International conference on sustainable Nordic democracy

03.12.21 | News
Nordiska flaggor
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Magnus Fröderberg/Norden.org
Co-operation between the Nordic countries and the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland as an example of sustainable democracy is the theme for an international conference to be held in the Danish parliament, the Folketing, in Copenhagen on 8 December.

The purpose of the conference is to present the strong democratic systems that characterise the Nordic countries, and to show how the participation of the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland in Nordic co-operation strengthens sustainable democracy in the Nordic Region.

The conference is aimed at diplomats, politicians, and international organisations from the Nordic Region and beyond.

The theme of the conference coincides with the Nordic prime ministers’ vision for the Nordic Region to be the most sustainable and integrated region in the world by 2030. Discussing, for example, how the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland can stand as examples and even pioneers of social and environmental sustainability is highly relevant in light of the objectives of the vision.

Speakers at the conference include Finland’s first woman president Tarja Halonen, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights at the UN Ilze Brands Kehris, President of the Nordic Council Bertel Haarder, ministers (including several of the Ministers for Nordic Co-operation), academics, and civil servants, as well as historian and author Gunnar Wetterberg from Sweden.

The organiser of the conference is the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA), commissioned by the Finnish presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2021 in collaboration with Åland and the Nordic Council of Ministers. The conference will be opened by the Finnish and Ålandic Ministers for Nordic co-operation, Thomas Blomqvist and Annette Holmberg-Jansson.

In connection with the conference, on 7 December the FIIA will publish a research report in collaboration with the Åland Islands Peace Institute. Programme Director Katja Creutz at FIIA has primary responsibility for the report. A link to the research report will follow once it has been published. 

The conference will take place from 12:30 to 16:30 (CET) and will be streamed live (link below).

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