The Listiac project is coordinated by Åbo Akademi University, a Swedish medium university with campuses in two different cities. The Listiac team works in Vaasa, Western Finland, a linguistically diverse city with a strong Swedish speaking minority. 9 % of the people in Vaasa speak other languages than Finnish or Swedish, which is above national average (7,1 %). In the schools, as much as 14 % speak other languages.
ÅAU is an internationally acknowledged research university with an extensive responsibility for preserving the Swedish educational and cultural heritage as the only Swedish-speaking multi-disciplinary university in Finland. Minority research is one of the four strategic research areas of ÅAU. As the only Swedish-medium university in Finland and given the societal minority position of Swedish in officially bilingual Finland, the research profile is simultaneously both natural and nationally unique. ÅAU is also the first, and so far the only, university in Finland to coordinate an Erasmus+ Key Action 3 policy reforming project.
Listiac is lead by Siv Björklund, Professor in Swedish Language Immersion, with vast experience of teacher training as well as bi- and multilingual issues on national and international level. Senior Research Associate Mari Bergroth works as a researcher in the project. Her expertise and dedication is a real asset to the project. She works closely with MEd Jenny Haagensen, who conducts research for her dissertation within the project and is responsible for the student teachers’ practice periods at ÅAU.
MA Linda Storås is the Coordinator of the project. She manages all communication with and between partners and the Agency, and is the editor of all online content. The team is also assisted by IT Support Sören Andersson and Financial Controller Charlotta Acquah (currently on maternity leave). The Listiac team in Vaasa is lucky to have supporting and valuable colleagues at the university, the Finnish National Agency for Education and the Ministry of Education and Culture.
