Institute

The activities of the Institute include academic research, supporting and facilitating Middle East studies in the Finnish universities, organising education in co-operation with universities, advancing academic and cultural co-operation between Finland and the countries of the Middle East as well as to promoting Finland in the Middle East. The Institute has also a senior representative in Cairo (FIME Cairo), and it has activities in Jordan (FIME Amman) and Lebanon.

The Finnish Institute in the Middle East, Damascus, is one of the four Finnish academic institutes located outside of Finland. The Institute’s activities are funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture, private foundations supporting letters and arts as well as various NGOs and private philantrophists.

The Institute has its premises in an old and beautifully restored Damascene house in the old city of Damascus, a UNESCO world heritage site.  The Institute’s premises can be used for various activities from workshops and public lectures to art exhibitions and concerts.
 

Levant Letters – column by Finnish Middle East scholars is published in Finnish and English every second month and can be accessed from the website’s main page.
 

Newsletter - published six times a year, for the time being only in Finnish. Some news items and announcements are posted on our website also in English under the latest news on the first page.