Kastelholm Talks on Peace 2022
On Wednesday the 30th of March 2022, the Åland Islands Peace Institute will – for the eighth 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.
This year’s theme is “Breakthrough or Breakdown? About Building Trust and Enhancing Disarmament Today”. In Europe, tensions have risen since late 2021 as a consequence of military activities along the borders of Ukraine and due to mutual military threats, especially following Russia’s claims for a new regional security regime. Is international cooperation on the verge of collapse? Are military answers to the complex questions we face today enough? Do also positive things take place but disappear in public debate? What can politics and diplomacy do in such a situation? How can we strengthen trust and cooperation around the Baltic Sea? What role do the Nordic countries play in the arms trade but also in disarmament work? What opportunities and priorities are before us?
The panel discussion will be held on the 30th of March – at the Kastelholm castle, where the patron of the talks, President Halonen, and a moderator, will discuss this year’s theme with a panel consisting of Stefan Löfven, Tarja Cronberg and Mikael Wigell. There are a limited number of places at the venue and you must register in advance to be able to participate.
After the panel discussion, a Concluding Conversation will be held at Alandica Kultur och Kongress hall i Mariehamn, where invited guests – along with the audience – will reflect on what has been said and deepen and develop the discussions. Do not miss this opportunity to attend and participate in these important conversations. Afterwards there will be time for mingling and an opportunity for the press to interview the speakers.
Are you interested to know more about this year’s theme in advance? Listen to our podcast serie “Before the Kastelholm talks 2022”, where various knowledgeable guests give their perspective on this year’s theme. New episodes are released successively in March.
Registration for the panel discussion at the Kastelholm castle and for the Concluding Conversation at Alandica opens on 1st of March on our website www.peace.ax
Stefan Löfven, is a Swedish labour leader (2012–2021) and a Social Democratic politician who served as prime minister of Sweden (2014–2021). He has – as a state and party leader in a coalition government – both experience of complex conversations and of how to build trust within and between countries also in challenging times. Dr Tarja Cronberg is a Distinguished Associate Fellow at the SIPRI European Security Programme and Chair of the Finnish Peace Union. While in Finnish politics, she has been a member of both the European Parliament and the Finnish Parliament. She was the leader of the green party “Gröna förbundet” in 2005-2009 and Finnish Minister of Labor in 2007-2009. Mikael Wigell is Research Director at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, where he previously directed the Global Security research programme. He is also Adjunct Professor in International Political Economy at the University of Tampere and Non- Resident Associate at the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE).
Contact:
Liz Lindvall, information officer +358 40 801 99 98 | liz@peace.ax
Linn Simonsson, project manager +358 40 029 25 74 | linn@peace.ax
