On the 30th of March, at the day of the demilitarization of Åland, a seminar on peace workwas held at Ålands handelsläroverk in Mariehamn. At the seminar persons who have contributed to peace related work abroad shared their experiences. The possibilities to use Ålandic experiences in peace work was discussed, with the Åland example as a point of departure.The seminar was held in Swedish.Download Tom Asplund's presentation of CMC here. (pdf)

The Finnish Ministry for foreign affairs has awarded the Åland Islands Peace Institute a grant of € 40.000 for research on the Åland example. The purpose of the research project, which has the working title ‘The Ålandexample: Still interesting and relevant?’, is to produce an updated publication about the Åland example in its entirety, aimed at an international audience.

The research will examine the dynamic nature and development of Ålandic self-governance and investigate how the system has changed over time, who the central actors in this development are and have been, and how tensions between Mariehamn and Helsinki have been managed. The research project will also gather and analyze the insights of experienced diplomats, experts and politicians in respect to the application of the Åland example in international conflict situations.

The project will result in a book in English and in a large international conference on Åland in the autumn of 2011. The project is led by the director of the Åland Islands Peace Institute, Sia Spiliopoulou Åkermark, associate professor in international law. Contributing to the project are amongst others Sarah Stephan and Heidi Öst, researchers at the Åland Islands Peace Institute.

Ålands fredsinstitut har beviljats medel från Central Baltic Interreg IVA-programmet för ett 28 månader långt projekt där målet är att utmana könsstereotypa uppfattningar för att på så vis bekämpa våld och sexslaveri. Projektet kallas "Challenging Gender Roles for Prevention of Trafficking" och genomförs tillsammans med partnerorganisationen "Resurscenter för kvinnor, Marta" i Lettland.Fredsinstitutet arbetar sedan tidigare tillsammans med partnerorganisationer i närområdet med olika metoder för "empowerment" bland annat i form av tjej- och killgruppsverksamhet. Tjej- och killgruppsmetoden är en nordisk modell för att i direktkontakt med ungdomar arbeta med att stärka individen, förbättra möjligheterna för deltagande i samhället och samtidigt ifrågasätta könsstereotyper och ge förutsättningar för ökad jämställdhet. Fredsinstitutet hoppas kunna stärka samarbetet med personer och organisationer som redan arbetar med tjej- och killgruppsmetoden på Åland. Gruppledare ska inom projektet utbildas och tjej- och killgrupper ska startas både på Åland och i Lettland, där metoden inte tidigare prövats. Två forskare ska arbeta med att följa och utvärdera tjej- och killgruppsverksamhetens effekter för gruppmedlemmarna, gällande bland annat synen på sig själv och sin roll i samhället samt uppfattningen av könsroller och jämställdhet. En tredje del av projektet handlar om att genom kampanjer och nätverkande lyfta fram vikten av jämställdhet, och visa på korrelationen mellan könsstereotyper och våld, framför allt i form av sexslaveri. Fredsinstitutet leder projektet som pågår från oktober 2009 till december 2011. Central Baltic Interreg IVA-programmet finansierar närmare 80% av projektets totala budget som ligger på 655.871 euro. Ålands fredsinstitut ser det som mycket glädjande att EU vill satsa på det civila samhällets arbete med att främja jämställdhet och aktivt medborgarskap och därigenom motverka sexslaveri.

Andreas Gross, member of the Swiss National Council, member of the Parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe and political scientist visited Åland recently. Kamala Ramazanova, volunteer at the Åland Island Peace Institute, had the opportunity to interview him about the conflicts in the Caucasus region.The article can be downloaded in pdf here. In 2003 Andreas Gross wrote a report on positive experiences of autonomous regions as a source of inspiration for conflict resolution in Europe. He used some examples in the report and one of them is the case of the Åland Islands.You can see the full report at the homepage of the Council of Europe.

This week-end Turkey and Armenia signed an agreement on normalizing their relations by opening up their borders and starting diplomatic relations. Kamala Ramazanova, volunteer at the Peace Institute has written an article on the event.The article can be downloaded here.

During her LLP Erasmus training at the Åland Islands Peace Institute during the summer of 2009 Klaudia Wiszniewksa, who studies for a master’s degree in political science at University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland, has written a working paper on Polands view of the North Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea.The working paper can be downloaded here.

When Nobel Prize winner, President Martti Ahtisaari visited Åland in connection to a meeting of the Nordic Council 29-30.9.2009, Åland Island Peace Institute volunteer and Azeri journalist Kamala Ramazanova got the opportunity to ask him about the Nagorno Karabakh question:

The approachment between Turkey and Armenia will affect the solution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict:

“I definitely believe that normalization of the relation between Turkey and Armenia would be a very positive contribution to solving the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. So, that will also help us to look at the Nagorno Karabakh problem in a new perspective”, said Ahtisaari.

According to him, it is an important thing is when one try to get a solution that one gets involved, whoever does the negotiations or helps in the mediation process requires the main countries' support. If those who do matter are not supporting you, you can’t succeed.

“In every conflict the role of America is rather crucial. You have to get them to support”, noted Ahtisaari.

Ahtisaari also said that the conflict depends on the relationship between the major powers.

“Hopefully we will see improvement. Relationship between West and East, Russia and the rest, was not the best possible when looking for a Kosovo solution. The financial crisis has also helped us in that sense that people realized we need each other much more”.

