Follow us through our Finnish adventures - Sára
In the first week of May, a few of us, students with teachers, participated in an international BIP (Blended Intensive Program) in Helsinki, Finland. Little did we know that this week of studying, working, and exploring Helsinki would be truly an extraordinary experience of a lifetime on many levels. Join us as we give a peek into this unforgettable week, where the current Invisible City, Helsinki, became a little bit more visible for us.
As a part of the programme, through the method of the so-called inclusive journalism, we witnessed many inspiring human stories about strength, willpower, and endurance. It was a privilege meeting people with difficult backgrounds, learning and showing their stories, their bright minds, and their humour beyond their struggles.
On another level, being part of a group of fellow students and professors from different generations and different cultures of the world, made us realise, a lot more connects us than separates us. The like-minded thinking, as we not only spoke English as the common language but also the words of storytelling and curiosity, the acts of compassion, open-minded and -hearted attitude, the innocent, excited enquiry about each other’s culture, cuisine and language all made the atmosphere familiar.
“The friends we made along the way” – it may sound cliché, it may even be a cliché, but it was true. As I am writing this three months later, the memories still make me chuckle, the echoes of laughter and chatter are still in my ears, that our little group from Pécs produced. My favourite memories are from the six of us: our lecturers; Annamária Torbó and Levente Radosnai and us, the students; Luca Jáger, Fanni Szabó, Bence Varga and myself, Sára Dani, as we grew into a team while exploring the capital and getting to know each other a bit closer at the same time too. Though our motto could be “Expect the unexpected!” thinking about the various surprising turns of events from a missed ferry back to the city, to a visit at the Hungarian Embassy, somehow everything turned out the way it needed to be, and it was perfect.
The real giveaway message of the entire “Invisible Cities” project is, from our very first conversations about the program in Pécs, to the final “See you later!” at the airport: to always choose empathy rather than looking away, to notice, explore, learn and believe. To recognise the invisible and make it visible.
What is exactly this project we took part in? - Luca
The Invisible Cities Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) has already taken place in various cities. After Antwerp, Cluj-Napoca, and Thessaloniki, this May it was hosted by the Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki. Several European universities are participating in this programme; for instance, we had the chance to meet students and their accompanying teachers from Georgia, Romania, Belgium, the Netherlands, as well as local Finnish participants.
On the first day of the programme, the introductions were combined with a film screening, where every participating group had the opportunity to show their own short film, which had to be prepared in advance. As the whole Invisible Cities project is about reaching out to vulnerable social groups and people who are somehow invisible in everyday life, we had to do a pre-task interview with a person belonging to such a group. We talked to János Szabó, one of Pécs's famous street performers. Although we already knew how wonderfully he can play the guitar and sing, the fact that he is visually impaired made learning about his background particularly interesting. He told us his story of how he became a street musician, and he shared some heartwarming details about his family life as well.
After all the universities had introduced themselves, we were sorted into mixed groups, and the preparations for our week’s tasks began. We did interview exercises, got to know the organisations whose representatives we were going to talk to, planned what issues we would like to discover, how we would work, and who would take on which sub-tasks. During the programme, each group had to produce a video interview, a written interview, and two pieces of content for the newly launched Invisible Cities Instagram page. On Tuesday evening, we also had some cinema experience, but this time we watched the Finnish documentary Homecoming (Máhccan), and afterwards we even had the chance to meet and talk to its director, Suvi West.
The real work took place from Wednesday to Friday; these days we spent conducting the interviews and editing the final productions. This year, we interviewed representatives of civic organisations, which are - among many others - working with homeless people, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, people with illnesses, and Roma people. Our interviewees were mostly people who are part of these subgroups of society, and therefore are personally involved, so we gave them an opportunity to tell their own stories: for example, what makes them happy, what makes them strong, how they cope with everyday life. The aim of the whole Invisible Cities programme is to ensure that the media representation of these people focuses not only on their difficulties but also on their personalities and coping strategies. By doing so, we try to break down social prejudice and stigmatisation. During our interviews, we engaged in deep and inspiring conversations; sometimes we cried, sometimes we laughed.
After the filming, each group was able to work on their materials at their own pace. This process was not free of difficulties: some groups had to translate the interview first because it was conducted in Finnish instead of English, while another even had to incorporate a sign language interpreter because their interviewee was deaf.
