The representation of refugees and asylum seekers in the newspapers -
Research project by the Finnish Institute in London and Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux

Two Finnish academic and cultural institutes have launched a joint project to study the ways in which newspapers in different countries write about the current refugee and asylum seeker situation in Europe.

The Institutes in London and Brussels will produce a report together, which looks at six different European newspapers: Helsingin Sanomat and Aamulehti from Finland, The Times and The Guardian from the UK, Le Soir from Wallonia, Belgium and De Morgen from Flanders, Belgium.

All the features dealing with this subject matter in the six newspapers from January 2016 will be examined - and the project studies the way in which the ongoing situation affecting the whole of Europe is depicted in these renowned publications.

“Media constantly makes choices, and it’s interesting to see which viewpoints and topics arise, or are raised and who has the opportunity to speak and be heard. The terminology used is also a choice. For example, the current situation has often been described as a ‘refugee crisis’. It remains a question of whose crisis are we actually talking about,” says the Head of the Society Programme Johanna Sumuvuori, from the Finnish Institute in London.

In addition to the report, the institutes organise discussion events in order to engage different audiences in dialogue about the topic from various different viewpoints. The views of the refugees and asylum seekers and the people representing them are also crucial to the research. The report will be completed by the end of the spring 2016.

“We hope that the report will raise questions and motivate different people to comment and discuss. We wish to hear the views of journalists, refugees, asylum seekers and the readers of the newspapers”, says Annukka Vähäsöyrinki, the Head of Projects at the Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux.

The report will be published in Finnish and English. In addition, abstract will be done in French and Dutch.

Follow the project with the #refugeesinmedia.

Research Group:

Johanna Sumuvuori, Head of the Society Programme, The Finnish Institute in London
Mirja Syrjälä, Research Assistant, The Finnish Institute in London
Annukka Vähäsöyrinki, Head of Projects, The Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux
Jenni Lindvall, Research Assistant, The Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux
Ruth Pasternak, Research Assistant, The Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux
Aurelia Talvela, Research Assistant, The Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux