NEWS The 17th of September will mark 200 years since the peace treaty was reached between Sweden and Russia, ending the Finnish War. A new era of two centuries of peace was installed. Pax Nordica, an international peace and security conference in Umeå, will celebrate 200 years of peace and highlight the peace and security issues from a northern perspective. Among the noteworthy guests are Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria and Foreign Minister Carl Bildt.
Umeå continues to promote the Year of Commemoration 1809. One month after the last battle on Swedish soil in Sävar was re-enacted, Pax Nordica will be held exactly 200 years after the Treaty of Fredrikshamn (Hamnia) was signed, which marked the end of an era and the beginning of a new era. The Treaty of Fredrikshamn brought an end to the war and finalised the more than 600-year-old union between Sweden and Finland and contributed to a new security political order in Northern Europe.
Pax Nordica aims to highlight the northern dimension of European security policy for an audience in northern Sweden. The conference is an annual event that has spotlighted the different approaches to security and conflict for many years. This year's Pax Nordica is inspired by the Year of Commemoration 1809.
Jan Eliasson will introduce the conference on Thursday 17 September
Pax Nordica begins at the main campus of Umeå University with a welcoming speech titled “New Diplomatic Challenges for the Nordic Countries” by Jan Eliasson at 10:00 am in Lecture Hall A, Social Sciences Building. Mr. Eliasson is a former ambassdor and one of Sweden's most renowned and internationally respected diplomats
International academic conference and a bilateral meeting
During the afternoon of Thursday 17 September and throughout Friday 18 September, an international academic conference will take place, where access to the various sessions will be open to university staff, students, media and the general public. Researchers a wide range of disciplines will meet to discuss peace and security issues from multiple perspectives. On Friday, the Swedish network of the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) will meet its Finnish counterpart STETE in the context of a bilateral meeting.
Pax Expo - a chance to learn more about peace and conflict work
Pax Nordica's feature for the public, Pax Expo, takes place on Saturday 19 September at Umeå Folkets Hus. The intention is to give the public an insight into the experiences of peace and conflict work in the Nordic region and global arenas.
Pax Expo opens at 10:00 am on 19 September. Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria will make opening remarks and Carl Bild, Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs, will deliver a keynote address. The day will also include a presentation of the documentary film Fredsmaskinen (The Peace Machine). Thereafter, six speeches will be delivered featuring Nordic perspectives on and experiences of, peace and security. The speakers are from Sweden, Finland, Norway and Canada. Among the speakers are Tomas Ries, Theorin, Samantha Arnold, Willy Östreng, Åke Sellström and Pekka Haavisto.
Press and media representatives are welcome to attend the conference.
Read more about the conference – download the programme (in Swedish)
For more information, contact:Niklas Eklund, Dept. of Political SciencePhone: +46 (0)90-786 61 72
E-mail: niklas.eklund@pol.umu.se
Martin Hårdstedt, Department of Historical, Philosophical and Relgious StudiesPhone: +46 (0)90-786 71 49
E-mail: martin.hardstedt@historia.umu.se