title: C. Tangana

text: Tangana had replaced his particular style of short and direct phrases with short Anglicized phrases. While playing music, he made a living working in a Pans and Company and in a Vodafone call center. He began to shy away from the media in January 2013 because he did not feel comfortable with it. In 2014 he released his first EP as an independent artist titled "Trouble + Presidente". In 2015 he left his job to fully work on music. Agorazein released their final album "Siempre" in November 2016 and have been on an indefinite hiatus since then.


title: C. Tangana

text: In 2016, Tangana signed a record deal with Warner Chappell Music and started working regularly with friend and producer Alizzz. His first release as a signed artist was "Antes de Morirme", a flamenco-pop collaboration with then-girlfriend Rosalía. The song was a sleeper hit until late 2018, when Rosalía's career started growing internationally and the song was included in the soundtrack of the Spanish Netflix show "Élite". Tangana continued releasing songs throughout 2016. In 2017, Álvarez embarked on a tour in Latin America called C. Tangana Latino Tour. When the tour finished, he announced his official agreement with the record company Sony Music Entertainment. In April he released the lead single off his debut album titled "Espabilao". One month later, "Mala Mujer" was released on digital platforms as the album's second single. The song became wildly popular in Spain and in parts of Latin America. The track became a top-five hit in Spain, was named song of the summer, certified three times platinum there, and was also certified gold in the United States. A remix featuring Farruko and French Montana was released in September. Later, C. Tangana performed the track at LOS40 Music Awards 2017, where he was awarded Best New Artist of the Year. The music video for "Mala Mujer" also received a nomination for "Best National Video". He was also nominated at the 2017 MTV Europe Music Awards for Best Spanish Act. His first studio album "Ídolo" was released on digital download and streaming platforms on October 5, 2017. In December 2017 he released "Guerrera" alongside Dellafuente, which became a top 20 hit in Spain and was certified two times platinum.


title: C. Tangana

text: In January 2018, Tangana released the lead single of his debut mixtape as a signed artist: "Still Rapping" with Steve Lean. The song peaked at 86th on the PROMUSICAE chart. In March he released the mixtape's second single "Llorando en la Limo", produced and featuring Alizzz, which peaked at number twelve on the chart and became another summer hit in Spain. The mixtape, "Avida Dollars", was released on digital platforms on April 20, 2018, presented with two sold-out shows at La Riviera in Madrid. and was well received by music critics. Since then, Tangana started releasing independent singles such as "Bien Duro", released in June 2018, which peaked at number six in Spain and became the 32nd most sold song in the country. It was certified double platinum. In October, he released his first international collaboration with American singer Becky G. The song, titled "Booty" peaked at number 3 in Spain and became the 93rd best-selling song in Spain in only two months. "Booty" was also certified double platinum in Spain and platinum in the United States. Its music video was nominated for Best Music Video at the 2020 Premios Odeón. In November 2018, Tangana was awarded with two Latin Grammy Awards for writing Rosalía's "Malamente". He took home the awards for Best Alternative Song and Best Urban Fusion/Performance. The track was also nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. He later received the Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year and for Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album for his contribution on eight songs on Rosalía's sophomore album "El Mal Querer". In November, he also released "Un Veneno", a minimal, new flamenco track featuring Niño de Elche. It received critical acclaim due to its rawness. On November 21 he performed it on "Operación Triunfo 2018". After the performance, he left the stage aggressively despite being scheduled to give an interview, which was received negatively on Twitter. The media coverage the situation received caused an increase in "Un Veneno" streams, making it reach the number two spot on the PROMUSICAE chart and be certified gold in Spain.


title: C. Tangana

text: During 2019, Tangana continued releasing independent singles. In January he collaborated with Brazilian rapper MC Bin Laden and once again with Alizzz on "Pa' Llamar Tu Atención". The track reached number three on the PROMUSICAE chart. In February he collaborated with Alizzz and Dellafuente once again on "París", which eventually became Tangana's fifth top 10 single. In March 2019 he performed at Lollapalooza Argentina and Chile. He also offered to do a show in Lima and did a showcase in Miami. In April 2019 he moved to Los Angeles. He attended the 2019 "Billboard" Latin Music Awards and performed at the after-party. While in America, he worked with Chilean-American singer Paloma Mami on his song "No Te Debí Besar", released in September 2019, which marked Mami's debut on the Spanish music charts as well as a new top three hit for Tangana. That same year he collaborated with Argentine rapper Duki and Colombian singer Lao Ra on "5 Stars" and "Picaflor" respectively. A couple of months later, Tangana released "Yelo" alongside Alizzz. In February he collaborated with Natti Natasha on his own track "Viene Y Va" and alongside Tainy and former Fifth Harmony member Lauren Jauregui on the Puerto Rican's "Nada", included in his album "The Kids That Grew Up On Reggaeton" (2020).


title: C. Tangana

text: In April 2020, Tangana moved to rap-pop and sadcore music with folk elements, leaving trap and hip hop. On April 24 he released "Nunca Estoy", which was very well received by critics. It reached the top spot on the PROMUSICAE chart, and became Tangana's first number one hit in his career. The track sampled both "Cómo Quieres Que Te Quiera" by Rosario Flores and "Corazón Partío" by Alejandro Sanz. In May, Tangana announced his first EP as a signed artist, "Bien", which was released through Sony Music on May 14, 2020, and debuted number one in Spain. He allied with Little Spain Productions to produce, write and direct his upcoming music videos. In September, Tangana revealed to "Forbes" that his upcoming studio album would be very different from his previous releases and that it would be named "El Madrileño".


title: C. Tangana

text: On October 8, Tangana released the lead single of "El Madrileño". "Demasiadas Mujeres" became popular in Spain; it debuted at the top of the PROMUSICAE chart and being gold-certified in only a week for selling over 20,000 copies. The song contrasted with everything Tangana had done and included a Holy Week marching band from Cádiz. The song included a message of frustration and elements of folk. Its music video included a scene of Tangana's own funeral and references to his past relationships with Rosalía and Berta Vázquez. On November 6, Tangana released "Tú Me Dejaste de Querer", which he called "the most important song of his career". He defined the track as a combination of rumba and bachata with elements of flamenco music. The track broke the record for the most-streamed song in Spain in a 24-hour period with 1.6 million national streams. Internationally, "Tú Me Dejaste de Querer" debuted at number 31 on the Spotify Global chart, marking the first entry of Tangana on the list.


title: C. Tangana

text: C. Tangana released "El Madrileño" on February 26, 2021. The album broke records in streaming services, and Tangana became the first Spanish artist to reach No. 1 in the global new albums list and place the whole album's tracklist in the top 25 of Top 100 Songs in Spain.


title: C. Tangana

text: His first contact with rap was through the Beastie Boys album "Ill Communication" (1994) and the movie "Fear of a Black Hat", as he mentions in his song "Diez Años". In this subject, he also affirms that his interest in the world of music took place at age eight, through aMichael Jackson cassette of "They Don't Care About Us". Among his influences, he has mentioned Drake's "If You're Reading This It's Too Late" (2015) and artists like Pharrell Williams or Kanye West, highlighting their ability and tendency to innovate and capture the attention of the public. However, on several occasions He has stated that he listens to music of all styles and that he manages to get something interesting out of everything. His influence does not come from specific musicians, but from musical movements that he embraces in his work, stating that his music is changing due to the new musical trends that arouse greater interest in him.


title: C. Tangana

text: During his time with Agorazein he was characterized by the use of rhythms and melodies that gave off sadness and rebellion typical of adolescence. The soft sounds of C. Tangana became as important as his voice, giving him a sound treatment that he has managed to maintain as he defends the most creative part of his music. Visually, it also broke the traditional patterns of Spanish hip-hop by moving away from the prevailing aesthetic in most of the world of Hispanic rap, where they still presented the pride of the suburban working class in the face of multinationals, branded clothing and the success and money that surrounded the upper-middle class where C. Tangana grew up.


title: Colditz Castle

text: Castle Colditz (or "Schloss Colditz" in German) is a Renaissance castle in the town of Colditz near Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz in the state of Saxony in Germany. The castle is between the towns of Hartha and Grimma on a hill spur over the river Zwickauer Mulde, a tributary of the River Elbe. It had the first wildlife park in Germany when, during 1523, the castle park was converted into one of the largest menageries in Europe.


title: Colditz Castle

text: The castle gained international infamy as the site of Oflag IV-C, a prisoner-of-war camp during World War II for "incorrigible" Allied officers who had repeatedly attempted to escape from other camps.


title: Colditz Castle

text: In 1046, Henry III of the Holy Roman Empire gave the burghers of Colditz permission to build the first documented settlement at the site. During 1083, Henry IV urged Margrave Wiprecht of Groitzsch to develop the castle site, which Colditz accepted. During 1158, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa made Thimo I "Lord of Colditz", and major building works began. By 1200, the town around the market was established. Forests, empty meadows, and farmland were settled next to the pre-existing Slavic villages Zschetzsch, Zschadraß, Zollwitz, Terpitzsch and Koltzschen. Around that time the larger villages Hohnbach, Thierbaum, Ebersbach and Tautenhain also developed.


title: Colditz Castle

text: During the Middle Ages, the castle was used as a lookout post for the German Emperors and was the hub of the Reich territories of the Pleissenland (anti-Meißen Pleiße-lands). During 1404, the nearly 250-year rule of the dynasty of the Lords of Colditz ended when Thimo VIII sold Colditz Castle for 15,000 silver marks to the Wettin ruler of the period in Saxony.


title: Colditz Castle

text: As a result of family dynastic politics, the town of Colditz was incorporated into the Margraviate of Meissen. During 1430, the Hussites attacked Colditz and set town and castle on fire. Around 1464, renovation and new building work on the castle were done by order of Prince Ernest, who died in Castle Colditz in 1486. During the reigns of Electors Frederick III the Wise and John the Gentle, Colditz was a royal residence of the electors of Saxony.