With regard to the meeting of the Nordic Council of Ministers on Åland on 29 September 2009, the Ålandic newspapers have published a debate article by the Åland Islands Peace Institute's director Sia Spiliopoulou Åkermark. Read the article here.

On August 18th, the Åland Islands Peace Institute invited Aud Lise Norheim to speak about her experiences as a Norwegian diplomat in Mariehamn’s City Library. Aud Lise Norheim can look back on 20 years in the Norwegian civil service and draw from a rich career in international diplomacy. In Mariehamn she shared her experiences with, among others, 24 young women from Scandinavia and the Caucasus who seized their chance to hear Aud Lise answer the question “How can a small country make a difference for peace?”, or what is Norway’s recipe for itsrelative success as a mediator in violent conflicts? Aud Lise Norheim sees her benefit as a Norwegian Ambassador in the fact that she can “talk to everybody”. Considering the complexity of the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East this is a status not shared by many.A summary of the speech can be found here.

On the 1st to 2nd of September the Åland Islands Peace Institute, together with the Japan Local Government Centre (London), is organising a seminar on the theme “Transforming the relationship with Central Government”, in Mariehamn, Åland. The purpose is to compare the two island regions since they show interesting similarities and differences. The invited speakers from Okinawa, Japan, and Åland, Finland, will discuss issues concerning economy, peace and politics.

The comparison focuses on the self-governing, demilitarized Åland region and the Ryukyu islands southwest of the Japanese mainland in the Pacific Ocean. The islands with 1,4 million inhabitants are a popular tourist resort and have a language and culture distinct from the mainland. The U.S. military presence in Okinawa after World War 2 has had great impact on Okinawa’s social, economic, and cultural development.  For the self-sustaining development of Okinawa, Okinawa is setting up a centre for IT industry accumulation and an institute of science and technology. Okinawa has a special free trade zone since 1999 to promote industry and trade.

The seminar is open to the ublic, but will be kept small, why interested participants are required to apply to petra(at)peace.ax.

The seminar programme can be downloaded here.

 

The Norwegian ambassdor in Beirut, Lebanon, will give a public speech at the City library in Mariehamn, Åland, on the 18th of August at 13.30-15.00. The ambassador will speak on the importance of continuous dialogue as a peresiquite for peace making and will share her experiences from a long career around the world, including work in the Middle East and South Africa. The name of the lecture is 'How  can a small country make a difference for peace?'.

On June 20th 2009, the World Refugee Day was observed around the world. On this day, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) draws attention to the plight of the 42 million people worldwide who have been forced to flee their homes and are now in need of protection.The Åland Islands Peace Institute sees the day as a time to reflect on Åland as both a host society for refugees and a model for preventing displacement. Researchers linked to the Åland Islands Peace Institute have jointly written an article on the issue.The article can be found here.

 

The common security and defence policy of the European Union is rapidly being developed and is also a central part of the security of Finland.  How does the Finnish account of security and defence policy meet the challenges of the future? What will be Sweden’s priorities for the presidency? What will this mean for Åland?On 1 June at 13.00 the Europe Information, in cooperation with the Åland Islands Peace Institute, arranged a seminar on security policy in the town library of Mariehamn. The lecture was held by Markus Lyra, Under Secretary of State for the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Nils Daag, Deputy Head of Unit at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Sia Spiliopoulou Åkermark, director of the Åland Islands Peace Institute, acted as discussant. Read more about the seminar here (in Swedish).

Monday 1st of June from 1 to 3.30 pm the Europe information in cooperation with the Åland Islands Peace Institute will arrange a seminar on european security politics in the library of Mariehamn.Speakers are Markus Lyra from the Finnish foreign ministry and Nils Daag from the Swedish department of foreign affairs. The director of the Peace Institute, Sia Spiliopoulou Åkermark will comment.The seminar will be held in Swedish.

 

What effects does European security cooperation have on Åland’s demilitarisation? The Åland Islands Peace Institute’s invited the public to discuss this question at the seminar “Åland’s demilitarisation – self‐evident or threatened?” where both the threats and opportunities of enhanced security cooperation were discussed.Around 35 persons came together at the Handelshögskola in Mariehamn to participate in the seminar on Monday evening, March 30th – Åland’s Demilitarisation Day. Among the issues discussed were Thorvald Stoltenberg’s recent report on enhanced Nordic security cooperation, the European security cooperation, enhanced by the Treaty of Lisbon, Finland’s partnership for peace with NATO and a possible future Finnish Nato membership. A summary of the content of the seminar can be found here.

What effects does European security cooperation have on Åland's demilitarisation? The Åland Islands Peace Institute invited the public to discuss this question at the seminar "Åland's demilitarisation - self‐evident or threatened?" where both the threats and opportunities of enhanced security cooperation were discussed.Around 35 persons came together at the Handelshögskola in Mariehamn to participate in the seminar on Monday evening, March 30th - Åland's Demilitarisation Day. Among the issues discussed were Thorvald Stoltenberg's recent report on enhanced Nordic security cooperation, the European security cooperation, enhanced by the Treaty of Lisbon, Finland's partnership for peace with NATO and a possible future Finnish Nato membership. A summary of the content of the seminar can be found here.

On the Day of the demilitarisation, 30th of March, the Åland Ilsnads Peace institute is arranging a seminar on Åland's demilitarization - self evident or threatened? Is the demilitarization and neutralization of Åland affected by the security co-operation within Europe? The seminar will be held in Swedish in Ålands Handelsläroverk at Östra Skolgatan 2 Monday 30th March at 6.00 p.m.