Fredis 10 years old
The 10th anniversary was celebrated in 2002 with a peace cake and a seminar at which Teija Tiilikainen presented her paper on Åland, Finland and European security (link), which addresses Åland’s position in a possible NATO future. At the time, Finland was in a position where only one-fifth were in favour of NATO membership, and the seminar concluded that Åland’s demilitarisation was best guaranteed by popular support and a good knowledge of Åland’s international legal status outside Åland. (In 2018, Saina Heinikoski wrote a follow-up to Tiilikainen’s paper in the Journal of Autonomy and Security Studies – The Åland Islands, Finland and European Security in the 21st Century)
Fredis 20 years
20th anniversary, celebrated in June 2012. The Åland Islands Peace Institute received the house on Hamngatan as a gift from the Government of Åland, and this was celebrated with an open house and programme in the courtyard.
Fredis 25 years
The 25th anniversary was celebrated with a symposium that looked to the future: “Åland – a perspective on the future” in Alandica. Speakers included Jan Sundberg, Professor of Political Science at the University of Helsinki, Christian Pleijel, Programme Director at KTH in Stockholm, Secretary General of the European Small Islands Federation and expert on island communities, Hedda B. Langemyr, former Director of the Norwegian Peace Council and Barbro Sundback, former President of the Peace Institute.