We spent three days editing, translating, writing, and discussing, but finally managed to publish all the articles and videos (https://invisible-cities.eu/) on Friday. Each group had professional and experienced coaches who helped when it was needed, but they mainly let us be creative. On Saturday, we watched, reviewed, and of course applauded the finished works and said goodbye to each other, thus ending Invisible Cities 2025.
Why is this initiative so important? – Fanni
The main purpose of the genre known as inclusive journalism might already be suggested by its name: to involve people who, for some reason, fall outside the public eye in the media, to give space to silenced topics, and to be open towards the oppressed. To give voice to the voiceless, to make the invisible visible.
The Invisible Cities project, in addition to considering all of this to be its main profile, can also be seen as resonating with this concept on multiple levels. While participating students learn indirectly about human diversity and thus mutual tolerance during the week's activities, they also come to understand the essential role of the civil sphere. Through creating articles and short films, various forms of social collaboration emerge, both on screen and behind the scenes. Telling stories about people who face difficulties, showing their complexities, their backgrounds, and what makes them happy in life, has not only a sensitising effect while teaching empathy and tolerance, but it also shows how powerful a genuinely supportive community can be. Meanwhile, the students themselves are also taking part as members of an internationally diverse, cooperation-oriented community. Watching and reviewing the finalised interviews together, evaluating the workshop-style group work, and participating in presentation rounds after sub-programs all provide opportunities for open conversation, listening to each other's voices, and freely forming opinions. In today's society of the digital era, in the age of social media and artificial intelligence, brimming with frustrations caused by an accelerated world, increasing inequalities, and global crises, all cohesive, supportive, open, and mutually inspiring communities, and any activity that offers an opportunity for collective thinking, can represent a value that might be needed.
Experiencing all this in the capital city of a foreign country further strengthens that childlike curiosity, which could perhaps be the key to an accepting society. But you don't necessarily have to go far. Remembering the moment, we turned off the cameras and said goodbye to the participant of our pre-project interview, the visually impaired street musician from Pécs, the four of us agreed: “This is why I wanted to study media.”
Expect the unexpected: a story on how we ended up in the Hungarian Embassy - Sára
On Thursday – the fourth day of the program – after writing and editing all day, time flew by and we eventually got off from Haaga-Helia a bit later than usual. Going back to the city centre by train, Luca, Fanni and I were so immersed in conversation that we accidentally got on the wrong platform. As we returned from this detour, a stranger suddenly appeared with a question in Hungarian! It turns out he has been living in Finland for a good while and is in fact a journalist. He heard us speaking in Hungarian and decided to approach us, hoping for a good story. We told him a little about the project we participate in and our studies in Pécs, when he came up with the surprising idea that he can organise us a visit at the Hungarian Embassy in Helsinki and meet Ambassador Klára Breuer, who also happens to be from Pécs. This sudden opportunity seemed almost unreal, but it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. We knew we had to seize it. Soon after getting connected to the Embassy, we got an invitation for the very next morning!
Instead of a diplomatic meeting, this was, of course, rather a welcoming discussion where we could introduce ourselves and the project that made us spend time in Helsinki in the first place. We had the chance to gain insight into how the Hungarian Embassy in Finland works, got to learn about Finnish-Hungarian relations, and conversed about each of our connections to Pécs, including the Ambassador’s. It was truly a special experience, suddenly finding ourselves in the etiquette of formal meetings, which filled us with a certain amount of nervousness, but we received a warm welcome by everyone in the Embassy.
We also had the opportunity to learn fun facts, such as the one about Hungary's one and only sea coastline. The estate of the Hungarian Embassy is owned by the Hungarian State; the property itself is on a small island in a suburban part of Helsinki and has a few meters of coastal connection to the Baltic Sea. So, we do have a sea apart from, naturally, Balaton!
Let’s talk about food and fun – Luca
As part of our Helsinki experience, we wanted to try local food. During the programme, all the participating students could eat lunch at the campus, which included a meat dish and a vegetarian option too – usually some kind of stew or pasta dish, with multiple types of salad. And here comes the culture shock: Finnish people traditionally eat some kind of bread with basically every meal, which explains why they have so many types of it, from seeded to dark rye, fluffy, or even thin and crispy ones.