title: Colditz Castle

text: During 1504, the servant Clemens the baker accidentally set Colditz afire, and the town hall, church, castle and a large part of the town was burned. During 1506, reconstruction began and new buildings were erected around the rear castle courtyard. During 1523, the castle park was converted into one of the largest zoos in Europe. During 1524, rebuilding of the upper floors of the castle began. The castle was reconstructed in a fashion that corresponded to the way it was divided-— into the cellar, the royal house and the banqueting hall building. There is nothing more to be seen of the original castle, where the present rear of the castle is located, but it is still possible to discern where the original divisions were (the Old or Lower House, the Upper House and the Great House).


title: Colditz Castle

text: The structure of the castle was changed during the long reign of the Elector Augustus of Saxony (1553–86), and the complex was reconstructed into a Renaissance style castle from 1577 to 1591, including the portions that were still in the gothic architectural style. Architects and Peter Kummer supervised further restoration and rebuilding. Later, Lucas Cranach the Younger was commissioned as an artist in the castle.


title: Colditz Castle

text: During this period the portal at what is known as the church house was created during 1584, made of "Rochlitz Porphyr" (rhyolite tuff) and richly decorated in the mannerist style by Andreas Walther II. This dimension stone has been in use in architecture for more than 1,000 years. It was at this time that both the interior and the exterior of "the Holy Trinity" castle chapel that links the cellar and electors' house with one another were redesigned. Soon thereafter the castle became an administrative office for the Office of Colditz and a hunting lodge. During 1694, its then-current owner, King Augustus the Strong of Poland, began to expand it, resulting in a second courtyard and a total of 700 rooms.


title: Colditz Castle

text: During the 19th century, the church space was rebuilt in the neo-classic architectural style, but its condition was allowed to deteriorate. The castle was used by Frederick Augustus III, Elector of Saxony as a workhouse to feed the poor, the ill, and persons who had been arrested. It served this purpose from 1803 to 1829, when its workhouse function was assumed by an institution in Zwickau. During 1829, the castle became a mental hospital for the "incurably insane" from Waldheim. During 1864, a new hospital building was erected in the Gothic Revival style, on the ground where the stables and working quarters had been previously located. It remained a mental institution until 1924.


title: Colditz Castle

text: For nearly 100 years, from 1829 to 1924, Colditz was a sanatorium, generally reserved for the wealthy and the nobility of Germany. The castle thus functioned as a hospital during a long period of massive change in Germany, from slightly after the Napoleonic Wars destroyed the Holy Roman Empire and created the German Confederation, throughout the lifespan of the North German Confederation, the complete reign of the German Empire, throughout the First World War, and until the beginnings of the Weimar Republic. Between 1914 and 1918, the castle was home to both psychiatric and tuberculosis patients, 912 of whom died of malnutrition. The castle was home to several notable figures during its time as a mental institution, including Ludwig Schumann, the second youngest son of the famous composer Robert Schumann, and , one of the original inventors of the airship.


title: Colditz Castle

text: When the Nazis gained power during 1933, they converted the castle into a political prison for communists, homosexuals, Jews and other people they considered undesirable. Starting 1939, allied prisoners were housed there.


title: Colditz Castle

text: After the outbreak of World War II, the castle was converted into a high security prisoner-of-war camp for officers who had become security or escape risks or who were regarded as particularly dangerous. Since the castle is situated on a rocky outcrop above the River Mulde, the Germans believed it to be an ideal site for a high security prison.


title: Colditz Castle

text: The larger outer court in front of the "Kommandantur" (commander's offices) had only two exits and housed a large German garrison. The prisoners lived in an adjacent courtyard in a 90 ft (27 m) tall building. Outside, the flat terraces which surrounded the prisoners' accommodation were watched constantly by armed sentries and surrounded by barbed wire. The prison was named "Oflag IV-C" (officer prison camp 4C) and was operated by the Wehrmacht.


title: Colditz Castle

text: While the camp was home to prisoners of war from many different countries, including Poland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Canada, in May 1943 Wehrmacht High Command decided to house only British and American officers.


title: Colditz Castle

text: The camp's first British prisoners were the Laufen Six on November 7, 1940, who were transferred to Colditz after their first escape attempt from the Laufen Camp.


title: Colditz Castle

text: Although it was considered a high security prison, it had one of the greatest records of successful escape attempts. This could be owing to the general nature of the prisoners that were sent there; most of them had attempted escape previously from other prisons and were transferred to Colditz, because the Germans had thought the castle escape-proof.


title: Colditz Castle

text: One escape scheme even included a glider, the Colditz Cock, that was built and kept in a remote portion of the castle's attic during the winter of 1944–45. The glider was never used, as the camp was liberated not long after its completion. However, after liberation, the glider was brought down from the hidden workshop to the attic below and assembled for the prisoners to see. It was at this time that the only known photograph of the glider was taken. For some time after the war the glider was regarded as either a myth or tall story, as there was no solid proof that the glider had existed and Colditz was then in the Soviet Occupation Zone. Bill Goldfinch, however, took home the drawings he had made when designing the glider, and when the single photograph finally surfaced, the story was taken seriously.


title: Colditz Castle

text: During 1999, a full-sized replica of the glider was commissioned by Channel 4 Television in the UK and was built by Southdown Aviation Ltd. at Lasham Airfield, closely following Goldfinch's drawings. Watched by several of the former prisoners of war who worked on the original, it was test flown at RAF Odiham during 2000. The escape plan could have worked. In 2012, Channel 4 commissioned a team of engineers and carpenters to build another full-sized replica of the glider at Colditz Castle, and launch it (unmanned) from the same roof as had been planned for the original. The radio-controlled replica made it safely across the river and landed in a meadow 180 metres below.


title: Colditz Castle

text: Captain Patrick R. Reid, who successfully escaped from Colditz in 1942, went on to write multiple works on the living conditions and various escape attempts at Colditz from 1940 to 1945: "The Colditz Story" and "The Latter Days at Colditz". In the early 1970s, he served as a technical consultant for a BBC television series, "Colditz" (1972), featuring David McCallum, Edward Hardwicke and Robert Wagner, that focused on life at Colditz.


title: Colditz Castle

text: During the last days of the prison camp at Colditz, many of its prominent or high-ranking prisoners were transferred to Laufen by order of Himmler. But in April 1945, U.S. troops entered the town of Colditz and, after a two-day fight, captured the castle on April 16, 1945. In May 1945, the Soviet occupation of Colditz began. According to the agreement at the Yalta Conference it became a part of East Germany. The government turned Colditz Castle into a prison for local criminals. Later, the castle was a home for the aged and nursing home, as well as a hospital and psychiatric clinic. For many years after the war, forgotten hiding places and tunnels were found by repairmen, including a radio room established by the French POWs, which was then "lost" again only to be rediscovered some twenty years later.


title: Colditz Castle

text: During 2006 and 2007, the castle underwent a significant amount of refurbishment and restoration which was paid for by the state of Saxony. The castle walls were repainted to recreate the appearance of the castle prior to World War II.


title: Colditz Castle

text: With renovations largely completed, the castle now includes both a museum and guided tours showing some of the escape tunnels built by prisoners of the Oflag during the war. The chapel has been restored to its prewar decoration, with glass panels inserted to the flag stone flooring to reveal an escape tunnel dug by French escapees.


title: Colditz Castle

text: The outer courtyard and former German "Kommandantur" (guard quarters) have been converted into a youth hostel / hotel and the "Gesellschaft Schloss Colditz e.V." (the Colditz Castle historical society), founded during 1996, has its offices in a portion of the administration building in the front castle court.


title: Spanish Sahara

text: Spanish Sahara (; ), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958 then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used for the modern territory of Western Sahara when it was occupied and ruled by Spain between 1884 and 1976. It had been one of the most recent acquisitions, as well as one of the last remaining holdings, of the Spanish Empire, which had once extended from the Americas to the Spanish East Indies.


title: Spanish Sahara

text: Between 1946 and 1958, the Spanish Sahara was amalgamated with the nearby Spanish-protected Cape Juby and Spanish Ifni to form a new colony, Spanish West Africa. This was reversed during the Ifni War when Ifni and the Sahara became provinces of Spain separately, two days apart, while Cape Juby was ceded to Morocco in the peace deal.


title: Spanish Sahara

text: Spain gave up its Saharan possession following Moroccan demands and international pressure, mainly from United Nations resolutions regarding decolonisation. There was internal pressure from the native Sahrawi population, through the Polisario Front, and the claims of Morocco and Mauritania. After gaining independence in 1956, Morocco laid claim to the territory as part of its historic pre-colonial territory. Mauritania claimed the territory for a number of years on a historical basis, but dropped all claims in 1979.


title: Spanish Sahara

text: In 1975, Morocco occupied much of the territory, now known as Western Sahara, but the Polisario Front, promoting the sovereignty of an independent Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), fought a guerrilla war for 16 years against Morocco. In 1991, the UN negotiated a ceasefire and has tried to arrange negotiations and a referendum to let the population vote on its future. Morocco controls most of the Atlantic coast and most of the landmass, population and natural resources of Western Sahara.


title: Spanish Sahara

text: At the Berlin Conference (1884–1885), the European powers were establishing the rules for setting up zones of influence or protection in Africa, and Spain declared 'a protectorate of the African coast' from Cape Blanc to Cape Bojador on 26 December 1884. It officially informed the other powers in writing on 14 January 1885. It began establishing trading posts and a military presence. In July 1885, King Alfonso XII appointed Emilio Bonelli commissioner of the Río de Oro with civil and military authority. On 6 April 1887, the area was incorporated into the Captaincy General of the Canary Islands for military purposes. In the summer of 1886, under the sponsorship of the Spanish Society of Commercial Geography (""), Julio Cervera Baviera, Felipe Rizzo (1823–1908) and Francisco Quiroga (1853–1894) traversed the territory, which was called Río de Oro, and made topographical and astronomical observations. At the time, geographers had not mapped the territory and its features were not widely known. Their trek is considered the first scientific expedition in that part of the Sahara.


