Helsinki celebrates Pride Month together with city personnel and residents

City of Helsinki personnel can get into the spirit of Pride during the ongoing pre-Pride Week with a plentiful programme for city residents as well.
The patron of the pre-Pride Week is Mayor Juhana Vartiainen.

“Cities were born to satisfy our need for interaction and the opportunities these encounters provide. Together we are more – more creative and productive and, usually, we also have more fun together. Helsinki must be a city that accepts and respects different lifestyles and opinions. The city is committed to promoting non-discrimination, gender equality and human rights in its operations and services,” says Vartiainen.

Rainbow-themed events in libraries and cultural centres

The libraries, cultural centres and youth services celebrate Pride Month by organising various events promoting equality for sexual and gender minorities, such as workshops, film screenings and Pride evenings for young people.

The City Hall will host a discussion event entitled “Tasa-arvon, inkluusion ja yhdenvertaisuuden edistäminen yritysmaailmassa” on the promotion of equality, inclusion and non-discrimination in the business world on Wednesday, 31 May, at 14.00, with business experts sharing their views on how we can make our work culture truly inviting and inclusive. The panellists include Anneli Karlstedt from Nokia, Pauliina Heiskanen from Varma, Nanna Enström from Fiskars Group and Victor Brück from Nordea.

The event is open to all city residents and can be followed on Helsinki-kanava. The event space is accessible.

Helsinki is a member of the international Rainbow Cities Network that promotes the equality of LGBTI people at the local level. As part of its activities, the network annually organises a joint photo exhibition where each member city can submit one photo. This year, the theme of the exhibition is Queer Youth, referring to rainbow youth. The exhibition aims to draw attention to the vulnerable position of rainbow youth, to make them visible, to highlight measures by cities to promote their well-being and to send a message of hope and support to all rainbow youth in the world.

In Helsinki, the exhibition will be on display at the Stoa Cultural Centre until 23 July and in the lower lobby of the City Hall during Pride Week.

We walk with Pride events and training for personnel

Work communities are invited to join We Walk with Pride events to show their support for an equal and non-discriminatory city. Photos with the hashtag #wewalkwithpride are published this week on the City of Helsinki’s Instagram and LinkedIn accounts.

There will also be a Pride training session for the city personnel, organised in cooperation with Helsinki Pride.

The City is a partner of Helsinki Pride

The main event week of Helsinki Pride is from 26 June to 2 July. Equality and non-discrimination are celebrated all week around the city. The event is organised by the Helsinki Pride community, which works all year round to promote the rights of sexual and gender minorities. The City of Helsinki is one of the main partners of Helsinki Pride Week.