Taiwanese student brought a World Press Photo Exhibition to Finland after 16 year absence

‘I needed to do something for my internship, and as I am here I also wanted to benefit the community here somehow,’ explains the bubbly Taiwanese 25 year-old woman, who is studying for a masters segreee in education and globalization at Oulu University in Finland. ‘Already back in Taiwan I’ve worked as a volunteer at World Press Photo exhibitions. They raise issues that you don’t often see in the mainstream media,’ she adds.

Yu-Hsuan, who has been in Oulu just under a year, was astounded to find that the exhibition had not taken place in Finland for 16 years, when it was last in Helsinki.

‘I see Finland as international country, as any other European countries are. It amazes me this exhibition hasn’t been brought here for 16 years. ’

Her masters degree, she explains, is not aimed at school teachers working in international schools. ‘Most of the graduates become policy-makers, such as project leaders, coordinators and educational consultants.’

Yu-Hsuan becomes ever more passionate as she tells me how the exhibition, which has been organized since 1955, fits with her degree. The exhibition has traveled 45 countries in over 100 places. It is supposed to ‘inform and transform’ the public, provoke a ‘reaction’ from them so that they better understand current issues. Most importantly, she wants it to promote the feeling of ‘living in global context rather than just as individuals’ and to provoke debate and discussion. For Yu-Hsuan, bringing this to public attention can be achieved more effectively through the medium of pictures, ‘Images speak a lot,’ she tells me.

For all these reasons, she has thrown herself into bringing the World Press Photo Exhibition to northern Finland. Photographs are submitted to it by professional photographers, news agencies and newspapers. The exhibition displays 54 photographs, the winners in such categories as People in the News, Nature, Contemporary Issues and Daily Life. The 2010 Photo of Year, yet to be announced for 2011, was the iconic picture of an eighteen year-old Afghan girl with her nose missing, it having been cut off as punishment for fleeing her husband.

Yu-Hsuan seems to have a history of throwing herself into projects that might seem novel to the outsider. She works as a Japanese translator because she ‘majored’ in Japanese at university in Taiwan. She learned Japanese – without ever living there – and when she vacationed there for two weeks they could all understand her. Sort of. Chimpoon Kampoon! Busasa!

She also acted as a promoter for some Japanese musicians, who she met in Taiwan, who have formed an ‘Indian style music band’ in which they play sitars. The band is particularly popular in India. And when most of her classmates were looking into doing their masters degree in the USA or Japan, she decided on Oulu.

Now here, and having got to know the city, she has noticed that it is not just forest but also businesses and especially businesses in the IT sector. This is useful, because for the exhibition, which will take place in March next year, to go well she needs sponsorship.

‘This exhibition is not about sponsoring World Press Photo Organization,’ she insists. ’You as a sponsor are contributing to the general public. Together, your investment creates an opportunity for participating in one of the world’s biggest press photo exhibitions, which also carries educational value to people.’

Like most foreigners in a new country, certain things about Finland have been really noticeable to Yu-Hsuan.

She has had problems with ‘the darkness’ and people, at least at first, seeming ‘distant.’ But this has begun to break-down the longer she’s been here, she even has a Finnish boyfriend, who comes along to the interview.

‘I don’t appreciate the silence but I like the honesty,’ she says, referring to her impressions of Finnish people. ‘In Taiwan it’s much easier to get talking to people. People here seems not familiar with interacting with others, but once they speak, they are sincere. I also feel very safe here. I think it is really a friendly place,’ she adds.

Every expat has a story and, for Yu-Hsuan it’s the story behind the photos that is the most important thing.


‘The photographs in the exhibition are not about art, but the story being presented by them,’ she says. ‘It is important to see and try to understand what is happening around you. And I hope people would not only to remember what they have seen, what has happened, but also to follow this up.’