title: Spanish Sahara

text: On entering the territory in 1884, Spanish forces were immediately challenged by stiff resistance from the indigenous Sahrawi tribes, Saharan Berbers who lived in many oases and coastal villages. The indigenous people worked mainly in fishing and camel herding, and speak the Hassaniya language, a Bedouin Arabic dialect. A rebellion in 1904 was led by the powerful Smara-based "marabout", Shaykh Ma al-'Aynayn, was put down by France in 1910, which ruled neighbouring Algeria. This was followed by a wave of uprisings under Ma al-Aynayn's sons, grandsons and other political leaders.


title: Spanish Sahara

text: In 1886, Spain signed the Treaty of Idjil, by which the Emirate of Adrar ceded the land of the colony to Spain. This treaty was of no legal value, since the Emir had no claim to the territory, the Spanish 'invented' a claim which the Emir could, with no harm to himself, immediately cede.


title: Spanish Sahara

text: Morocco asserts that the territory was under Moroccan royal sovereignty at the time when the Spanish claimed it in 1884. The country raises to back its claims two sixteenth-century treaties, the Treaty of Alcáçovas and the Treaty of Cintra, between Spain and Portugal, where both countries recognize that the authority of Morocco extended beyond Cabo Bojador. Other treaties extending the authority further south are also raised, like the one between the Sharifian sultanatee and Spain of 1 March 1767 or the Anglo-Moroccan Agreement of 13 March 1895. However, the International Court of Justice found in their Advisory opinion on Western Sahara of 1975 that those treaties only proved ties of allegiance (Bay'ah) between this territory and the Kingdom of Morocco, and were not legal ties extending to sovereignty over the territory.


title: Spanish Sahara

text: The borders of the territory were not clearly defined until treaties between Spain and France in the early 20th century. Spanish Sahara was created from the Spanish territories of Río de Oro and Saguia el-Hamra in 1924. It was not part of the areas known as Spanish Morocco and was administered separately.


title: Spanish Sahara

text: After gaining independence in 1956, Morocco laid claim to Spanish Sahara as part of its historic pre-colonial territory. In 1957, the Moroccan Army of Liberation nearly occupied the small territory of Ifni, north of Spanish Sahara, during the Ifni War. The Spanish sent a regiment of paratroopers from the nearby Canary Islands and repelled the attacks. With the assistance of the French, Spain soon re-established control in the area through "Operaciones Teide-Ecoubillon" (Spanish name) / "Opérations Ecouvillon" (French name).


title: Spanish Sahara

text: Spain tried to suppress resistance politically. It forced some of the previously nomadic inhabitants of Spanish Sahara to settle in certain areas, and the rate of urbanisation was increased. In 1958, Spain united the territories of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro to form the overseas province of Spanish Sahara, while ceding the province of the Cape Juby strip (which included Villa Bens) in the same year to Morocco.


title: Spanish Sahara

text: In the 1960s, Morocco continued to claim Spanish Sahara. It gained agreement by the United Nations to add the territory to the list of territories to be decolonised. In 1969, Spain ceded Ifni to Morocco, but continued to retain Spanish Sahara.


title: Spanish Sahara

text: In 1967, Spanish rule was challenged by the "Harakat Tahrir", a protest movement secretly organised by the Moroccan government. Spain suppressed the 1970 Zemla Intifada.


title: Spanish Sahara

text: In 1973, the Polisario Front was formed in a revival of militant Sahrawi nationalism. The Front's guerrilla army grew rapidly, and Spain lost effective control over most of the territory by early 1975. Its effort to found a political rival, the "Partido de Unión Nacional Saharaui" (PUNS), met with little success. Spain proceeded to co-opt tribal leaders by setting up the "Djema'a", a political institution loosely based on traditional Sahrawi tribal leaders. The "Djema'a" members were hand-picked by the authorities, but given privileges in return for rubber-stamping Madrid's decisions.


title: Spanish Sahara

text: In the winter of 1975, just before the death of its long-time dictator Generalissimo Francisco Franco, Spain was confronted with an intensive campaign of territorial demands from Morocco and, to a lesser extent, from Mauritania. These culminated in the "Marcha Verde" ('Green March'), where a mass demonstration of 350 000 people coordinated by the Moroccan Government advanced several kilometres into the Western Sahara territory, bypassing the International Court of Justice's "Advisory opinion on Western Sahara" that had been issued three weeks prior. After negotiating the Madrid Accords with Morocco and Mauritania, Spain withdrew its forces and citizens from the territory.


title: Spanish Sahara

text: Morocco and Mauritania took control of the region. Mauritania later surrendered its claim after fighting an unsuccessful war against the Polisario Front. In the process of annexing the region, Morocco started fighting the Polisario Front, and after sixteen years, the UN negotiated a cease-fire in 1991. Today, the sovereignty of the territory remains in dispute between Morocco and the Sahrawi people, and referendum has not been possible to date due to dispute over who can vote.


title: Spanish Sahara

text: Western Sahara is listed by the United Nations (UN) as a non-decolonized territory and is thus included in the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories. Under international law, Western Sahara is not a legal part of Morocco and it remains under the international laws of military occupation.


title: Spanish Sahara

text: Moroccan settlers currently make up more than two thirds of the inhabitants of the territory. Under international law, Morocco's transfer of its own civilians into occupied territory is in direct violation of .


title: Spanish Sahara

text: UN peace efforts have been directed at holding a referendum on independence among the Sahrawi population, but this has not yet taken place. The African Union (AU) and more than 80 governments consider the territory to be the sovereign (albeit occupied) state of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), with a government-in-exile backed by the Polisario Front.


title: Education in Finland

text: The educational system in Finland consists of daycare programmes (for babies and toddlers), a one-year "pre-school" (age six), and an 11-year compulsory basic comprehensive school (age seven to age eighteen). Nowadays secondary general academic and vocational education, higher education and adult education are compulsory.


title: Education in Finland

text: During their nine years of common basic education, students are not selected, tracked, or streamed. There is also inclusive special education within the classroom and instructional efforts to minimize low achievement. After basic education, students must choose to continue with secondary education in either an academic track ("lukio") or a vocational track ("ammattioppilaitos"), both of which usually take three years and give a qualification to continue to tertiary education. Tertiary education is divided into university and polytechnic ("ammattikorkeakoulu", also known as "university of applied sciences") systems. Universities award licentiate- and doctoral-level degrees. Formerly, only university graduates could obtain higher (postgraduate) degrees, however, since the implementation of the Bologna process, all bachelor's degree holders can now qualify for further academic studies. There are 17 universities and 27 universities of applied sciences in the country.


title: Education in Finland

text: The United Nations Development Programme derived an Education Index, a reflection of mean years of schooling of adults and expected years of schooling of children, that placed Finland fourth in the world as of 2019.


title: Education in Finland

text: Finland has consistently ranked high in the PISA study, which compares national educational systems internationally, although in the recent years Finland has been displaced from the very top. In the 2012 study, Finland ranked sixth in reading, twelfth in mathematics and fifth in science, while back in the 2003 study Finland was first in both science and reading and second in mathematics. Finland's tertiary Education has moreover been ranked first by the World Economic Forum.


title: Education in Finland

text: While celebrated for its overall success, Finland had a gender gap on the 2012 PISA reading standards identified in a 2015 Brookings Institution report, but this can be put down to many factors such as the choice of the field of work into which each gender goes. The performance of 15-year-old boys then was not significantly different from OECD averages and was 0.66 of a standard deviation behind that of girls the same age.


title: Education in Finland

text: The governments of Jyrki Katainen, Alexander Stubb and Juha Sipilä cut education funds in Finland over 2011–2018 by a total of €1.5 billion. The number of university and college employees was cut by more than 7500.


title: Education in Finland

text: Literacy is a key part of Lutheranism, the state and majority religion of Finland, as Christians are supposed to be able to read the Bible in their native language. Bishop Mikael Agricola studied under Martin Luther and translated the New Testament to Finnish in 1548. The first university in Finland (Royal Academy of Turku) was founded in 1640. Literacy reached over 50% in the late 18th century and 80–90% in the mid-19th century. Where there were no schools in a municipality, reading was taught in traveling schools ("kiertokoulu"). Confirmation, a rite of transition to adulthood, is only permissible for the literate, and enables e.g. entrance into marriage. Official statistics are available from 1880, when literacy was 97.6%. The early system under Swedish rule was in Swedish and consisted of a basic "pedagogio" for teaching reading and writing, a trivial school teaching grammar, Latin, Greek, rhetoric and dialectics, a gymnasium preparing for university, and the university. In the 19th century, the system evolved into what was later known as "kansakoulu" ("people's school") and "oppikoulu" ("learning school"), including high school ("lukio"), followed by university. In mid-19th century, Finnish became an official language, and gradually replaced Swedish as the schooling language. In 1898, everyone was given the right to attend "kansakoulu". Attendance reached 50% in 1911 and became mandatory in 1921; municipalities were obliged to provide the schooling. Free school lunches became mandatory in 1948. "Oppikoulu", entered at the age of 10, was still optional and entrance was competitive. Since it was the only way to university education and entrance was heavily affected by the status and choices of parents, it severely limited the opportunities of the less-well off. Working-class people would often complete only the "kansakoulu" and enter the workforce. This system was phased out in 1972–1977 in favor of the modern system where grades 1–9 are mandatory. After the age of 15, the system bifurcates into academic ("lukio") and vocational tracks ("ammattioppilaitos") both at the secondary and tertiary levels. Recently, it became formally possible to enter tertiary education with a vocational degree, although this is practically difficult as the vocational study plan does not prepare the student for the university entrance exams.


title: Education in Finland

text: In Finland, high class daycare and nursery-kindergarten are considered critical for developing the cooperation and communication skills important to prepare young children for lifelong education, as well as formal learning of reading and mathematics. This preparatory period lasts until the age of 7. Finnish early childhood education emphasizes respect for each child's individuality and chance for each child to develop as a unique person. Finnish early educators also guide children in the development of social and interactive skills, encourage them to pay attention to other people's needs and interests, "to care about others", and to have a positive attitude toward other people, other cultures, and different environments. The purpose of gradually providing opportunities for increased independence is to enable all children to take care of themselves as "becoming adults, to be capable of making responsible decisions, to participate productively in society as an active citizen, and to take care of other people who will need his [or her] help."