But since we stayed in Helsinki for more days than just the programme, we had the opportunity to taste food outside the campus as well. On the first night, we discovered Helsinki Bryggeri with its excellent fish and chips... At the town market, we ate fish plates, salmon, meatballs, and even reindeer hot dogs, but we tried some other places too, where we usually had a pizza, some pasta, or a good sandwich. To fulfil our sweet cravings, we snacked on Fazer chocolate, (understandably) Finland's No. 1 chocolate brand, and as part of the Nordic fika experience, we enjoyed our coffee with korvapuusti (Finnish cinnamon bun) and mustikkapiirakka (a traditional Finnish blueberry pie). Well, these carbs were very much needed, because we surely had 10,000 steps per day, on some days even three times more.
As part of the programme, our hosts organized some rather informal events and activities beyond the formal parts too. On the first evening, we took a ferry to Suomenlinna Island, where we had dinner at the Devil's Church and learned about the history of the place and, of course, a lot about each other. In the end, we were invited to a farewell dinner at a restaurant in an old newsroom as well. In addition to these programmes, the Finnish students also organised small optional activities in the city, such as visiting a market and the famous Oodi Library. This isn’t just a building filled with books: Oodi is a public living room for Helsinki’s citizens and tourists. It is truly a paradise for both introverts and extroverts, since beyond reading, you can do so much more as well. For example, you can play video games, strum a guitar in soundproofed rooms, do little craft projects like decorating a tote bag or sewing something, and, of course, have a cup of coffee. No wonder that Oodi was named the best public library of 2019 by the International Federation of Library Associations. If you want to have the best cozy “hygge” experience for free, you should definitely visit it once you’re in Helsinki.
Finding home among the seagulls - Fanni
“The world is small,” as the old saying goes. As someone from Hungary, especially from Pécs, I can only confirm this. Not finding any unexpected traces of home somehow feels impossible, no matter how far I travel. Even so, surprises may always arise. Standing in the centre of Helsinki, at a Hungarian gallery, proudly looking at freshly exhibited photographs by students from Pécs – that can certainly be considered as such a surprise.
After our visit at the Hungarian Embassy we got invited to the local Liszt Institute (https://culture.hu/hu/helsinki), an artistic corner representing Hungarian culture, through art exhibitions, concerts and workshops. Of the 26 Hungarian cultural centres across the world, this one happened to be offering an exhibition straight from Pécs. We even met the artists briefly.
The world is indeed small. It does feel like that when a handful of university students and lecturers spend a week together in a land they have never been to before. After a while, it all becomes strangely familiar. Sense of time slowly fades away, and then routines set in.
We had those routines there, in Helsinki. We learned the routes, the quickest way from the hostel to the university, from the city centre to the harbour. We spent every morning slurping Finnish coffee, having our breakfast toasts together in the hostel’s kitchen, in pyjamas and “University of Pécs” jumpers, with sleepy eyes, exhausted but also excited for the upcoming chances of the new day. In the evenings, we would laugh loudly with mugs of camomile tea in our hands until the hostel staff knocked on our room’s door to strictly remind us of the “quiet hours” rules for the hundredth time. In Finland, everything was so quiet… everything except us. Wherever we walked, the streets of Helsinki echoed with the constant laughter of our quartet. No matter how tired we were at the end of the day, we could barely ever make it back to the hostel before sunset - which truly is something in a land where, in May, the sun does not really set until about 10 p.m. We slowly began to adapt, how to live the Finnish way. How to be careful with the seagulls there; they are hungry and determined to satisfy this need at any cost. And yes, they steal. Let it be a sandwich or a chocolate in your hands - if you don’t pay attention, you might only have an empty wrapper in the next second.
On our first night, after a long day of travelling, we were almost as hungry and determined as those Finnish seagulls. We wandered the streets searching for dinner until we made an agreement: the next place we find, we’ll eat there. That’s how we ended up at Helsinki Bryggeri. It grew to our hearts quickly with its fish and chips, Finnish beers, and unique, sitcom-like pub atmosphere. The following week, we couldn’t stop returning.
We spent our last night there too - after our sauna session at the Allas Pool and a chilly dip in the 6°C Baltic Sea, Bryggeri beers felt like the perfect way to say goodbye to the city of surprises. To a city where cold winds blow and seagulls fly, where the islands and pine forests look like the home of fairies – or Moomins. To a versatile, memorable, and, most importantly, Visible City. On behalf of our little team of six, once again: Kiitos, Helsinki!
