Category: Seminar

The Castle is now full, but you are welcome to watch the Kastelholm Peace Talks online here on the website on 27 March. No pre-registration is required for it. Just visit our website when the broadcast starts at 14.15 EEST. If you are here in Mariehamn, make sure to come to the After Talk at Mariehamn City Library at 17.00 on 27 March in collaboration with Mariehamn Literature Days, where we will continue the conversation from the castle. The castle panel and President Tarja Halonen will be present and anyone can ask their own question. The event is free and no pre-registration is required.  

On 27 March 2025, it’s time for this year’s Kastelholm Talks. And as of today, registration is open! You can register for the whole event or can choose to participate in parts of it. First, there will be a talk at 14.15 at Kastelholm Castle, where the castle panel will discuss this year’s theme, chaired by Katja Creutz, Programme Director for Global Security at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs and Chair of the Peace Institute’s Research Council. This year’s panel includes Minna Kukkonen-Karlander, Anders Lidén and Annika Söder. The dialogue will be held in English and will also be broadcast live online. There will be a free shuttle bus to and from the castle for those who need it. The discussion will then continue with the same speakers in a roundtable format at 17.00 at Mariehamn City Library in co-operation with Mariehamn Literature Days. The round table will develop the dialogue that has taken place at the castle and link it to a Nordic and local perspective. The dialogue will be held in Swedish and the audience will have the opportunity to ask questions to the panel. Isabel Bramsen, mediator and associate professor at Lund University, will begin with

It is with great pleasure that we now present this year’s castle panel during the Kastelholm Talks 2025: Minna Kukkonen-Karlander, Anders Lidén and Annika Söder. Minna Kukkonen-Karlander is Senior Manager at Crisis Management Initiative’s (CMI) Asia Programme since August 2021, focusing on North East and South East Asia. Prior to that, she worked as a manager and advisor in several of CMI’s mediation and conflict resolution activities in sub-Saharan Africa and Indonesia. Between 2011 and 2018, she worked as an advisor to President Ahtisaari, supporting him in his global initiatives and commitments related to conflict resolution, peacebuilding and sustainable development. She has over ten years of experience in peace mediation and conflict resolution, policy advice and practical implementation. Ms Kukkonen-Karlander holds a Master of Laws (LLM) from Uppsala University specialising in International Law. Anders Lidén holds a PhD in political science. He was Sweden’s UN Ambassador in New York from 2004-10. He has also served as Ambassador to Israel, Zimbabwe and Finland with side accreditations in Cyprus, Malawi and Mauritius, and as Counsellor for Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Stockholm. Mr Lidén is the author of two books on diplomacy: Diplomati och uppriktiga samtal 2017 and

Photo: Cata Portin, Förlaget M Today, there are less than three weeks left until this year’s Kastelholm Peace Talks and we are pleased to announce that the award-winning author Ulla-Lena Lundberg is one of the participants in the round table discussion at Alandica starting at 5 pm, where she, together with other invited guests, comments on this year’s castle talks and takes the discussion further on this year’s theme “The future and us”. Ulla-Lena Lundberg was born in Kökar in 1947 and grew up in various parts of Swedish Finland with strong ties to Åland. She has been active as a writer since her early debut in 1962 and has been a freelance radio broadcaster from a young age, a guest writer at the University of Minnesota in 1986-87 and a Finnish professor of art from 1999-2004. She is best known for several award-winning novels. These include Regn (1986), Leo (1989), Marsipansoldaten (2001), Is (2012) and Lyser och lågar (2022), but she has also written a great deal of documentary literature, such as Kökar (1976), Öar i Afrikas indre (1981) and Siberia. Ulla-Lena has early in life been interested in social issues, politics and peace work through long stays abroad

21 March 2024 is the date for this year’s Kastelholm talks. And as of today, registration is open! You can register for the whole event or you can choose to participate in parts of it. First, there will be a talk at 14:15 at Kastelholm Castle, where the castle panel will discuss this year’s theme, chaired by Sia Spiliopoulou Åkermark. This year’s panel includes KG Hammar, Lotta Tuominen and Bi Puranen. The discussion will be held in English and broadcast live online. The discussion will then continue in round table format at 17.00 at Alandica in Mariehamn, where invited guests will comment on the castle talk and take the discussion further. The roundtable will be held in Swedish. In addition, the programme will be extended this year to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Kastelholm talks. Everyone is welcome to participate in the celebration at Alandica from 19:00 to 22:00 with various cultural elements in cooperation with Föreningen Norden. Register for this year’s Kastelholm talks here. Everyone is welcome, but as places are limited, it is first come, first served. We would also like to draw your attention to the fact that the talks coincide with Mariehamns litteraturdagar, allowing for

It is with great pleasure that we now present this year’s castle panel for the Kastelholm talks 2024: K G Hammar, Bi Puranen and Lotta Tuominen. K G Hammar is a theologian and visiting professor at the Centre for Theology and Religious Studies at Lund University and former Archbishop of the Church of Sweden (1997-2006). Bi Puranen is Associate Professor of Economic History and Secretary General of the World Values Survey Association. She is a researcher at the Institute for Futures Studies in Sweden. Lotta Tuominen is Coordinator for Peace Work at the Finnish Scouts and a member of the Youth, Peace and Security Network in Finland. She is a former youth delegate to the EU and a member of the International Committee through Allians, the umbrella organisation of the Finnish youth sector. On Thursday 21 March, the Åland Islands Peace Institute will host the tenth “Kastelholm Peace Talks” in Åland. The Kastelholm Talks are regular peace-themed talks held under the patronage of former Finnish President Tarja Halonen. This year’s theme is “The future and us” How do we think and talk about the future today? Are there differences between generations in the way we think about the future? What