Vangelis Velentzas, President of the Board of the Association of Greeks in Finland (SEF), spoke about his personal story, life in this northern European country with its heavy winter snowfall, and the diverse activities of the association (www.greeks.fi), in an interview on the radio of Voice of Greece and the program “Our Global Voice” with Dimitris Kontogiannis.
Mr. Velentzas, who has been living there since 2010 and teaches Greek to both children and adults, also referred to aspects of the Finnish education system, such as the teaching of the mother tongue to children of immigrants, provided that at least 12 students are enrolled to form a class.
He also noted that the cost of living has risen sharply in recent years. In addition, he emphasized that there are several Finnish-Greek associations in various cities across the country, made up of Finnish members, which even maintain groups dedicated to Greek music—such as rebetiko—and traditional dances.