Hän .gif and video clip

Equality forms a core value for Finland and its people, and the best symbol of Finnish equality is a personal pronoun from the Finnish language: hän. The third-person singular pronoun hän is neutral in terms of gender and social status, so it represents equal opportunity. It is “she” and “he,” all at once, and it has always existed in the Finnish language.

To promote inclusivity and equality, Finland wants to introduce this word – and the thinking behind it – to the rest of the world.

This gif and video have an orange background with pronouns in different languages flashing in fast glimpses on a white font: he, she, él, ella, er, sie, il, elle, han, hon. The pronoun list is followed by the text “Hän is all these words at once. It’s the inclusive Finnish personal pronoun for equal opportunity. Hän est. 1543”.