Stageblog - Irene Walinga - October 2023 - Finland
Stageblog - Irene Walinga - October 2023
Teambuilding
The month of September started out great with a teambuilding day with the whole embassy team. During this day we visited a mosque in Helsinki, where we learned more about the position of Muslims in Finland and the difficulties they face. We had lunch at an Italian restaurant and did an escape room outside through the city of Helsinki. At the end of our day we participated in a cooking class at a restaurant where we learned how to make our own pasta. Afterwards, we plated our own dishes and enjoyed the dinner together.
Design Diplomacy event
Honorary Consuls
The ambassador held a honorary consul meeting at the residence. Honorary consuls are people who are located in different regions of Finland and represent the Netherlands in these regions. They have good networks in the region, are part of the business community and academia and follow the regional developments. They are kind of the eyes and ears of the embassy and stay in close contact with the embassy team regarding new developments and opportunities for the Netherlands. In this annual meeting the embassy team presented the achievements and priorities of the embassy, to give an idea of what the embassy is working on and is interested in. The meeting was followed with a dinner where I learned more about the Finnish regions and received many great recommendations for my time in Finland from the consuls. Later this year the honorary consuls will visit the Netherlands and meet up with other honorary consuls from all over the world. There they will even have the unique opportunity to meet King Willem-Alexander.
Life in Helsinki
I do look forward to a bit more autumn-like weather. October is -and has been- a very busy month, with various trade missions coming in as well as an inspection taking place. Many opportunities for me to learn more about the work of the embassy and share them with you. Will write more about that in the next blog. Until next time!