Mission:SG Episode 3: Finnish Ambassador Paula Parviainen

She was once an air stewardess with Finnair, Finland's flag carrier, for more than a decade. Now, she's Finland's Ambassador to Singapore. Ask Paula Parviainen and she will tell you both jobs actually have a lot in common - being in an international setting, meeting many interesting people and promoting Finland.

As Finland's Ambassador to Singapore, Parviainen is passionate about seeing how the Finnish model of elder care and preschool education can be integrated to the Singapore system.

"In Finland, the whole early childhood learning is about growing your team building skills, building your self-esteem, creativity and out-of-the-box thinking because those are the skills you need to have from a very early stage and then you can add on information and facts along the way," said Praviainen while on the set of Mission:SG.

Parviainen places her faith in exporting the Finnish early childhood education model as she believes in the research behind it. The teaching methods are in place "not only because it is fun or because it looks commercially good, it's all based on the psychology and the pedagogical research".

Watch this episode of Mission:SG as Ambassador Paula Parviainen explores the possibilities of integrating the Finnish style of early childhood education and elder care system in Singapore.

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About "Mission:SG"

Well known for its diplomatic ties in the region and around the world, Singapore is home to many foreign embassies and consulates, all of which work to further cultural and trade relations with Singapore.

In this seven-part series, join hosts Lee Yu Ting and Fredrick Lai as they embark on a journey to get close to the lives of seven ambassadors to Singapore, to understand their culture as well as their diplomatic mission.

"Mission:SG" is one of 16 short-form video series produced by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), as part of the second season of SPH's Public Service Broadcast content. Viewers can visit the zaobao.sg website or use the mobile app to watch all seven episodes, which come with Chinese and English subtitles.