“This is the best job in the world. It’s been wonderful! I can’t imagine a better team, but this is a moment to move on. I am very happy that Eppu is here and I am confident that I am leaving everything in very capable hands.”
Today was the last work day for our Head of Administration, Tiina Eerolainen, who after eleven and a half years at the Institute, is retiring. The responsibility will now pass on to new hands, as Eeva-Maria Viitanen, fondly known as Eppu, starts as our new Head of Administration.
Suvi Innilä, the Chairperson of the Finnish Cultural Institute in the Benelux Trust joined our weekly staff meeting on Tuesday and shared the following on behalf of the Board:
“Dearest Tiina, you have seen a lot of the institute’s life and have participated in that story. On behalf of the board, I am very honoured to thank you for all the work you have done and wish you all the best, with a little bit less work and nice times coming ahead. It’s been a pleasure to have you with us. Enjoy your retirement days. Well deserved!”
We wish you a happy retirement, Tiina, and best wishes for your future endeavours and new adventures! We will miss you at the office!
And of course, a very warm welcome to Eppu. Eeva-Maria Viitanen is an archaeologist, specialising in the archaeology of Roman Italy. She has studied the rural settlement around the city of Rome and wall writings in ancient Pompeii among other things. She has also worked in research administration in different institutions, among them as an amanuensis at the Department of Archaeology at Helsinki University and as the general secretary for Institutum Romanum Finlandiae. She has been involved in the world of the Finnish institutes abroad for more than a decade.
We look forward to working together with you in Brussels!