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Finncon-Baltcon 2001
University of Jyväskylä, Main Building 14.-15.7.2001, a part of Jyväskylä Arts Festival 10.-15.7.2001.
Guests of honour
Author Jonathan Carroll, USA, Austria
Journalist, author David Langford, UK
Hacker, computer networks expert Richard Stallman, USA
Media performance artist Stelarc, Australia
Finlandia-prize winner, author Johanna Sinisalo, Finland
Fandom Guest of Honour Ahrvid Engholm, Sweden
On Friday 13.7.2001 also:
Scifi research meeting
Seminar on 'Machine consciousness'
FINNCON is the largest science fiction and fantasy-event in Finland and in Nordic countries. Its size, organization and visibility are comparable to Eurocons' corresponding features. FINNCON has been arranged since 1986. The nature of the event has its base on experiences of European and North American cons from Tom Ölander and other science fiction devotees. FINNCON has always presented science fiction and fantasy widely. View has been especially on literature, but also on movies, comics, the visual arts, theatre, music and the science fiction devotees themselves, the fandom. The event is always free of charge.
FINNCON belongs to a worldwide chain of science fiction events: Worldcon 2001 will be held in Philadelphia, Eurocon in Rumania, and in addition there will be national events and theme related events (Star Trek, Vampire, roleplaying) around the world. Information on these exists on several www-pages, e.g. from www.smof.org. Worldcons gather tens of thousands of visitors, Eurocons, national and theme cons several thousands of visitors. FINNCON 2000, which was held together with comics festival in Helsinki, had over 7000 visitors.
This year FINNCON is also BALTCON.
This yearly Baltic science fiction meeting will be held now for the first time in Finland. That is why there are more programmes in English than usually. There will be cooperation meetings of Baltic area and Nordic countries. Visitors are expected from all over Europe.
FINNCON will be arranged for the second time together with Jyväskylä Arts Festival. First time was in year 1995. Cooperation started already in year 1991, and this year's FINNCON is the sixth science fiction event in Jyväskylä Arts Festival. List of foreign science fiction authors who have visited Jyväskylä is long: Ian Watson (England), Lisa Tuttle (England), Robert Holdstock (England), Suzy McKee Charnas (USA), Neal Stephenson (USA), Bruce Sterling (USA), Vonda N. McIntyre (USA), Neil Gaiman (England, USA), Mario Kivistik (Estonia), Storm Constantine (England), and also, concerning
movies, British Channel 4 producers Alan Jones and Gregory Day. Of the many Finnish visitors let us mention Kersti Juva, Johanna Sinisalo, Jukka Pakkanen, Petri Hiltunen, Nalle Virolainen and Helena Sederholm.
On the cooperative point of view, FINNCON-BALTCON is larger than FINNCON ever. Main organizers are Jyväskylän Arts Festival and Jyväskylän Science Fiction seura 42. Organizatory partners have included especially Finnish scifi devotees: Helsingin Science Fiction Seura, Helsingin yliopiston Science Fiction Seura, Turun Science Fiction seura and members from many other associations. Ahrvid Engholm, a distinguished Swedish fandom activist, has been an important and central contact person between Finnish fandom and fandom of other Nordic countries. Thanks to his activity, Baltcon is arranged in Finland for the first time.
There are many other active persons to be mentioned also. Ben Roimola’s (Turku) Enhörningen –net magazine is a remarkable information channel for Finnish science fiction, also for FINNCON-BALTCON. Suomen Tolkien-seura, Tähtiallianssi, Suoli and many other associations meet in Jyväskylä 14. –15.7. The event has also many volunteered workers in Jyväskylä, and in rest of Finland. Information within Finland is handled by associations’ own magazines, primary of which are Tähtivaeltaja, Portti, Spin and net magazine Aikakone.
Additional information: www.jyvaskyla.fi/kesa
and the techno party www.niitty.org.
Finncon Posters
Finncon posters as zip-packed tif-images:
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