In 2009 the Martti Ahtisaari lecture will be organised in Jyväskylä for the tenth time. In connection with the lecture bearing the name of Nobel Peace Prize recipient President Martti Ahtisaari Jyväskylä is visited each year by numerous Finnish and foreign leaders who focus attention on topical political and international issues.
In 1999 President Martti Ahtisaari's foreign and security policy adviser Alpo Rusi and Erkki Laatikainen, editor-in-chief of Central Finland's biggest newspaper Keskisuomalainen, discussed whether a commemorative event could be arranged in Jyväskylä when ten years had elapsed from the end of the Cold War.
After these initial soundings Central Finland Ideological National Defence Association, the City of Jyväskylä and the University of Jyväskylä also entered the negotiations. The result of this cooperation was a festive occasion arranged in Jyväskylä on 8.11.1999 attended by the presidents of Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.
"This meeting of heads of state was the start of the Martti Ahtisaari lecture series held each year. The aim of this dedicated lecture was continue the coming together of government leaders in Jyväskylä. We were fortunate to obtain the support of then President Ahtisaari for this endeavour", recounts Honorary Professor Erkki Laatikainen, who retired as editor-in-chief of Keskisuomalainen in January but continues to serve as one of the organisers of the lectures. Subsequently, in the 2000s, the lecture series has received wide support from Finnish decision-makers and the media, too, have made active mention of the themes that have arisen in the lectures.
So far nine government leaders have visited Jyväskylä in order to give the Martti Ahtisaari lecture. In one respect the lectures follow President Martti Ahtisaari's way of operating: openness and debate on pivotal issues increase understanding.
"The speakers have drawn attention to topical themes, which are usually connected to the security of states and individuals, the position of the speaker's own country, as well as international cooperation.
For instance in the autumn of 2008 Turkish president Abdullah Gül pondered the history and future of relations between Turkey and the European Union.
Professor Laatikainen believes that in future the lecture series for its part will receive even greater recognition thanks to the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Martti Ahtisaari. Laatikainen refers to Ahtisaari as a citizen of the world, who by conducting himself skilfully has managed, almost as a by-product, to bring his country and people to world attention.
"The Nobel prize is the highest possible accolade for President Ahtisaari. As Finns we are genuinely proud of this. It will spur on Finnish diplomacy and peace efforts. Martti Ahtisaari's office has taken on a number of highly talented young people, about whom the world will hear in future decades. Nobelist Ahtisaari is taking good care of those who will follow", Laatikainen enthuses.
The University of Jyväskylä has dubbed its most popular lecture hall, the Agora building's Auditorium 1, the Martti Ahtisaari Hall. Ahtisaari was made an Honorary Doctor of the University of Jyväskylä in 2000.
Laatikainen says he is particularly satisfied that the Martti Ahtisaari lecture series has consolidated its position as a Jyväskylä event.
"It has demonstrated that Jyväskylä takes an active approach and has the capacity to arrange international top-level meetings. To Finns it sends a message of successful cooperation between different organisations and actors. There is no rival to this event in Finland."
"Speeches, articles, negotiations and events, such as the Martti Ahtisaari lectures, all help in their own way to carry positive development forward", stated Markku Andersson, Mayor of Jyväskylä, as he congratulated President Martti Ahtisaari on winning the UNESCO Peace Prize.
Speakers in the Martti Ahtisaari lecture series: - 2000 Minister Max Jakobson - 2001 Honorary Counsellor, Chairman of the UN General Assembly Harri Holkeri - 2002 Prime Minister of Sweden Göran Persson - 2003 President of the Republic of Estonia Arnold Rüütel - 2004 Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen - 2005 President of the Republic of Macedonia Branko Crvenkovski - 2006 President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen - 2007 President Martti Ahtisaari - 2008 President of Turkey Abdullah Gül
- President Martti Ahtisaari (71) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2008 for his career spanning three decades as a peace negotiator.
- In its announcement the five-member Nobel committee stated that Ahtisaari was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his important efforts to resolve international conflicts on several continents.
Words by Timo Sillanpää Photo by Risto Aalto/Keskisuomalainen