Our most popular articles in 2019

Approaching the end of the year, it’s time to take stock of 2019’s most-read articles on Good News from Finland.

From the Moomins, bees and a personal success story, all the way to balanced urban life and Finnish happiness – our readers voted with their feet, well, hands… actually their mouse-clicking and swiping fingers. Check out how:

New Moomins TV series has a Gutsy approach

Last spring, the cute and heartfelt Moomins made a triumphant return to screens in the new animated TV series, Moominvalley, that featured cutting-edge animation techniques and an all-star cast.

The big-budget Finnish-British co-production was cordially welcomed worldwide, and so was our interview with Marika Makaroff, the CEO of the series’ creator, Gutsy Animations.

“The Moomins are great to work with. Because work is such a big part of your life, it’s superb to be able to do something you truly believe in,” Makaroff noted, adding that “maybe the Moomins chose me, not the other way around.”

Sugar Daddies Co makes world-saving a sweet treat

On top of producing raw artisan honey and ecological winter surf wax, this four-strong team from Ostrobothnia is spreading a sweet message about the crucial role that bees play in our ecosystem.

“Bees’ work is so invisible that it can be easy to ignore,” warned co-founder Ville Rinta. “But even in their invisibility, they’re of massive importance to us and the planet.”

Do I know you?

Did you know that this year we started Good News from Finlandin Chinese? Our interview with Alexander Yin, who moved from China to Finland 12 years ago to pursue a career in finance, garnered loads of attention from our Chinese readers.

Now the CFO of technology company Eficode and its sister company, ePassi, Yin has grown fond of Finnish business culture due to its efficiency and straightforwardness, as well as of Finnish nature and sauna, which may be more beneficial than you could imagine.

“Actually, I think sauna is great advice for those coming to work here: go to sauna with your colleagues,” Yin enthused. “There is no small-talk culture here, except in the sauna. There you get to know people more. Sometimes good ideas come from the sauna.”

Helsinki named best city for work-lifebalance

What is the best thing about living in Helsinki? According to the 2019 Work-Life Balance Index, Helsinki offers superior work-life balance to its residents. The Finnish capital was ranked first in the survey that evaluated how well the 40 most popular cities worldwide enable their citizens to enjoy a healthy balance of work and downtime.

“Helsinki aims to be a city which offers the best possible conditions for a sound urban life,” said Jan Vapaavuori, mayor of Helsinki. “Our vision is to build Helsinki into the world’s most functional city.”

The article was extremely popular with our Russian and English-speaking readers. Any plans for moving to Helsinki?

Rent a Finn as your guide tohappiness

Finns live in the happiest country in the world, according to the 2019 Global Happiness Report, and some lucky locals were recruited as “happiness guides” for international visitors as part of Visit Finland’s Rent a Finn campaign launched earlier this year.

As the Finnish secret to being happy lies largely in nature, the happiness guides were assigned the task of assisting foreigners to understand Finns’ special bond with Mother Nature and to experience its therapeutic effect.

“Pure nature is a part of life in Finland,” underlined Heli Jimenez, senior director of international marketing at Business Finland. “We go outdoors in any weather, let our babies nap outside and spend a great deal of time in nature in general.”

With the article having been actively read in all three languages on our website, it seems that there will be no lack of volunteers for the next round of the campaign.