About Us
Kolibrí is a festival where the diversity and plurilingualism of contemporary children in Finland can be experienced. Every autumn, during the last week of September. We offer an artistic, cultural, recreational and educational programme with free access.
The Kolibrí Festivaali’s programme contains multidisciplinary workshops, theater and dance performances, concerts, a fair of children’s literature in Spanish and Portuguese, a biennial seminar on bilingualism for families, as well as debates and panels. These activities are facilitated by artists, scientists, experts and other culture workers of diverse origins residing in Finland.
The programme is selected and structured at the end of each spring. In January, we make an open call to submit proposals on art, literature, science, and recreation. Annually, and thanks to the support of ibero-american embassies, we invite a distinguished ibero-american artist to participate in Kolibrí. This artist will have a programme consisting of workshops for the families; magistral lectures and workshops for professionals, university students and experts; an exhibition and sales event open to the public; as well as the sales of his/her books in our Book Fair.
Kolibrí is made possible thanks to the co-production organized with the Cultural Centres and Libraries in Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa. Each year, numerous local and ibero-american institutions trust and finance our work.
Essentially, our festival is made possible thanks to a vast team of people who volunteer their work all year round.
Kolibrí is a production of the Kultturikeskus Ninho ry association.
Support Kolibrí, become a member of Ninho!
Our purpose
Our purposes are:
- To enrich and make the children’s agenda and local cultural supply more representative.
- To facilitate the access, active participation, and enjoyment of the diverse infancies and their families to education, science and culture, without any sort of discrimination.
- To expand work spaces are make visible the diverse talents residing in Finland: artists, scientists and other culture workers.
Thus, Kolibrí contributes to the democratization of children’s culture in Finland.
History
Kolibrí Festivaali was born in the year 2011, at the heart of the Latin-American community of Helsinki. Initially, this project is the result of the collective and voluntary work of mothers, professionals, and culture and diversity activists. In 2013 we started with the first biennial seminar on bilingualism and in 2015 we organized the first spring Kolibrí in the libraries of Espoo and Malmitalo. We created our association Kultuurikeskus Ninho in 2016.
With time, and as we grew, we intentionally added fathers to the project, and other people, committed with voluntary work around contemporary infancies, got gradually in touch. They, as the forerunners, are convinced that Kolibrí offers a space for meeting and for the plurilingual dialogue, where the right of infants to an active participation in art, science and culture is promoted, as well as the enjoyment of quality time in the families. We understand families as representing all possibilities of love. We aim at facilitating the inclusion and integration of children and adults having a second language of inheritance, different to the nationals.
In 2020 we were distinguished with the Orden al Mérito by the Spanish government, for our work in the promotion of the culture and language.
If you want to know more details about our history and methodology, click here
Staff
Kolibrí Festivaali Staff 2026
Production Team
Artistic Director: Laura Gazzotti
General Production Assistant: Núria Rovira Martí
Concerts and Performances Assistant: João Luís Matos Lopes
Technical Infrastructure: Eduardo Acosta
Image Kolibrí Festivaali 2026: Roger Mello
Exhibition
Curator & Designer: Fabio Pires
Casita design and build: Wood Program, Aalto University
Press and Communications
Communications & Marketing Specialist: Gitika Kapur
Digital Content Specialist: Patt Blech
Program Selection Committee
Selection Team Coordinators: Senuri Gunasekara
Selection Team Members: Adriana Minhoto, Patt Blech, Inés De Luis Moro, Matilda Gazzotti, Núria Rovira Marti, Tinka Kukkamaki
Web Platform Team
UX & UI: Maritere Vargas
Development: Joni Kaunismäki (Mediaani)
Visual Design: Ina Fiebig
Technical support: Víctor Rincón & Eduardo Acosta
Volunteers Coordination Team
Núria Rovira Martí
Feedback & Evaluation Team
Núria Rovira Martí
Book Fair Coordination Team
Andrea Botero, Stella Botero
Accessibility Team
Verónica Miranda, Núria Rovira, Laura Gazzotti
Finance Team
Andrea Botero, Laura Gazzotti, Javier Gauto, Víctor Rincón, Laura Zubillaga, Núria Rovira Martí , Patricia Zamudio
Translation team
Coordinator: Núria Rovira Martí
Portuguese: Octavio Bellomo, Amanda Nakazato Ukonaho, Eurídice Hernandes, Adriana Minhoto, Paula Sampaio Helin
Finnish: Teija Potenze, Inka Pursiainen, Jaana Kanninen, Paula Hecq, Silvia Sánchez Corral
Swedish: Víctor Rincón, Inka Pursiainen, Mariana Jiménez, Frida Vuorio
Roma: Anette Åkerlund
Northen Sámi: Pentti Pieski
Special collaboration
Kitari Majele from Caisa, Tatu Salonen from Oodi, Mia Wuorela from Sello Library, Jaana Niinivirta and Susanna Ahola from Pessi Children Cultural Center, Miia Salminen from Aurora Children Culture Center and Diego Barros from Guimaraes Rosa Institute- Helsinki and Lilian Pinho from Brazilian Embassy in Finland
Kulttuurikeskus Ninho ry
Andrea Botero, Adriana Saarialho, Laura Zubillaga, Agustina Lagomarsino, Arti Sudhindra, Teija Potenze