign policy to podcast and video productions. They also wanted networking opportunities and a deeper understanding of employment opportunities in the Finnish media sector.
Saturday’s workshop was led by Johanna Vehkoo, a journalist specialising in fact-checking. The fact-checking training will continue later in the spring. The next sessions will cover topics such as conciliatory journalism, ethnographic journalism and the principles of sustainable journalism.
Vikes welcomes editors to collaborate with programme participants – get in touch!
Project Manager: Kristiina Markkanen [email protected]