title: Education in Finland

text: To foster a culture of reading, parents of newborn babies are given three books - one for each parent, and a baby book for the child - as part of the "maternity package". According to Finnish child development specialist Eeva Hujala, "Early education is the first and most critical stage of lifelong learning. Neurological research has shown that 90% of brain growth occurs during the first five years of life, and 85% of the nerve paths develop before starting school (NB: at the age of seven in Finland)." "Care" in this context is synonymous with upbringing and is seen as a cooperative endeavor between parents and society to prepare children physically (eating properly, keeping clean) and mentally (communication, social awareness, empathy, and self-reflection) before beginning more formal learning at age seven. The idea is that before seven they learn best through play, so by the time they finally get to school they are keen to start learning.


title: Education in Finland

text: Finland has had access to free universal daycare for children aged eight months to five years in place since 1990, and a year of "preschool/kindergarten" at age six, since 1996. "Daycare" includes both full-day childcare centers and municipal playgrounds with adult supervision where parents can accompany the child. Municipalities also pay mothers who wish to do so to remain at home and provide "home daycare" for the first three years. In some cases this includes occasional visits from a careworker to see that the environment is appropriate. The ratio of adults to children in local municipal childcare centers (either private but subsidized by local municipalities or paid for by municipalities with the help of grants from the central government) is, for children three years old and under: three adults (one teacher and two nurses) for every 12 pupils (or one-to-four); and, for children age three to six: three adults (one teacher and two nurses) for every 20 children (or circa one-to-seven). Payment, where applicable, is scaled to family income and ranges from free to about 200 euros a month maximum. According to Pepa Ódena in these centers, "You are not "taught", you learn. The children learn through playing. This philosophy is put into practice in all the schools we visited, in what the teachers say, and in all that one sees."


title: Education in Finland

text: Early childhood education is not mandatory in Finland, but is used by almost everyone. "We see it as the right of the child to have daycare and pre-school," explained Eeva Penttilä, of Helsinki's Education Department. "It's not a place where you dump your child when you're working. It's a place for your child to play and learn and make friends. Good parents put their children in daycare. It's not related to socioeconomic class".


title: Education in Finland

text: The focus for kindergarten students is to "learn how to learn", Ms. Penttilä said. Instead of formal instruction in reading and math there are lessons on nature, animals, and the "circle of life" and a focus on materials- based learning. It is strongly believed that when children develop learning to learn as a life skill and see the real life applications of the knowledge they gather, they will become lifelong learners.


title: Education in Finland

text: The compulsory educational system in Finland consists of a nine-year comprehensive school from 1st to 9th grade, (Finnish peruskoulu, Swedish grundskola, "basic school"), and with new legislation, the compulsory education was expanded to ages of 7 to 18 and to include upper secondary school (Finnish lukio, Swedish gymnasium) or vocational school (Finnish ammattikoulu, Swedish yrkesskola, "profession school"). (Homeschooling is allowed, but rare.) There are no "gifted" programs, and the more advanced children are expected to help those who are slower to catch on.


title: Education in Finland

text: In most countries, the term "comprehensive school" is used to refer to comprehensive schools attended after primary school, and up to 12th and 13th grade in some countries, but in Finland this English term is used to include primary school, i.e. it is used to refer to all of the grades 1 to 9 (and not higher grades). One can of course also describe the Finnish grades 1 to 6 in English as being comprehensive schools, but this is unnecessary and confusing because primary schools have always been comprehensive in almost all countries, including Finland. In addition, it is best to not try to translate the Finnish term "peruskoulu" with a single term in English. In order to avoid confusion in English, it is best to describe the Finnish compulsory education system as consisting of 6-year primary schools, called "alakoulu" or "ala-aste" in Finnish, followed by comprehensive 3-year middle schools, called "yläkoulu" or "yläaste" in Finnish. Although this division of the peruskoulu into two parts was officially discontinued, it is still very much alive — the distinction is made in everyday speech, the teachers' training and classification and teaching, and even in most school buildings. In addition, the use of two different terms for grades 1–6 and 7–9 is easier to understand for people from most other countries, most of which do not have a single term for primary and middle schools. On the contrary, middle schools and high schools are usually included in the term secondary education in English, which is why the use of this term in English is often confusing for Finns. (The Finnish direct translation "toisen asteen koulutus/oppilaitos" only refers to schools after 9th grade, i.e. high schools, vocational schools, etc.)


title: Education in Finland

text: Schools up to the university level are almost exclusively funded and administered by the municipalities of Finland (local government). There are few private schools. The founding of a new private comprehensive school requires a decision by the Council of State. When founded, private schools are given a state grant comparable to that given to a municipal school of the same size. However, even in private schools, the use of tuition fees is strictly prohibited, and selective admission is prohibited, as well: private schools must admit all its pupils on the same basis as the corresponding municipal school. In addition, private schools are required to give their students all the education and social benefits that are offered to the students of municipal schools. Because of this, existing private schools are mostly faith-based or Steiner schools , which are comprehensive by definition.


title: Education in Finland

text: Teachers, who are fully unionized, follow state curriculum guidelines but are accorded a great deal of autonomy as to methods of instruction and are even allowed to choose their own textbooks.


title: Education in Finland

text: Classes are small, seldom more than twenty pupils. From the outset pupils are expected to learn two languages in addition to the language of the school (usually Finnish or Swedish), and students in grades one through nine spend from four to eleven periods each week taking classes in art, music, cooking, carpentry, metalwork, and textiles. Small classes, insisted upon by the teachers' union, appear to be associated with student achievement, especially in science. Inside the school, the atmosphere is relaxed and informal, and the buildings are so clean that students often wear socks and no shoes. Outdoor activities are stressed, even in the coldest weather; and homework is minimal to leave room for extra-curricular activities. In addition to taking music in school, for example, many students attend the numerous state-subsidized specialized music schools after class where for a small fee they learn to play an instrument as a hobby and study basic solfège and music theory using methods originated in Hungary by Kodály and further developed by the Hungarian-born Finn Csaba Szilvay and others.


title: Education in Finland

text: Reading for pleasure is actively encouraged (Finland publishes more children's books than any other country). Television stations show foreign programs in the original languages with subtitles, so that in Finland children even read while watching TV.


title: Education in Finland

text: During the first years of comprehensive school, grading may be limited to verbal assessments rather than formal grades. The start of numerical grading is decided locally. Most commonly, pupils are issued a report card twice a year: at the ends of the autumn and spring terms. There are no high-stakes tests.


title: Education in Finland

text: Grades are awarded on a scale from 4 to 10. In individual exams, but not on school year report or basic education certificate, it is also possible to divide the scale further with '½', which represents a half grade, and '+' and '–', which represent one-fourth a grade better or worse. For example, the order is "9 < 9+ < 9½ < 10– < 10". The grade '10+' can also be awarded for a perfect performance with extra effort by the student.


title: Education in Finland

text: If a comprehensive school pupil receives a grade of 4 for a particular subject at the end of the spring term, they must show that they have improved in the subject by sitting a separate examination at the end of summer term. If the pupil receives multiple failing grades, they may have to repeat the entire year, though it is considered far preferable to provide a struggling student with extra help and tutoring. In the rare case where a student needs to repeat, the decision is made by the teachers and the headmaster after interviewing the pupil and the parents.


title: Education in Finland

text: Comprehensive school students enjoy a number of social entitlements, such as school health care and a free lunch every day, which covers about a third of the daily nutritional need. In addition, pupils are entitled to receive free books and materials and free school trips (or even housing) in the event that they have a long or arduous trip to school.


title: Education in Finland

text: In December 2017, the OECD reported that Finnish fathers spend an average of eight minutes a day more with their school-aged children than mothers do.


title: Education in Finland

text: Upper secondary education begins at 15 or 16 and lasts three to four years (roughly corresponding to the last two years of American high school plus what in the USA would be a two-year Community or Junior College). It used to be optional, but has since become compulsory since September 2021. Finnish upper secondary students may choose whether to undergo occupational training to develop vocational competence and/or to prepare them for a polytechnic institute or to enter an academic upper school focusing on preparation for university studies and post-graduate professional degrees in fields such as law, medicine, science, education, and the humanities. Admissions to academic upper schools are based on GPA, and in some cases academic tests and interviews. For example, during the year 2007, 51% of the age group were enrolled in the academic upper school.


title: Education in Finland

text: The system, however, is not rigid and vocational school graduates may formally qualify for a university of applied sciences or, in some cases, university education; conversely, academic secondary school graduates may enroll in vocational education programs. It is also possible to attend both vocational and academic secondary schools at the same time. Tuition is free, and vocational and academic students are entitled to school health care, a free lunch, books and a transport to the school.


title: Education in Finland

text: Upon graduation, vocational school graduates receive a vocational school certificate. Academic upper secondary school graduates receive both secondary school certification and undergo a nationally graded matriculation examination (Finnish: "Ylioppilastutkinto"). This was originally the entrance examination to the University of Helsinki, and its high prestige survives to this day. Students in special programs may receive a vocational school certificate and take the matriculation examination ("kaksoistutkinto") or all of the three certifications ("kolmoistutkinto"). Approximately 83% of the upper academic school students, or 42% of the age group, complete the matriculation examination.


title: Education in Finland

text: Polytechnic institutes require school certification for admission, whereas the matriculation examination is more important in university admissions. However, some tertiary education programs have their own admission examinations, and many use a mixture of both.


title: Education in Finland

text: In relation to mathematics, the second national language and foreign languages, a student can choose to study a curriculum from different levels of difficulty. Students choose their relevant levels at the beginning of school, when selecting appropriate courses, and at the end of school, when registering for the matriculation exam in order to receive the relevant exam paper. These two choices are not directly linked, but students generally keep the level the same for the matriculation exam. One common exception to this rule of thumb occurs when a student has barely completed a higher level course and is unsure of their performance in the matriculation exam. In those cases, a student may elect to take an easier exam.


