FinnAgora

16/06/2026

It’s time to say goodbyes, again! 👋

In our latest blog post, FinnAgora interns Linn and Heta look back on their time in Budapest and bid farewell to a spring full of celebrations, kakaós csiga, and the Embassy’s furry office companions.

Read the blog from our website, link in the comments!

12/06/2026

What does it take to make 500 pirogues? 🥟

In May, we welcomed four culinary students and their teacher to Budapest to craft the heart of the Taste Finland event: food. Read our latest blog post to hear their thoughts and follow the twists and turns of their journey in Budapest. Link in bio! 🔗

10/06/2026

FinnAgora’s Fall Resident Artist Selected!

We are pleased to announce that Hanna Råst has been selected for FinnAgora’s artist residency programme for fall 2026. Hanna will spend three months in Budapest at aqb, art quarter budapest, with FinnAgora’s support.

Hanna’s practice moves between traditional ways of making, drawing influence from photography while often transforming it into sculptural forms. Her work frequently engages with material experimentation and fields such as archaeology, geology, and psychology.

During the residency, Hanna will focus on artistic research, material experimentation, and networking, with a particular interest in connecting with local artists, researchers, and the broader cultural scene in Budapest and Hungary.

See you in Budapest, Hanna!

Images via the artist’s website: 1. Weight of Memory (2022) by Hanna Råst 2. Artist portrait by Anni Hanen.

03/06/2026

This week, we were delighted to welcome author and journalist Anna-Lena Laurén to Budapest.

During her visit, she delivered a lecture at the French Institute as part of the Fortnight Against Disinformation programme, sharing her experiences and insights on reporting under authoritarian rule.

Anna-Lena also visited the Telex editorial office, where she learned more about the development of Hungary’s media landscape over the past decades. In addition, FinnAgora organized a networking event bringing together Anna-Lena, local journalists, and representatives from NGOs, creating valuable opportunities for exchange and new collaborations.

Thank you for joining us, Anna-Lena! FinnAgora is thrilled to have strengthened connections and fostered greater cooperation among journalists and media professionals across Europe.

02/06/2026

🌃🎤What a lovely Literature Night we had in Debrecen last Friday. The Csokonai Fórum terrace filled up with eager listeners all throughout the night - and based on the laughs to our chosen oeuvre "Bátyámnak" (For My Brother) by E.L. Karhu, we think Finnish literature received some new fans. The book was translated by Panka Zsóka.

We are also so happy to have had actor Julianne Horváth as the reader - thank you again for your wonderful interpretation of the text.

Photos: Jakkel Rudolf

01/06/2026

Reminder of today's talk with journalist and author Anna-Lena Laurén, 6 PM at the French Institute (Fő u. 17). 🎤Please register in beforehand to ensure we can offer refreshments for everyone: https://forms.gle/kHe6Vv4LTdvo3Rrz9

Join us on June 1 at 6 PM for a talk with Anna-Lena Laurén — award-winning journalist, author, and one of the Nordic region’s leading voices on Russia and Ukraine.

👉Anna-Lena Laurén is an award-winning journalist and author with extensive experience covering Russia, Ukraine, and the post-Soviet region. She has worked as a correspondent for several leading Nordic media outlets, including Hufvudstadsbladet and Dagens Nyheter and is widely recognized for her insightful analysis and deeply reported stories from regions marked by political conflict and social transformation. For more than fifteen years, she has reported from Moscow, Kyiv, and across Eastern Europe, earning a reputation as one of the leading Nordic voices on Russian and Ukrainian affairs. Currently, she is based in Berlin for Dagens Nyheter.

Her journalism has received several prestigious awards, including Finland’s Journalist of the Year award. In addition to her reporting, she is the author of several acclaimed books on Russia and Ukraine.✍️

🎤EVENT on June 1: Drawing from years of reporting from Moscow, Kyiv, and across Eastern Europe, she will speak about the realities of journalism under authoritarian rule, the Russian media landscape, and what it means to witness war and political change from close range. The evening will include a talk, moderated discussion, audience Q&A, and informal conversation afterward.

📍 French Institute auditorium, Budapest
📅 Monday, June 1
🗣 Event held in English and is part of the Fortnight Against Disinformation program.

