State Visit to Finland – Day 2

Her Majesty The Queen’s day started at the Sibelius Academy, with a seminar on folk music as a source of inspiration for national identity – a topic highly relevant to composers such as Grieg and Sibelius.

The Sibelius Academy is one of the largest music academies in Europe. In addition to providing higher education in the field of music, it engages in performance and creative art and research, and is committed to the fostering of Finland's musical culture and cultural heritage.

Seminar on ICT and design

His Majesty The King opened the Norwegian-Finnish business seminar on ICT and design. The design seminar focused on service design, while the ICT seminar was aimed at promoting closer cooperation between Norway and Finland on various ICT projects.

The seminar was organised by Innovation Norway in cooperation with the embassy.

Concerts

President Tarja Halonen and Dr. Arajärvi accompanied the King and Queen through the Esplanade, to a jazz concert with the Sinikka Ensemble at the park pavilion.

The Sinikka Ensemble also provided the entertainment later in the evening, when King Harald and Queen Sonja attended an event at Fiskartorpet. In addition to the concert, the buffet “A taste of Norway” gave a presentation of Norwegian food and culinary traditions.

Women, Peace and Security

In the afternoon, The Queen opened the peace seminar “Women, Peace and Security” at the Swedish-Finnish Cultural Centre Hanaholmen. The seminar focused on resolution 1325 – a UN resolution stressing the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peace-building, and the importance of their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security.