President of Estonia Alar Karis to give the keynote speech at the Martti Ahtisaari Lecture in Jyväskylä 13.2.2024

President Alar Karis of Estonia will arrive in Jyväskylä on 13 February 2024 and will give a keynote speech at the Martti Ahtisaari Lecture entitled: Our strength is a path to peace, weakness breeds more war.

6.2.2024

After the lecture, President Alar Karis will be interviewed by Sinikukka Saari, Senior Researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. The interview will cover issues such as Russia, Ukraine, relations between Finland and Estonia and the security of the Baltic Sea.

The sixteenth Martti Ahtisaari Lecture in Jyväskylä is a discussion event in honour of Martti Ahtisaari's peace work. The lecture will take place in the main building of the University of Jyväskylä, Ballroom C1, on Tuesday 13 February 2024 at 15.00 (Seminaarinkatu 15, Jyväskylä).

The event will begin with opening remarks by Jari Ojala, Rector of the University of Jyväskylä, followed by a speech by President Alar Karis. Musica choir will perform after the speech. After the musical performance, Sinikukka Saari will interview the President. The closing remarks will be made by Vesa-Pekka Kangaskorpi, CEO & President Keskisuomalainen Oyj.

The Martti Ahtisaari Lecture is open to the public. The event is in English. The audience is kindly requested to be seated in the ballroom by 14.30.

The lecture can also be followed live on the website of the newspaper Keskisuomalainen at https://www.ksml.fi .

Martti Ahtisaari Lecture addresses topical issues related to security

On November 8, 1999, the presidents of the republics of Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland gathered in Jyväskylä to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the end of the Cold War. The presidents discussed current issues and addressed the audience in the Main building of the University of Jyväskylä. The presidents in turn presented
their views on the future prospects of their own country and Europe. This occasion gave rise to the Martti Ahtisaari Lecture.

The series of lectures carrying Martti Ahtisaari's name has become a high-level event, where prominent Finnish and international speakers shed light on topical issues, mainly related to international security. Speakers have been:

Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto, Head of Security Policy at the Swiss Ministry of Defence Pälvi Pulli, Commander of the Finnish Defence Forces Jarmo Lindberg, EU Commissioner for Monetary and Economic Affairs Olli Rehn, Prime minister of Finland Jyrki Katainen, Prime minister of Finland Mari Kiviniemi, Chairman of Nokia and Royal Dutch Shell Jorma Ollila, President of the Republic of Turkey Abdullah Gül, President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari, President of Finland Tarja Halonen, President of the Republic of Macedonia Branko Crvenkovski, Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen, President of the Republic of Estonia Arnold Rüütel, Prime Minister of Sweden Göran Persson, Councilor of State Harri Holkeri and Minister Max Jakobson.

The Martti Ahtisaari lectures are organised by the City of Jyväskylä, University of Jyväskylä, the newspaper Keskisuomalainen and the National Defence Course Association of Central Finland.

The timetable, programme and arrival instructions are available at: https://www.jyvaskyla.fi/en/city-and-administration/projects/martti-ahtisaari-lectures

More information:

• City of Jyväskylä, Administrative Director Heli Leinonkoski, tel. +358 50 365 4287
• Mediahouse Keskisuomalainen, Deputy Editor-In-Chief Inkeri Pasanen, tel. +358 14 622 253
• Central Finland National Defence Association, Heikki Tervanen, tel. +358 50 593 5764