Sign-up: https://forms.gle/9o6fundJR3m9KKb67

28/05/2026

Join us on June 1 at 6 PM for a talk with Anna-Lena Laurén — award-winning journalist, author, and one of the Nordic region’s leading voices on Russia and Ukraine.

👉Anna-Lena Laurén is an award-winning journalist and author with extensive experience covering Russia, Ukraine, and the post-Soviet region. She has worked as a correspondent for several leading Nordic media outlets, including Hufvudstadsbladet and Dagens Nyheter and is widely recognized for her insightful analysis and deeply reported stories from regions marked by political conflict and social transformation. For more than fifteen years, she has reported from Moscow, Kyiv, and across Eastern Europe, earning a reputation as one of the leading Nordic voices on Russian and Ukrainian affairs. Currently, she is based in Berlin for Dagens Nyheter.

Her journalism has received several prestigious awards, including Finland’s Journalist of the Year award. In addition to her reporting, she is the author of several acclaimed books on Russia and Ukraine.✍️

🎤EVENT on June 1: Drawing from years of reporting from Moscow, Kyiv, and across Eastern Europe, she will speak about the realities of journalism under authoritarian rule, the Russian media landscape, and what it means to witness war and political change from close range. The evening will include a talk, moderated discussion, audience Q&A, and informal conversation afterward.

📍 French Institute auditorium, Budapest
📅 Monday, June 1
🗣 Event held in English and is part of the Fortnight Against Disinformation program.

Sign-up: https://forms.gle/9o6fundJR3m9KKb67

27/05/2026

Szia Debrecen — mindjárt itt az Irodalom Éjszakája! 📖⭐️Literature Night in Debrecen is right around the corner📖⭐️

E. L. Karhu elismert első regénye, a Bátyámnak, május 29-én érkezik az Irodalom Éjszakája programjára. A történet sötét, provokatív és ironikus képet fest a testvéri kötelékekről, a megszállottságról és a felnőtté válás nehézségeiről — Horváth Julianna felolvasásában, a Csokonai Fórum teraszán.

„Ez a könyv egy érdekes és helyenként megrázó történet egy fiatal lány titkos vágyairól, aki egész életében csodált bátyját figyeli. Talán egy kicsit furcsa és nem szokványos, de mindenképpen megéri meghallgatni.”
— Riikkamari Muhonen, a FinnAgora igazgatója

📍 Csokonai Fórum terasza (Debrecen)
📅 Május 29.

✍️
Panka Zsóka finn–magyar szakos oktató és műfordító, több mint tizenöt kötet fordítója.

Finnish writer and playwright E. L. Karhu’s acclaimed debut novel For My Brother comes to Debrecen Literature Night on May 29. A dark, provocative and ironic story about sibling bonds, obsession and growing up — read by Julianna Horváth at the terrace of the Csokonai Forum.

“This book is an interesting and at times disturbing story about a young girl’s secret desires, who spends her whole life observing her admired brother. It may be a little strange and unconventional, but it is definitely worth listening to.”
— Riikkamari Muhonen, Director of FinnAgora

📍 Csokonai Fórum terass (Debrecen).
📅 May 29.

✍️
Panka Zsóka is a Finnish-Hungarian specialized educator and translator who has translated more than fifteen volumes.

26/05/2026

The Friendship Parish Seminar, held on Thursday, 21 May, brought together around forty active parish members from across Hungary.

This year, the event was hosted at the premises of the Hungarian Lutheran Church. Opening remarks were delivered by representatives of the church, as well as by Riikkamari Muhonen, Director of FinnAgora, and Kaisa Leidy, representing the Embassy of Finland in Hungary.

We were delighted to welcome as our Finnish keynote speaker Pekka Huokuna, a long-time friend of Hungary who recently retired from his position as Secretary General of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland.

Thank you to everyone who participated!

21/05/2026

Our eventful 2025 has been wrapped up into Annual Report! Report (in Finnish) is now available on our website: https://finnagora.hu/fi/meista

Here’s a glimpse of FinnAgora’s 2025 in numbers ✨

If you’d like to stay up to date with our upcoming events and activities across Hungary and the wider region, you can subscribe to our newsletter here: https://tr.ee/dHAsw5qaj8