Umayya Abu-Hanna (born 17 March 1961) is a Palestinian-Finnish writer, journalist, and former member of the Helsinki City Council born in

Haifa, Israel Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

into a Palestinian family. She moved to Finland in 1981. In 2011, she moved to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

where she resides with her

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

n daughter.

Career

In the 1980s, Abu-Hanna was a member of the

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

City Council (for the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

) and a member of the Real Estate Board of Helsinki. In the 1990s, she was a journalist, documentary maker and columnist. She became known to the wider public as the first non-white presenter of the weekly current affairs news-program

Ajankohtainen Kakkonen ''Ajankohtainen kakkonen'' was a Finnish current affairs television series broadcast in Finland on Yle TV2 from 1969 to 2015. Aired every Tuesday at 21.00 EET. Notable episodes ''A2 Teema: Homoilta'' On October 12, 2010, the program had a speci ...

at the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE. In the 2000s, she was member of the Arts Council Finland (2004-2009) and was the first chair of its Multicultural Board. Abu-Hanna was also the

cultural diversity Cultural diversity is the quality of diverse or different cultures, as opposed to monoculture, the global monoculture, or a homogenization of cultures, akin to cultural evolution. The term "cultural diversity" can also refer to having different cu ...

adviser of the Finnish National Gallery. Her first novel, ''Nurinkurin'', was published in 2003. Her book on identity, ''Sinut'', was published in 2007. A manual for the cultural field, ''Multikulti'', was published in 2012.6d interview of Umayya Abu-Hanna
6d.fi. Accessed 3 February 2022. A cultural history of modern Helsinki, ''Alienin Silmin'', was published in 2014. She co-authored ''A changing world, perspectives on heritage'', with case studies of museums in Afghanistan.

Bibliography

* ''Nurinkurin'' (2003) * ''Sinut'' (2007), * ''Multkikulti'' (2012) * ''Alienin silmin'' (2014) * ''A Changing World, perspectives on heritage'' (2014) * Columns, ''

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

'' * Columns, '' Suomen Kuvalehti'' * Columns, ''

Helsingin Sanomat ''Helsingin Sanomat'', abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of ...

'' * Columns, Finnair's in-flight magazine: ''Blue Wings''

Awards

* Larin Paraske Award, The Kalevala Women's Association (2008) * "Finn of the Year", The Finnish Civic Society (2004) * Finland Award (2003), Ministry of Education * Bonnier Group Award (2002) for journalistic innovation

References

External links

Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abu-Hanna, Umayya 1961 births Living people Writers from Haifa 20th-century Finnish journalists Finnish writers Palestinian emigrants to Finland Finnish people of Palestinian descent 20th-century Finnish politicians 20th-century Finnish women politicians Finnish expatriates in the Netherlands Finnish women journalists Politicians from Haifa 21st-century Finnish journalists Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture alumni