Towards Inclusive Multilingual Events – a Case at Turku UAS

 Julkaistu 26.11.2025 | Kirjoittaneet Lucia Vuillermin ja Elli Sillanpää

Introduction

In Finland, Finnish language proficiency is often seen as essential for integration and participation, signalling both practical ability and civic commitment. However, in multilingual settings such as universities and international workplaces, the dominant use of Finnish can create barriers for learners.

This article examines how language choices can reinforce inclusion or exclusion, reflecting power dynamics and inner circle dynamics where the ability to access and use inner circle linguistic features, Finnish in this case, can create a sense of inclusion for those who are "in the know" and exclusion for those who are not. It presents a case of international students excluded from participation, reviews trends in international student numbers in Finland, and discusses concepts of privilege and inclusion, concluding with suggestions to enhance meaningful participation for all students.

Case Study: When Inclusion turns into Exclusion

At a recent business-related event at Turku University of Applied Sciences, where a new service was launched with highly relevant speakers, all students, both Finnish and international, were invited to take part. The event was promoted in English, the university’s lingua franca, to include our international students who come from diverse backgrounds and complete their bachelor’s degrees in English, as well as in Finnish for our local students. Over 100 students, both Finnish and internationals, took part at the event as listeners.

The event began inclusively, with the first two main presentations delivered in English. However, as the programme continued, the following sessions were held entirely in Finnish. Although the organizers initially attempted to offer short summaries in English, these efforts quickly faded. By the second half of the programme, the event was openly introduced as a “Finnish lesson,” during which Finnish was the only language used – leaving international students unable to follow the content.

Many first-year international students, who had only recently arrived in Finland, were in fact unable to follow the presentations or participate in interactive activities, including a digital quiz conducted solely in Finnish. As a result, they gradually disengaged and were unable to meaningfully participate. What was intended as a welcoming, multilingual event for both the international and local students, therefore became an instance of linguistic exclusion. This case highlights how language choices, shaped by underlying power dynamics, can determine who is included or excluded, demonstrating the significant impact of linguistic barriers on participation and inclusion within educational and institutional contexts. This is not an irrelevant issue, as indicated by the following chapter, in which we discuss how Finnish higher education has become increasingly international in the recent years.

The broader context: internationalization and integration in Finland

Finland has experienced a steady rise in international student enrolments over recent years. According to the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri, 2025), 14,163 first-time residence permit applications for studies were submitted in 2024, up from 12,867 in 2023. Citizens of South Asian countries, particularly Bangladesh and Nepal, account for a growing proportion of these applications. Higher education institutions have therefore witnessed changing application patterns. In the autumn 2025 joint application round, 34,700 applicants competed for 10,900 study places at universities of applied sciences. English-language programmes represented only 10 per cent of the total provision but remained disproportionately popular among non-EU/EEA applicants. International applicants accounted for 12 per cent of the total applicant pool, down from 31 per cent in 2024, a decrease attributed to the introduction of a new application fee for non-EU/EEA students (Vipunen, 2025).

These figures reveal both a growing demand for international study opportunities and intensified competition among Finnish institutions to recruit and retain diverse student cohorts. Yet, as institutions seek to internationalize, challenges remain in ensuring that linguistic practices within classrooms and events genuinely support inclusion and belonging.

Despite longstanding recognition of the issue, limited Finnish proficiency remains a major barrier for students seeking internships or employment after graduation. Although initiatives like the Kielibuusti project offer guidance on supporting language skills in higher education and promoting multilingual practices in work communities (Kielibuusti 2024), there is currently no evidence on whether these measures have been effectively implemented by Finnish institutions or organizations.

Institutional commitments to multiculturalism

In addition to national recommendations, Turku University of Applied Sciences (Turku UAS) has articulated its own commitment to equality, inclusion, and multiculturalism through its Equal Turku UAS Plan 2025–2026. One of its central themes, “We operate in a multicultural environment”, identifies concrete measures to strengthen linguistic and cultural inclusivity across the institution.

Key initiatives include encouraging staff who have moved to Finland to learn Finnish, organizing peer group activities and mentorship models to support integration, and expanding English-language onboarding programmes to cover societal and cultural aspects. Additionally, the plan emphasizes strengthening managers’ diversity management competencies, ensuring equal recruitment practices, and implementing learnings from the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare’s Antiracist Approach Accelerator.

For students, the plan includes developing orientation programmes that address cultural and societal integration, promoting courses such as “Multiculturalism in Studies and Working Life” and “Multicultural and International Competence,” and mapping both formal and informal Finnish language learning opportunities. (Turku UAS, 2025)

Turku UAS also provides guidelines for inclusive and sustainable event organization. These recommend communicating in multiple languages, using gender-neutral expressions, ensuring accessibility of materials, and informing participants about the institution’s Community Etiquette.

These actions reflect a growing institutional awareness of the need for inclusive communication. However, as the earlier case demonstrates, the implementation of these principles requires ongoing reflection and accountability at the level of everyday practice.

Discussion: privilege, language, and belonging

Privilege and Language

Language privilege refers to the advantages enjoyed by speakers of dominant or official languages, often unnoticed by those who benefit but creating barriers for others (Oxford Review, 2025). Organizational language practices mirror broader power dynamics.

