Sustainable development featured at the Presidential Forum

Office of the President of the Republic of Finland
Press Release 16 March 2011

The theme of the XVII Presidential Forum to be organised at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday, 22 March will be sustainable development.

Increasing environmental problems and the difficulties in attaining the UN Millennium Development Goals demonstrate the need for a new type of approach for tackling global challenges. In August 2010 President of the Republic Tarja Halonen was invited to co-chair the UN High-level Panel on Global Sustainability. The main objective of the panel is to form a new vision of sustainable growth and to make recommendations for measures geared towards its achievement.

In addition to the President of the Republic, invited speakers at the Presidential Forum will include Minister of the Environment Paula Lehtomäki, Senior Research Scientist Antti Kasvio, and Chairman of the Board, Professor Helena Ranta. The event will be chaired by journalist Tarmo Ropponen.

Participants from different areas of society, including Members of Parliament, researchers and representatives of various organisations, have been invited to the forum.

The Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) will webcast the Presidential Forum live and will also show highlights on TV1 the same say from 15.50–16.50 pm.

Presidential Forums have been arranged since 2006. Themes on previous occasions have included Finnish labour competitiveness, expertise and innovations, foreign policy, care for the elderly, the Baltic Sea, tolerance, municipal services, the “silent years” in Finnish history, Finland in the face of change, fundamental and human rights, jobs and unemployment, climate change, family violence, globalisation and the UN Millennium Development Goals, peacekeeping and crisis management, and the arctic region.