On Monday the 29th of March 2021, the Åland Islands Peace Institute will – for the seventh time – arrange the “Kastelholm Talks on Peace” on Åland. The Kastelholm Talks are annual conversations about peace, under the patronage of former President of Finland, Tarja Halonen.
Due to the pandemic, this year’s Kastelholm Talks will be held online and will thereby be available for everyone to take part in – both locally as well as outside the boarders of Åland. The theme of this year – “Making Peace – Meetings, Mediators and Peace” – is connected to the 100th anniversary of the Åland Solution and the Åland Example, and to the growing need for the promotion of peace.
The panel discussion will be held on the 29th of March at 15:00 EET – online as well as in the foyer of Alandica Culture & Congress Centre in Mariehamn, Åland. The patron of the talks, President Halonen, will discuss this year’s theme with a panel consisting of Jan Eliasson, Swedish ambassador, former Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and current Chairman of the Board of SIPRI and Björn Vikström, Professor of Theology at Åbo Akademi University, former bishop and Chairman of the Board of the Anders Chydenius Foundation. The discussion will be moderated by the Director of the Peace Institute, Sia Spiliopoulou Åkermark. The panel discussion will be subtitled in Swedish and will afterwards be available with English subtitles.
In March, we will launch ”Pre-Talks“ in the form of podcasts, where Johan Pawli, Chief of Police on Åland and former UN peacekeeper; Susann Simolin, doctoral candidate at Åbo Akademi University and Isak Svensson, Professor at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University, will be conversing with Kjell-Åke Nordqvist, Professor in International Relations, and contribute with their insights on this year’s theme. After the panel discussion, there will be a concluding conversation where the podcast-participants – along with the audience – will reflect on this year’s panel discussion. The audience can choose to participate digitally or – depending on the prevailing Covid19-recommendations – attend in person at the Jubilee-After Work in the foyer of Alandica.
Research Fellow. Lastly, the first recipient of the Åland Peace Fellowship 2021 is launched and revealed.
