All programme at Kulttuurikasarmi (Narinkka 2, Helsinki) except dinner at Vanha ylioppilastalo (Mannerheimintie 3, Helsinki)

8:30 MORNING WALK & RUN WITH FOUNDATION COLLEAGUES

In Helsinki city centre, starting from Kulttuurikasarmi

9:30 Registration opens

11:00 OPENING PLENARY

• Opening of the Conference
  
  Susanna Pettersson, CEO, Suomen kulttuurirahasto / Finnish Cultural Foundation
  Wivan Nygård-Fagerudd, director, Finlandsinstitutet i Stockholm, moderator of the conferenc
   
• Four messages on polarisation to Nordic Foundations
  
  Pekka Haavisto, member of the Parliament of Finland: on finding way across societal divides
  Oskar Rönnberg, researcher, University of Helsinki: On inequity & poverty, 
  Jasmine Kelekay, assistant professor, Howard University: On minorities & racism
  Amos Wallgren, activist: On climate realism & right to protest
   
• Foundation commentary
• Group discussions

12:30 LUNCH
 

13:30 BREAK OUT SESSIONS HOSTED BY DIFFERENT NORDIC FOUNDATIONS

► See the break out sessions here. Different sessions will be held on Thursday and Friday. 

15:00 COFFEE & CONTACTS: Time for refreshments and having 1-to-1 conversations with foundations of your interest

15:45 PLENARY

• Discussion: Art Making and Breaking Polarisation
  
  This session examines the roles of art in polarized societies from several different viewpoints. Dr. Riie Heikkilä, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Tampere University will address how the consumption of culture and the arts is polarizing in the Nordic countries. CEO of Libera think tank and Public Relations expert Riikka Kämppi discusses documentary film as a means to tame polarization with the cases of Boiling Point (Elina Hirvonen) and Snowball Effect (Pauliina Punkki). Artist and founder of Southnord Marcia Harvey Isaksson focuses on her personal artistic practice and how she uses it to examine what unites rather than divides us, and how our histories are intertwined.
   
• Keynote speech: "Are the Nordic welfare societies turning into charity societies?" by Nicklas Larsen 
  
  Nicklas Larsen is a futures practitioner, educator, author, and public speaker who advocates and mobilises for political representation of future generations. He wants to equip leaders with the critical skills and tools to imagine, plan, and prepare for emerging futures — driving systemic change, fostering intergenerational fairness, and shaping transformative approaches. Nicklas serves in more roles, among them as UNESCO Co-Chair in Futures Capabilities and Senior Advisor heading Arts and Culture, at the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies.

17:30 Free time before dinner

19:00 EVENING PROGRAM WITH DINNER AT VANHA YLIOPPILASTALO (Mannerheimintie 3, Helsinki)