Helsinki+50 and OSCE theme day with Ambassador Pertti Torstila
The Embassy organised a theme day on Monday 24 November to honour of the Helsinki+50 anniversary and Finland's OSCE Chairmanship. Ambassador Pertti Torstila, who was involved in organising the 1975 CSCE summit and also served as ambassador to the OSCE in Vienna, was invited as a guest of honour to the theme day events.
The first event of the day was organised in cooperation with TEPAV. In addition to Torstila, the other keynote speaker at the event was Mehmet Burçin Gönenli, Director General for International Security at the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The event was attended by several ambassadors, other embasssy representatives, Turksih diplomats, academics and students. Torstila shared his personal experiences from the conference preparations as a young attaché, and how seemingly small details like seating arrangements became much bigger issues. He also highlighted the need to preserve the Helsinki Spirit, or the willingness to sit down and discuss.
The second part of the theme day consisted of a discussion and a screening of the film The Helsinki Effect, organised in cooperation with the European Research Centre ATAUM at Ankara University. The participating students were mainly from the fields of European studies and international relations, but also law and communications, and had many questions for Ambassador Torstila.
The day ended with a dinner reception at the residence, attended by Ambassador Torstila, representatives of TEPAV and ATAUM, as well as representatives of the embassies of the Nordic countries, Switzerland, and the Baltic states.
The Embassy of Finland in Ankara has previously collaborated with both TEPAV and ATAUM, and the events of the theme day are examples of successful cooperation with universities and research institutes, through which different audiences, including young people, can be reached.