title: Education in Finland

text: In mathematics, the advanced level is in practice a prerequisite for the more competitive university science programs, such as those of the universities of technology, other university mathematical science programs, and medicine. In mathematics, 20% of the matriculation examinees take the advanced level. The nationwide matriculation exam together with entirely percentile-based grading provides an easy way to objectively classify each student based on their mathematical ability, regardless of the year when the exam was taken. For example, assuming that the best mathematical students are selected first to the upper academic school and then to the advanced mathematics curriculum, the students achieving laudatur would comprise the mathematically best 0.4% of the age group, comparable to 800 SAT mathematics section. The percentile equality does not, however, mean that the absolute level of a laudatur student in the advanced mathematics in Finland is equal to that of an 800 SAT student in the US, due to differences in the mean quality of the population.


title: Education in Finland

text: Both primary and secondary teachers must have a master's degree to qualify. Teaching is a respected profession and entrance to university programs is highly competitive. A prospective teacher must have very good grades and must combat fierce opposition in order to become a teacher. Only about 10% of applicants to certain programs are successful.


title: Education in Finland

text: There are two sectors in the tertiary education: traditional universities ("yliopisto", "universitet") and universities of applied sciences ("ammattikorkeakoulu", "yrkeshögskola", or "AMK"/"YH" for short). Admissions are based on the high school final GPA, the high school final exam (the "abitur"), and the university entrance examinations. The selection process is fully transparent, merit-based, and objective; there are no application essays, no human factor in selection, no underrepresented minority support (except for preset quotas for Swedish speakers), and no weight on extracurricular activities. Moreover, the entrance examinations are rarely long multiple-choice exams, and instead consist of a smaller number of longer and more complicated questions that are supposed to test more than memorization and quick mechanical problem solving. Therefore, the selection process is very different from many other countries.


title: Education in Finland

text: The focus for universities is research in science, and they give theoretical education. In many programs graduating with a master's degree is expected, with no separate admissions process between Bachelor and master's degrees. The universities of applied sciences focus more on responding to the needs of the world of work and they engage in industry development projects. The nature of research is more practical and theories are applied to advanced problem solving. For example, physicians are university graduates, whereas registered nurses and engineers graduate from universities of applied sciences. (However, universities also award degrees in Nursing Science and Engineering.) The vocational schools and universities of applied sciences are governed by municipalities, or, in special cases, by private entities. (As an exception to the rule, the Police College is governed by the Ministry of the Interior.) All Finnish universities, on the other hand, were owned by the state until 2010, after which they have been separated from the state into foundations or corporations under public law. A bachelor's degree takes about three–four years. Depending on the programme, this may be the point of graduation, but it is usually only an intermediate step towards the master's degree. A bachelor's degree in a university of applied sciences (a polytechnic degree), on the other hand, takes about 3.5–4.5 years. Polytechnic degrees are generally accepted as equivalent to university degrees.


title: Education in Finland

text: Graduates from universities and universities of applied sciences are able to continue their studies by applying to master's degree programmes in universities or universities of applied sciences. After bachelor's degree graduates have completed three years' work experience in their field, they are qualified to apply for master's degree programmes in universities of applied sciences which are work- and research-oriented. Lower university degree graduates are also qualified to apply, but with additional studies. The master's degree programme in universities of applied sciences takes two years and can be undertaken in conjunction with regular work. After the master's degree, the remaining degrees (Licentiate and Doctor) are available only in universities. All master's degrees qualify their recipients for graduate studies at doctoral level.


title: Education in Finland

text: In universities, membership in the students' union is compulsory. Students' unions in universities of applied sciences are similarly recognized in the legislation, but membership is voluntary and does not include special university student health care (which is organised and partly financed by the students' unions). Finnish students are entitled to a student benefit, which may be revoked if there is a persistent lack of progress in the studies.


title: Education in Finland

text: Some universities provide professional degrees. They have additional requirements in addition to merely completing the studies, such as demonstrations of competence in practice. An example of such a degree is "Lääketieteen lisensiaatti", "medicine licentiat", Licentiate of Medicine. A Bachelor of Medicine ("lääketieteen kandidaatti", "medicine kandidat") is allowed to conduct clinical work under the supervision of senior medical staff. The Licentiate of Medicine is not equivalent to licentiate's degree in other fields, but to a master's degree. For this reason, no Licentiate's thesis is required unlike in other fields. The equivalent of a Medical Doctor in the U.S. sense is therefore not called "doctor", but licentiate. The research doctorate, which is equivalent to a PhD in Medicine, is called "Doctor of Medicine" ("lääketieteen tohtori", "medicine doktorsexamen").


title: Education in Finland

text: After the master's degree, there are two further post-graduate degrees — an intermediate postgraduate degree, called "Licentiate", and the doctoral (Doctorate) degree. A Licenciate programme has the same amount of theoretical education as a Doctor, but its dissertation work has fewer requirements. On the other hand, the requirements for a doctoral dissertation are a little bit higher than in other countries.


title: Education in Finland

text: The most typical Finnish doctoral degree is "Doctor of Philosophy" ("filosofian tohtori", "filosofie doktorsexamen"). However, universities of technology award the title Doctor of Science (Technology), "tekniikan tohtori", "teknologie doktorsexamen" and there are several branch-specific titles, e.g., in medicine "lääketieteen tohtori", "medicine doktorsexamen", in art "taiteen tohtori", and in social sciences "valtiotieteen tohtori", "politices doktorsexamen".


title: Education in Finland

text: Up until 2017, public universities in Finland did not collect tuition fees. However, since the 1990s there had been plans at government level to introduce tuition fees to students from outside the European Union/EEA. The students' organisations have opposed those plans.


title: Education in Finland

text: Since the autumn semester 2017, students from outside the EEA have to pay tuition fees of at least 1,500 euros per year to study in Finland, while students from the EEA continue to study for free. Typical tuition fees for non-European students range from around 6,000 to around 18,000 euros per year depending on the university and programme. The goal of the fees was to "advance these institutions' opportunities for education export and also expand their funding base", "putting greater emphasis on educational quality as a competitive factor."


title: Education in Finland

text: Completing secondary school on a vocational programme with full classes on a three-year curriculum provides a formal qualification for further studies. However, it may prove necessary to obtain post-secondary education before being admitted to a university, as the entrance examinations require a relatively high level of knowledge. Post-secondary education is provided by municipal schools or independent 'adult education centres', which can give either vocational education or teaching at comprehensive or upper secondary school levels. It is possible to obtain the matriculation diploma, or to better the comprehensive school grades, in these programmes. A new trade can also be learned by an adult at an adult education centre ("aikuiskoulutuskeskus", "vuxenutbildningscenter"), for example, if structural change of the economy has made the old trade redundant.


title: Education in Finland

text: In universities, the "Open University" (, ) programme enables people without student status to enroll in individual university courses. There are no requirements, but there is a modest tuition fee (e.g., 60 euros per course). Universities of applied sciences have their own similar programme (, ). While "Open University" students cannot pursue studies towards a degree, they may, after passing a sufficient number of separately determined courses with a sufficiently high grade point average, be eligible for transfer into an undergraduate degree program. Alternatively, a few institutions offer foreign qualifications, such as the private Helsinki School of Business, which offers the UK-accredited Higher National Diploma, enabling graduates to earn an undergraduate degree after completing a top-up year abroad.


title: Education in Finland

text: A third branch of adult education is formed by the so-called "vapaa sivistystyö", the "Free Education". This is formed by the partially state-funded, independent educational institutes offering diverse courses varying in length and academic level. The purpose of the "Free Education" is not to provide professional or degree-oriented education but to "support the multi-faceted development of personality, the ability to act in the community and to pursue the fulfilment of democracy, equality and diversity in the society." Historically, the "Free education" stems from the late 19th century efforts to educate the general populace with little previous academic experience.


title: Education in Finland

text: The most common type of "Free Education" is a "kansalaisopisto", sometimes called "työväenopisto" for historical reasons. These are mostly evening-type municipal institutions offering language, handicraft and humanities courses. The academic level varies strongly, and many courses do not require any requisite knowledge. The "kansanopistos", on the other hand, are boarding-schools, often maintained by associations with either a strong ideological or religious mission. Also here, the academic level varies strongly. In all these institutions, the courses carry a modest tuition. The Sports' training centers are institutions for the professional or semi-professional sportsmen's training, while Summer universities and study centers are auxiliary bodies for the organization of "Free Education".


title: Education in Finland

text: The Minister of Education has the responsibility of electronically preserving and distributing public domain works. Finland has millions of public domain works (books, pictures, music and films) and views access to them as a basic human right of access to science and culture.


title: Education in Finland

text: The ongoing Bologna Process blurs the distinction between vocational and academic qualifications. In some fields, new postgraduate degrees have been introduced. Co-operation between the different systems is rising and some integration will occur (although not without a substantial amount of pressure). This results from not only the Bologna Process but also the goal of Finnish politicians — to educate the vast majority of Finns to a higher degree (ca. 60–70% of each annual cohort enter higher education).


title: Education in Finland

text: In recent years, a cut in the number of new student places has often been called for by the economic sphere, as well as trade and student unions, because of an ongoing trend of rising academic unemployment, which is interpreted as a result of the steep increase in student places in higher education in the 1990s. In particular, some degrees in universities of applied sciences ("AMK"/"YH") have suffered inflation. In a reflection of this current belief, the Ministry of Education has recently decreed a nationwide cut of 10% in new student places in universities of applied sciences to be applied starting from 2007 and 2008. It is still largely undecided whether (and when) some of those cuts could be redistributed to areas in need of a more highly educated work force. In 2001 and 2002, university graduates had a 3.7% unemployment rate, and university of applied sciences graduates had 8%, which is on a par with the general unemployment rate (see the OECD report).


