Boosting the city’s image abroad

“Although Helsinki is small in size and population, we want to expand the city’s image globally so it can have a stronger international influence,” says Qiongfang Zheng (Fang), Senior Advisor of International Affairs at the City Executive Office. She works for the city’s strategy unit, enhancing strategic relationships with networks of cities and nations the world over. Among other things, her team works as ‘goalkeepers’ to review proposals for international cooperation, ensure they align with the city’s strategy and objectives, and oversee the implementation of joint events and projects.

Fang first came to Finland in 2005 from southern China, Guangdong province. In the years that she has worked for the City of Helsinki, she has been happy to see that the number of her international colleagues has grown. As a former newcomer herself, she feels that diversifying the community of city employees helps to builds cultural awareness and understanding. This is increasingly important as Helsinki’s population becomes more diverse.

Themes such as climate change, sustainable development and labour market issues have featured prominently in Fang’s recent work to raise global awareness of Helsinki. Improving the city’s international profile makes it easier to attract international investment, visitors and skilled workers, which has a positive impact on local and national economic development.

In March 2023, Fang acted as the main coordinator for the Helsinki-hosted Economic Development Forum, an annual meeting of Eurocities, a network of over 200 European cities representing 38 countries. This year’s forum attracted over 200 international participants to Helsinki, making it the largest EDF in history. During the event, Helsinki was showcased as a forerunner in innovation and an ideal platform for business and startups. The meet-up was also a great opportunity for top European cities to share their best practices for attracting and retaining international talent and developing needed labour market skills.

“Reading the post-event survey results was one of those moments where I felt that my work had really made an impact. The event had changed the perception of some of our European city colleagues from ‘Helsinki as a cold city with nothing of interest’ to ‘Helsinki as an exciting city full of opportunity.’ It was very rewarding,” Fang says.

Fang hopes that the City of Helsinki will hire more people like herself to help spread the word about the capital of the world’s happiest country. The more people that know about Helsinki’s many success stories, the better. To learn more about Helsinki’s role in Eurocities, see eurocities.eu/helsinki