Frameworks like the Wheel of Privilege (see e.g. the version by THL – the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, 2024) and the Finnish Teflon Test (Potential project, 2024) illustrate how factors such as background, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and language skills shape power and visibility. For example, the Wheel shows how language proficiency affects whether voices are heard. Criticism towards these tools often comes from the most privileged, who may resist examining their status (Helsingin Sanomat, 2021). Although privilege is complex and hard to quantify, these tools help university communities reflect on their own position and foster inclusion. Recognizing linguistic privilege is key to integrating international students, with practical strategies discussed later.

Inclusive Multilingualism

Inclusive multilingualism promotes communication across languages, viewing multilingual interaction as a legitimate, dynamic mode rather than a deviation from native fluency (Jansen et al., 2014). Most speakers have partial proficiency and adapt creatively to achieve understanding.

Research highlights strategies such as lingua francas, lingua receptiva (different languages, mutual understanding), code-switching, and translation, showing linguistic diversity as a resource for inclusion rather than a barrier.

Inclusion: Belonging and Uniqueness

Inclusion occurs when individuals feel both belonging and recognition of individuality (Shore et al., 2011). Optimal Distinctiveness Theory (Brewer, 1991) and Self-Determination Theory explain this balance: humans need group acceptance without losing identity.

Belonging involves membership and affection (Allport, 1954), but strong group identification can reduce individuality. Effective inclusion balances these needs.

Viewed through these theories, the exclusion of international students from a university event—when it shifted fully to Finnish—shows how language practices disrupt belonging and uniqueness. Despite English promotion, lack of accessible participation weakened relatedness and competence. Inclusion requires more than invitations; it demands meaningful engagement for all, regardless of language proficiency.

Towards inclusive multilingual events

Creating large-scale events that are genuinely inclusive for both Finnish and international students requires intentional planning that goes beyond translation. The goal is to design multilingual participation, where linguistic diversity is viewed as a resource rather than a barrier. Research on inclusive multilingualism emphasizes communication practices that enable understanding across languages through mediation, flexibility, and technology. Below we present some examples of inclusive practices at events.

Multilingual facilitation and design

Events should be planned with a linguistic inclusion strategy, deciding in advance how multiple languages will coexist. This can involve:

• alternating languages during sessions (e.g., Finnish and English summaries after each section),

• providing bilingual slides and printed materials,

• appointing language facilitators or peer translators among students, and

• encouraging multilingual interactions in group work rather than separating participants by language proficiency

Technological tools for real-time inclusion

Digital tools can bridge linguistic gaps and enable equal participation:

• Microsoft PowerPoint Live and Google Slides Captions: provide real-time AI-generated subtitles in multiple languages.

• Interprefy, Interactio, or Zoom interpretation channels: allow simultaneous translation in hybrid or live events.

• Mentimeter, Kahoot, or Slido: enable anonymous participation in multiple languages; organizers can display questions and results bilingually.

Communication and framing

Event invitations, schedules, and materials should clearly indicate language options and accessibility features. Using both the local language and the lingua franca of the organization (Finnish and English in the case of Turku UAS) in promotional communication signals openness and lowers participation anxiety among newcomers.

Inclusive atmosphere and peer support

Encouraging Finnish students to act as language buddies helps build bridges and fosters mutual learning. Rather than positioning international students as passive learners of Finnish, events can be framed as opportunities for reciprocal language exchange, reinforcing both belonging and autonomy. In our University we have Finnish students volunteering in our Finnish language cafes: having those volunteers present during the event and facilitating the language comprehension and nuances would have made the international students feeling surely less isolated.

From language barrier to shared belonging

Linguistic exclusion in academic or social settings affects belonging, recognition, and participation, leaving individuals, especially international participants, feeling peripheral and disengaged. Inclusive multilingualism offers a solution by creating spaces where multiple languages coexist, treating language diversity as an asset rather than a barrier. Integrating real-time translation, multilingual facilitation, and bilingual communication enhances accessibility and reflects equity and participation. True inclusion occurs when individuals, regardless of language proficiency, can meaningfully contribute, be understood, and feel recognized, transforming language from a gatekeeping tool into a bridge for connection and shared engagement.

An interesting topic for future discussion would be studying inclusive, multilingual practices in workplaces or other contexts, where more than two languages are used in the everyday interactions. Moving these practices to the context of higher education would require extensive resources and careful planning of practices, as the students come from diverse linguistic backgrounds. The fast development of AI-based translation and subtitling tools might, however, present a solution already in the near future.

Furthermore, it would be of the authors’ interest to examine the power dynamics in a situation which occurs quite often in Finland: a language learner tries to use or initiate a conversation in Finnish, but the language is soon switched into English at the initiative of the interlocutor and thus not providing the language learner the chance to practice their Finnish skills or negotiate the language of the interaction. In our opinion, the language learner should be given the power to negotiate the language also in the described settings.

Lucia Vuillermin works as International Relations Coordinator at Turku University of Applied Sciences, focusing on both integration of international students, and as project worker for different projects aiming to reduce the barrier between international students and Finnish employers. She has a Master’s Degree in Science of Communication and is currently studying towards a Master’s Degree in Digitalization at Åbo Akademi. She has moved to Finland 8 years ago, co-founded an NGO with over 11.000 international working women in Finland and is among the first 200 LinkedIn influencers in Finland.

Elli Sillanpää works as a DEI Advisor at Turku University of Applied Sciences, focusing on improving the aspects of diversity, equity and inclusion in particular for the students. She has a M.A. in English translation studies. Her interests and duties also include multiculturalism and antiracism as well as neurodiversity in the higher education context. She is currently working on an Erasmus+ project, Inclusion+, to improve the opportunities for international student exchange for underrepresented student groups, such as disabled students and students with caring responsibilities.

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