title: Education in Finland

text: In 2015, under prime minister Juha Sipilä's cabinet, the government decided to cut down on university funding by approximately €500 million.


title: Education in Finland

text: An increase in vocational school student places might be preferred, as a shortage of basic workforce such as plumbers and construction workers is widely acknowledged in Finland. It should also be noted that retiring age groups are bigger than the ones entering higher education in Finland at present and for quite some time into the foreseeable future. If the current number of student places were kept unchanged to the year 2020, for example, Eastern Finland would have enough student places for 103% of the estimated size of the age group 19–21.


title: Education in Finland

text: Due to globalization and increasing competition for diminishing younger age groups, system-wide restructuring has been called for by the Ministry of Education. Since 2006, all institutions of higher education have been sharing methods of cooperation. The total number of institutions is expected to drop significantly within 10–15 years.


title: Education in Finland

text: The process within universities began with merger of the University of Kuopio and the University of Joensuu into the University of Eastern Finland in 2010. In Helsinki, three local universities, namely Helsinki University of Technology, Helsinki School of Economics and University of Art and Design Helsinki, merged to a new Aalto University on 1 August 2009. Also several universities of applied sciences have announced mergers (such as Haaga and Helia, which merged into Haaga-Helia in 2007).


title: Education in Finland

text: New methods of cooperation such as consortia and federations have been introduced within universities (e.g., University of Turku and Turku School of Economics Consortium). Partnerships between traditional universities and universities of applied sciences are also developing (e.g., the University of Kuopio and Savonia University of Applied Sciences formed the Northern Savonia Higher Education Consortium). In general, such system-wide change closely follows the pattern established in Central Europe, the United States, Spain and Hungary.


title: Education in Finland

text: Commencing in the 2016–2017 academic year, Finland will begin implementing educational reform that will mandate that phenomenon-based learning be introduced alongside traditional subject-based instruction. As part of a new "National Curriculum Framework", it will apply to all basic schools for students aged 7–16 years old. Finnish schools have used this form of instruction since the 1980s, but it was not previously mandatory. It is anticipated that educators around the world will be studying this development as Finland's educational system is considered to be a model of success by many. This shift coincides with other changes that are encouraging development of 21st century skills such as collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking.


title: Education in Finland

text: In 2011, documentary filmmaker, Bob Compton, and Harvard researcher, Dr. Tony Wagner, researched the Finnish school system and its excellence. The result of their research is the film, "The Finland Phenomenon: Inside the World's Most Surprising School System".


title: Education in Finland

text: In 2018, the University of Helsinki announced together with the Finnish tech company Reaktor that they would aim to educate 1% (the total of 54,000) of all Finns on the basics of artificial intelligence. The organizations said they want to make Finland "the world's most educated country in the field of artificial intelligence." The course is freely accessible to anyone anywhere online and has already garnered over 220,000 sign-ups.


title: Education in Finland

text: One of the competitive advantages in Finland has been ability in foreign language. All students learn at least two languages in addition to their mother tongue, mainly English and obligatory Finnish or Swedish, up to high school. A citizens' initiative to remove obligatory Swedish from education reached parliament in 2014, but failed to pass. Despite being a mandatory part of the national curriculum, more than half of all Finns consider themselves to be unable to understand Swedish at an elementary or near elementary level. Over half of Finns report that Swedish has been completely or almost completely useless for them in their personal lives.


title: Ghost Festival

text: The Ghost Festival, also known as the Zhongyuan Festival (traditional Chinese: 中元節; simplified Chinese: ) in Taoism and Yulanpen Festival () in Buddhism, is a traditional Taoist and Buddhist festival held in certain East Asian countries. According to the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month (14th in parts of southern China).


title: Ghost Festival

text: In Chinese culture, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm. Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (or Tomb Sweeping Day, in spring) and Double Ninth Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, during Ghost Festival, the deceased are believed to visit the living.


title: Ghost Festival

text: On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is veneration of the dead, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths. Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mâché form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors. Elaborate meals (often vegetarian meals) would be served with empty seats for each of the deceased in the family treating the deceased as if they are still living. Ancestor worship is what distinguishes Qingming Festival from Ghost Festival because the latter includes paying respects to all deceased, including the same and younger generations, while the former only includes older generations. Other festivities may include buying and releasing miniature paper boats and lanterns on water, which signifies giving directions to the lost ghosts and spirits of the ancestors and other deities.


title: Ghost Festival

text: As a Taoist festival: Taoism has the "Three Yuan Theory", from which the name "Zhong Yuan" comes from. In the Tang Dynasty, when the rulers admired Taoism, the Taoist Zhongyuan Festival began to flourish, and the "Zhongyuan" was gradually fixed as the name of the festival. The festival was set on July 15 of the lunar calendar and has continued to the present day.


title: Ghost Festival

text: As a Buddhist festival: The origin story of the modern Ghost Festival, ultimately originated from ancient India, deriving from the Mahayana scripture known as the Yulanpen or Ullambana Sutra. The sutra records the time when Maudgalyayana achieves abhijñā and uses his newfound powers to search for his deceased parents. Maudgalyayana discovers that his deceased mother was reborn into the preta or hungry ghost realm. She was in a wasted condition and Maudgalyayana tried to help her by giving her a bowl of rice. Unfortunately as a preta, she was unable to eat the rice as it was transformed into burning coal. Maudgalyayana then asks the Buddha to help him; whereupon Buddha explains how one is able to assist one's current parents and deceased parents in this life and in one's past seven lives by willingly offering food, etc., to the sangha or monastic community during Pravarana (the end of the monsoon season or vassa), which usually occurs on the 15th day of the seventh month whereby the monastic community transfers the merits to the deceased parents, etc.,


title: Ghost Festival

text: The Theravadan forms of the festival in South and Southeast Asia (including Cambodia's Pchum Ben) are much older, deriving from the Petavatthu, a scripture in the Pali Canon that probably dates to the 3rdcenturyBC. The Petavatthu account is broadly similar to that later recorded in the Yulanpen Sutra, although it concerns the disciple Sāriputta and his family rather than Moggallāna.


title: Ghost Festival

text: The Ghost Festival is held during the seventh month of the Chinese calendar. It also falls at the same time as a full moon, the new season, the fall harvest, the peak of Buddhist monastic asceticism, the rebirth of ancestors, and the assembly of the local community. During this month, the gates of hell are opened up and ghosts are free to roam the earth where they seek food and entertainment. These ghosts are believed to be ancestors of those who forgot to pay tribute to them after they died, or those who were never given a proper ritual send-off. They have long needle-thin necks because they have not been fed by their family, or as a punishment so that they are unable to swallow. Family members offer prayers to their deceased relatives, offer food and drink and burn hell bank notes and other forms of joss paper. Joss paper items are believed to have value in the afterlife, considered to be very similar in some aspects to the material world. People burn paper houses, cars, servants and televisions to please the ghosts. Families also pay tribute to other unknown wandering ghosts so that these homeless souls do not intrude on their lives and bring misfortune. A large feast is held for the ghosts on the fourteenth day of the seventh month, when people bring samples of food and place them on an offering table to please the ghosts and ward off bad luck. Lotus-shaped lanterns are lit and set afloat in rivers and out onto seas to symbolically guide the lost souls of forgotten ancestors to the afterlife.


title: Ghost Festival

text: In some East Asian countries today, live performances are held and everyone is invited to attend. The first row of seats are always empty as this is where the ghosts sit. The shows are always put on at night and at high volumes as the sound is believed to attract and please the ghosts. Some shows include Chinese opera, dramas, and in some areas, even burlesque shows. Traditionally Chinese opera was the main source of entertainment but the newer shows, concerts, dramas, wars and so forth are referred to as Getai. These acts are better known as "Merry-making".


title: Ghost Festival

text: For rituals, Buddhists and Taoists hold ceremonies to relieve ghosts from suffering, many of them holding ceremonies in the afternoon or at night (as it is believed that the ghosts are released from hell when the sun sets). Altars are built for the deceased and priests and monks alike perform rituals for the benefit of ghosts. Monks and priests often throw rice or other small foods into the air in all directions to distribute them to the ghosts.


title: Ghost Festival

text: During the evening, incense is burnt in front of the doors of households. Incense stands for prosperity in Chinese culture, so families believe that there is more prosperity in burning more incense. During the festival, some shops are closed as they want to leave the streets open for the ghosts. In the middle of each street stands an altar of incense with fresh fruit and sacrifices displayed on it.


title: Ghost Festival

text: Fourteen days after the festival, to make sure all the hungry ghosts find their way back to hell, people float water lanterns and set them outside their houses. These lanterns are made by setting a lotus flower-shaped lantern on a paper boat. The lanterns are used to direct the ghosts back to the underworld, and when they go out, it symbolizes that they have found their way back.


title: Ghost Festival

text: Concert-like performances are a prominent feature of the Ghost Festival in Singapore and Malaysia. Those live concerts are popularly known as Getai in Mandarin or "Koh-tai" in Hokkien Chinese. They are performed by groups of singers, dancers, entertainers and opera troops or puppet shows on a temporary stage that is set up within a residential district. The festival is funded by the residents of each individual district. During these "Getai" the front row is left empty for the special guests—the ghosts. It is known to be bad luck to sit on the front row of red seats, if anyone were to sit on them, they would become sick or similarly ailed.


title: Ghost Festival

text: In Indonesia, the festival popularly known as "Chit Gwee Pua" (), "Chit Nyiat Pan" in Hakka, "Cioko", or "Sembahyang Rebutan" in Indonesian (Scrambling prayer). People gather around temples and bring an offering to a spirit who died in an unlucky way, and after that, they distribute it to the poor, the way people scramble the offerings is the origin of the festival name, these festival mostly known in Java Island. Other areas like at North Sumatra, Riau and Riau islands also held a live concert or known as "Getai" like those Chinese in Malaysia or Singapore, and there are also time for people who do Tomb sweeping or known as "Sembahyang Kubur" to respect to the ancestor spirit and looking for some luck, they will bought like a hell notes or "Kim Cua" () and paper-based goods like paper house, paper horse, paper car etc., those goods will end up burned as it was believed that goods will sent to help the spirit feel better in afterlife.


