The Finnish Institute of International Affairs will hold the Helsinki Security Forum security conference in Helsinki 30 September–2 October 2022. The conference focusing on international affairs and security policy will bring together notable decision-makers and experts of international security policy. The event for invited guests features both programme closed to the wider public as well as publicly streamed panel discussions.
The theme of the Helsinki Security Forum, now held for the first time, is the changing safety situation in Europe. The event complements the series of other high-profile international security conferences by including international questions of safety that are especially important to Finland and our neighbouring regions. The conference speakers include names such as the President Sauli Niinistö, Prime Minister Sanna Marin, Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto, Minister of Defence Antti Kaikkonen, Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Helga Schmid, EU Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen and experts Michael Kofman and Constanze Stelzenmüller. The Finnish president is also the patron of the conference.
In addition to the City of Helsinki, the event sponsors and partners are the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, the Ministry of Defence and the Arctic Centre. The Mayor of Helsinki, Juhana Vartiainen, will participate in the programme along with other representatives of the city.
“Cities maintain and create the safety and security of their residents every day of the year. As the largest city in Finland, Helsinki has a special responsibility to maintain and protect our security situation. This is why I find it important that the City of Helsinki is part of the Helsinki Security Forum. Even the event’s name reflects the cities’ critical role in the international security environment and Helsinki’s historical part in the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe in 1975,” Mayor Vartiainen says.
Minna Liimatainen, Director of the City’s Safety and Preparedness Team, also believes that the proactive security work carried out by cities is vital.
“Security is the cornerstone on which the entire functional society, cities included, is built. Our job is to work together with the residents and the regional operators to facilitate this. I believe that this high-profile event is a strong indicator of our shared commitment to security work,” Liimatainen says.
Read more
Helsinki Security Forum programme(Link leads to external service) (only available in English)
Sign up for watching the livestream(Link leads to external service) (only available in English)
Mayor Vartiainen’s guest article on the event page of HSF:
Knowledge
does not increase pain(Link leads to external service) (only available in English)