AbstractsBusiness Management & Administration

Exporting Finnish culture is one of the themes the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture has carried out over the last few years. ‘From Start to Finnish’ project was a mission to strenghten the state of theatre export in Finland. In the project, government subsidised theatres in Finland export their plays to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the largest arts festival in the world. The thesis is product-based as the authors created a handbook to combine all the steps to be taken when exporting theatrical pieces. The handbook provides valid information to people working in the field, and uses the ‘From Start to Finnish’ project as an successful example. The thesis describes the aspects and theories of culture export. The authors have specialised in Culture Export Management, and have been personally participating in the processes of the project under review. The processes included for intance assisting producers, taking care of marketing activities, organising logistics and taking part in production related issues. Through these experiences the authors were able to deliver a comprehensive writing on the topic. The writing process started after the ‘From Start to Finnish’ project ended in Autumn 2013. The methods used in the writing process where the literature review including books, journals, newspapers and online sources. The authors conducted interviews on the topic and the project by contacting key persons working in the project. The theories written in the thesis report support the information in the handbook. The handbook is the learning outcome of the authors, including all the knowledge they have acquired in their studies and by participating the ‘From Start to Finnish’ project. The handbook will help individuals and organisations in their export activities in the field of performing arts, and answers the research question how theatre plays are exported. Handbook can be read here: http://issuu.com/annemarimakinen/docs/handbook_for_exporting_a_theatre_pl