title: Ghost Festival

text: Traditionally, it is believed that ghosts haunt the island of Taiwan for the entire seventh lunar month, when the mid-summer "Ghost Festival" is held. The month is known as "Ghost Month". The first day of the month is marked by opening the gate of a temple, symbolizing the gates of hell. On the twelfth day, lamps on the main altar are lit. On the thirteenth day, a procession of lanterns is held. On the fourteenth day, a parade is held for releasing water lanterns. Incense and food are offered to the spirits to deter them from visiting homes and spirit paper money is also burnt as an offering. During the month, people avoid surgery, buying cars, swimming, moving house, marrying, whistling and going out or taking pictures after dark. It is also important that addresses are not revealed to the ghosts.


title: Ghost Festival

text: "Chūgen" (中元), also , is an annual event in Japan on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, when people give gifts to their superiors and acquaintances. Originally it was an annual event for giving gifts to the ancestral spirits.


title: Ghost Festival

text: One of the three days that form the of Daoism, it is sometimes considered a "zassetsu", a type of seasonal day in the Japanese calendar.


title: Ghost Festival

text: "Obon" (sometimes transliterated "O-bon"), or simply "Bon", is the Japanese version of the Ghost Festival. It has since been transformed over time into a family reunion holiday during which people from the big cities return to their home towns and visit and clean the resting places of their ancestors.


title: Ghost Festival

text: Traditionally including a dance festival called Bon Odori, Obon has existed in Japan for more than 500 years. In modern Japan, it is held on July 15 in the eastern part (Kantō) and on August 15 in the western part (Kansai). In Okinawa and the Amami Islands, it is celebrated as in China, on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month. In 2019, Obon was held on the same date in Kansai, Okinawa and the Amami Islands, as August 15 on that year, was also the 15th day of the 7th lunar month.


title: Ghost Festival

text: This festival is originally known as "Tết Trung Nguyên" and is viewed as a time for the pardoning of condemned souls who are released from hell. The "homeless" should be "fed" and appeased with offerings of food. Merits for the living are also earned by the release of birds and fish. The lunar month in which the festival takes place is colloquially known as "Tháng Cô Hồn" - the month of lonely spirits, and believed to be haunted and particularly unlucky.


title: Ghost Festival

text: Influenced by Buddhism, this holiday coincides with "Vu Lan", the Vietnamese transliteration for Ullambana.


title: Ghost Festival

text: In modern times, Vu Lan is also seen as Parents' Day. People with living parents would bear a red rose and would give thanks while those without can choose to bear a white rose; and attend services to pray for the deceased.


title: Ghost Festival

text: In Asian Theravadin Buddhist countries, related traditions, ceremonies and festivals also occur. Like its "Ullambana Sutra"-origins in Mahayana Buddhist countries, the Theravada scripture, the "Petavatthu" gave rise to the idea of offering food to the hungry ghosts in the Theravada tradition as a form of merit-making. In stories published in the "Petavatthu" Maudgalyayana, who also plays the central role in the rise of the concept in the Mahayana tradition, along with Sariputta also play a role in the rise of the concept in the Theravada tradition. Similarly to the rise of the concept in Mahayana Buddhism, a version of "Maudgalyayana Rescues His Mother", where Maudgalyayana is replaced by Sariputta is recorded in the "Petavatthu" and is in part the basis behind the practice of the concept in Theravadin societies. The concept of offering food to the hungry ghosts is also found in early Buddhist literature, in the "Tirokudda Kanda".


title: Ghost Festival

text: In Cambodia, a fifteen-day-long annual festival known as "Pchum Ben" occurs generally in September or October. Cambodians pay their respects to deceased relatives up to seven generations. The gates of hell are believed to open during this period and many people make offerings to these hungry ghosts.


title: Ghost Festival

text: In Laos, a festival known as, "Boun khao padap din" usually occurs in September each year and goes on for two weeks. During this period, it is believed that hungry ghosts are freed from hell and enter the world of the living. A second festival known as "Boun khao salak" occurs directly after the conclusion of "Boun khay padab din". During this period, food offerings are made to the hungry ghosts.


title: Ghost Festival

text: In Sri Lanka, food offerings are made to the hungry ghosts on the seventh day, three months and one year after the death day of a deceased person. It is a ceremony conducted after death as part of traditional Sri Lankan Buddhist funeral rites and is known as "mataka dānēs" or "matakadānaya". The offerings that are made acquire merit which are then transformed back into the equivalent goods in the world of the hungry ghosts. The offering that is offered on the seventh day, comes a day after personalized food offerings are given in the garden to the spirit of the deceased relative, which occurs on the sixth day. The deceased who do not reach the proper afterworld, the Hungry Ghost realm, are feared by the living as they are believed to cause various sicknesses and disasters to the living. Buddhist monks are called upon to perform "pirit" to ward off the floating spirits. The rite is also practiced in Thailand and Myanmar and is also practiced during the Ghost Festival that is observed in other Asian countries.


title: Ghost Festival

text: In Thailand, a fifteen-day-long annual festival known as "Sat Thai" is celebrated between September and October in Thailand especially in southern Thailand, particularly in the province of Nakhon Si Thammarat. Like related festivals and traditions in other parts of Asia, the deceased are believed to come back to earth for fifteen days and people make offerings to them. The festival is known as "Sat Thai" to differentiate it from the Chinese Ghost Festival which is known as "Sat Chin" in the Thai language.


title: Ghost Festival

text: The performance of Shraddha by a son during Pitru Paksha is regarded as compulsory by Hindus, to ensure that the soul of the ancestor goes to heaven. In this context, the scripture Garuda Purana says, "there is no salvation for a man without a son". The scriptures preach that a householder should propitiate ancestors (Pitris), along with the gods (devas), ghosts (bhutas) and guests. The scripture Markandeya Purana says that if the ancestors are content with the shraddhas, they will bestow health, wealth, knowledge and longevity, and ultimately heaven and salvation (moksha) upon the performer.


title: Ghost Festival

text: In Bali and some parts of Indonesia, particularly among the indigenous Hindus of Indonesia, ancestors who have died and cremated are said to return to visit their former homes. This day is known as Hari Raya Galungan and celebrations typically last over two weeks, often in the form of specific food and religious offerings along with festivities. The festival date is often calculated according to the Balinese pawukon calendar and typically occurs every 210 days.


title: Ant mill

text: An ant mill is an observed phenomenon in which a group of army ants are separated from the main foraging party, lose the pheromone track and begin to follow one another, forming a continuously rotating circle, commonly known as a "death spiral" because the ants might eventually die of exhaustion. It has been reproduced in laboratories and has been produced in ant colony simulations. The phenomenon is a side effect of the self-organizing structure of ant colonies. Each ant follows the ant in front of it, which works until a slight deviation begins to occur, typically by an environmental trigger, and an ant mill forms. An ant mill was first described in 1921 by William Beebe, who observed a mill 1200 ft (~370 m) in circumference. It took each ant two and a half hours to make one revolution. Similar phenomena have been noted in processionary caterpillars and fish.


title: Remya Nambeesan

text: Remya Nambeesan (born 24 March 1986) is an Indian actress, playback singer and dancer, who primarily works in Malayalam cinema. She started her career as an actress through the 2000 film "Sayahnam". She has acted in more than 60 films including Tamil, Telugu and Kannada languages.


title: Remya Nambeesan

text: Ramya Nambeesan was born in Chottanikkara, Cochin, Kerala to Subrahmaniam Unni and Jayasree. Her father is a former theatre artiste, who was an active member of troupes such as "Jubilee" and "Harishree". She has a brother, Rahul, who has worked as the music director in the Malayalam movie "Philips and the Monkey Pen" and as a playback singer in the film "Thattathin Marayathu". She attended the Mahatma Gandhi Public School, Ambadimala near Chottanikkara. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in Communicative English from St. Teresa's College, Ernakulam.


title: Remya Nambeesan

text: Ramya started her career as minor supporting roles in the following years in films including Sathyan Anthikad's satire film "Narendran Makan Jayakanthan Vaka" (2001), and "Gramophone" (2003).


title: Remya Nambeesan

text: She played her first and only leading role till date, as a bold dance teacher, is in the 2006 film "Aanachandam". Her subsequent projects, "Changathipoocha" (2007) and "Panthaya Kozhi" (2007) released to mixed reviews and offered hardly any scope for her, failing to propel her career. after the film went on to become a high commercial success. In 2008, "Anthiponvettam" was her only Malayalam film of 2008, which opened to largely negative reviews. In the following two years


title: Remya Nambeesan

text: In 2011, Ramya who till then had appeared in a series of repetitive roles as a village belle, undergoing an image makeover, choosing more serious, substantial and versatile roles. Her first release of that year was "Traffic", starring an ensemble cast. She portrayed Shwetha, a "stylish seductress", a character with negative shades. Although her role in the film was short, her performance was appreciated by critics. She next appeared in the thriller film "Chaappa Kurish" as Sonia, a secretary who has an affair with her colleague. She shot a long kissing scene with her co-star Fahad Fazil in the film – supposedly the first ever in Malayalam cinema — which upon release was termed as controversial, causing a great stir in the industry. Ramya later stated: "An actress should always be ready to take risks if her character demands so. Even when I was aware that the two-minute intense scene could create waves, I was sure that it was inevitable as it suited the plot. A sense of necessity made me accept that scene. I think director Sameer Tahir brought out the best in me. In fact, I enjoyed doing the scene". She went on to state that she did not regret "doing it"; she further credited the Tamil film industry for "propelling" her image makeover. She was part of two Tamil productions, "Ilaignan", scripted by former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi, and the romantic comedy "Kullanari Koottam". She performed a comical role as Priya, a zoology student, in the latter, and received positive feedback. Pavithra Srinivasan from "Rediff" noted that she was "pretty, expressive, and does well with what she's been given". She next appeared in a low-budget Telugu film by Ravi Babu, "Nuvvila", featuring a cast of almost all newcomers, in which she played a "girl with a fetish for cooking".


title: Remya Nambeesan

text: In "Bachelor Party" (2012) she was seen in a "very stylish role", and "Ivan Megharoopan" (2012) featured her in a cameo appearance. She also signed up Saji Surendran's comedy film "Husbands in Goa" (2012), in which she played a "docile wife", and an offbeat film by Priyanandanan, titled "Oru Yathrayil" (2013). She completed the shoot of "Damaal Dumeel" (2014), which is a black comedy thriller directed by Shree. She play a new-gen girl, opposite Vaibhav in the film. And "Naalu Policeum Nalla Irundha Oorum" (2015), in which she is paired opposite Arulnithi. But later, the actress again made a mistake by accepting similar kinds of roles; especially the characters with negative shades, in the second innings as well.


title: Remya Nambeesan

text: Ramya Nambeesan, who is extremely busy in Malayalam and Telugu, is back in Tamil with "Sethupathi" (2016). The bubbly actress says that she is choosy about her scripts and does not want to be typecast. Nambeesan been critically applauded for essaying most wonderfully the wife of Sethupathi (portrayed by actor Vijay Sethupathi). One of the high points of the movie is her riveting performance that includes a range of emotions—from love to anger to fear. She made a debut in the Kannada "Style King" (2016) opposite Ganesh. Ramya Nambeesan and Sibiraj had worked in critically acclaimed 2017 film "Sathya" (2017). She was successively in Tamil films with "Mercury" (2018), "Seethakaathi" (2018), "Agni Devi" (2019) and "Natpuna Ennanu Theriyuma" (2019). Remya Nambeesan was seen in the Malayalam movie "Virus" (2019) directed by Aashiq Abu.


title: Remya Nambeesan

text: Before her entry into the film industry, she was hosting a phone-in music show "Hello, Good Evening" on the Malayalam channel Kairali TV. Having learned carnatic music from her childhood, she has sung several numbers for devotional albums on Chottanikarai Bhagavathi. In 2011, composer and music director Sharreth called Ramya to record a song for the Malayalam biographical film on P. Kunhiraman Nair, "Ivan Megharoopan", after she had expressed her desire to sing to Sharreth at a reality show. She has since sung playback for several films including her own films like "Bachelor Party", "" and "Arikil Oraal" which she has acted in and for films she was not part of, like "Thattathin Marayathu" and "Amen". Her singing has been praised and got her offers from other South Indian film industries too. She has sung for the Telugu film "Telugabbai", for the Tamil film "Pandiya Naadu" and will be singing for a Kannada film. She got nominated for a Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer – Malayalam for her song "Andilonde" from "Ivan Megharoopan". She won many other awards for the song "Muthuchippi Poloru" from "Thattathin Marayathu", which was also one of the top Malayalam songs of 2012. She has worked with leading, award-winning music directors like Shaan Rahman, Prashant Pillai, M. Jayachandran, Gopi Sunder and D. Imman.


title: Remya Nambeesan

text: In 2014 she sang an Ayyappa devotional song, "Muttath ninnu Chirikkum", which garnered 1.5 lakh hits in YouTube. In 2020, she conceived and directed a short video film titled "Unhide". She has acted in short films like "The Little Riddle", "Me" etc.


title: Kay Lee Ray

text: Kayleigh Rae (born 11 August 1992), better known as Kay Lee Ray, is a Scottish professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Alba Fyre.


title: Kay Lee Ray

text: Rae began her wrestling career in 2009 and competed on the European independent circuit. She joined Insane Championship Wrestling in 2011, and while there, became a three-time ICW Women's Champion. After competing at the inaugural Mae Young Classic in 2017, Rae signed with WWE in early 2019 and debuted for the NXT UK brand. She moved over to NXT in 2021, and her ring name was changed to Alba Fyre the following year. Rae is a former NXT UK Women's Champion, for which she holds the record for the longest reign at 649 days.


title: Kay Lee Ray

text: Rae made her professional wrestling debut as Kay Lee Ray at SWA Battlezone on 30 May 2009, losing a Battlezone Rumble to determine the number one contender for the NWA Scottish Heavyweight Championship. On 9 August 2014, Ray defeated Martin Kirby to win the SWE Speed King Championship. On 28 February 2015, she defeated Candice LeRae, Nixon Newell and Saraya Knight to win the SWE Queen of Southside Championship. On 24 October 2015, Ray lost the championship to Newell in a tag team match where Jimmy Havoc, Newell's tag team partner, defended his Speed King Championship against El Ligero, Ray's tag team partner. On 27 December 2015, she was defeated by Ligero in a Loser Leaves Southside match. On 7 August 2016, Ray won the Queen of Southside Championship in a three-way match against Alex Windsor and Jade, a title that she lost two months later to Melina. On 16 June 2017, at WCPW Built to Destroy, Ray won the WCPW Women's Championship from Viper, who replaced Bea Priestley in the match.


title: Kay Lee Ray

text: Ray made her Insane Championship Wrestling debut at The Notorious I.C.W. on 6 February 2011, defeating Carmel. At Luke...Who Yer Da? on 4 May 2013, she defeated Viper in a tournament final to win the Fierce Females Championship, her first championship victory. On 27 July 2014 at Shug's Hoose Party, Ray and Stevie Boy unsuccessfully challenged for the vacant ICW Tag Team Championship in a match that was won by BT Gunn and Chris Renfrew. On 29 May 2015, she lost the Fierce Females Championship, now called the Scottish Women's Championship, to Viper in a 20-Woman Rumble, ending Ray's reign at 755 days. On 15 November 2015, Ray faced Nikki Storm and Viper in a three-way match for the inaugural ICW Women's Championship, a match that was won by Viper. On 20 November 2016, Ray won the ICW Women's Championship by defeating Viper and champion Carmel Jacob in a three-way match at Fear & Loathing IX. On 29 July 2017 at Shug's Hoose Party IV, Ray lost the ICW Women's Championship to Kasey Owens in 37 seconds. She won it back at 1 October "Fight Club" tapings. She lost the title the next month to Owens at Fear & Loathing X on 19 November in a three-way steel cage match also involving Viper. At Fear and Loathing XI on 2 December 2018, Ray won the Women's Championship from Viper in a Queen of Insanity match.


title: Kay Lee Ray

text: Ray appeared for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in 2014 on the second season of "TNA British Boot Camp". Her first match on the show was taped on 16 August, where she lost in a four-way match won by Nikki Storm and also involved Kasey Owens and Leah Owens. Her second match was a loss taped on 6 September in an eight-person tag team match alongside Al Snow, Grado, and Mark Andrews against Angelina Love, Dave Mastiff, Rampage Brown, and Noam Dar. On the finale, taped on 7 December, she was revealed to be in the top three competitors, after which she faced Gail Kim in a losing effort. Andrews won the show and the TNA contract. Ray later appeared on two episodes of "TNA Xplosion" taped in the United Kingdom, with the first being a victory alongside Noam Dar against Gail Kim and Rampage Brown on 29 January 2015, and the other on 31 January in a victory alongside Andrews, Dar, and Crazzy Steve against Brown, Dave Mastiff, Madison Rayne, and Samuel Shaw.


title: Kay Lee Ray

text: At the 5 May 2018 tapings of the newly-revived "World of Sport Wrestling", Ray won the vacant WOS Women's Championship in a three-way match against Bea Priestley and Viper. She successfully defended the title on subsequent episodes in a battle royal and a singles match against Viper. On 19 January 2019, on a WOS house show tour, Ray lost her title in a three-way match when she was successfully pinned by Viper.


title: Kay Lee Ray

text: Ray made her one-off WWE debut at the 8 October 2015 tapings of "NXT", losing to Nia Jax. She would compete in WWE again in 2017 as one of 32 competitors in the inaugural Mae Young Classic, where she lost to Princesa Sugehit in the first round on 13 July. The next night, she competed in a six-woman tag team match as part of the "WWE Mae Young Classic – Road To The Finals" event, where she teamed up with Jazzy Gabert and Tessa Blanchard to defeat Marti Belle, Santana Garrett, and Sarah Logan.


title: Kay Lee Ray

text: At on 12 January 2019, Ray and Jazzy Gabert appeared at ringside. It was later confirmed that the two had signed with WWE, marking Ray's first contract with WWE. On 13 March, Ray made her "NXT UK" in-ring debut as a villainness, defeating Candy Floss. On the June 19 episode of "NXT UK", Ray won a battle royal to earn an opportunity to face NXT UK Women's Champion Toni Storm at a time of her choosing. On 3 July episode of "NXT UK", Ray said she will face Storm at . At TakeOver: Cardiff, Ray defeated Storm to win the NXT UK Women's Championship, becoming the first British-born wrestler to hold the title.


title: Kay Lee Ray

text: On 13 November episode of "NXT", Ray interfered during a "WarGames Advantage" ladder match between Shayna Baszler's team member Io Shirai and Rhea Ripley's team member Mia Yim, helping Shirai win the match and revealing herself as the fourth member of Baszler's team in the first ever Women's WarGames Match. Ripley's team would go on and defeat Baszler's team at . On the 8 January 2021 episode of "NXT", Ray returned and teamed with Bianca Belair and Io Shirai in a six-woman tag team match against Storm, Ripley and Candice LeRae in a losing effort.


title: Kay Lee Ray

text: On the 12 December episode of "NXT UK", it was announced that Ray would defend the NXT UK Women's Championship against Storm and Piper Niven in a triple threat match at . Ray would go on to retain her title against Storm and Niven at TakeOver: Blackpool II. On the 27 February episode of "NXT UK", Ray retained her title against Storm in a stipulation that if Storm loses, she could no longer challenge Ray as long as she is champion. After the match, Ray started a feud with Niven after Niven watched Ray brutally attack Storm during the "I Quit" match. On the 2 April episode of "NXT UK", Ray and Jinny successfully defeated Niven and Dani Luna.