Peace event to support Ukraine from Parliament House to Senate Square 3rd September at 14:00

The Mothers for Peace association will organize a peace event on Saturday 3rd September starting at 14:00 in Helsinki city center. The event is organized to support Ukraine and Ukrainians who suffering under the Russian attack. The theme of the event is #wemustNOTforget.

After more than six months of continued Russian aggression towards Ukraine, people around the world are becoming numb to the war and the related news. The willingness to help is decreasing. The war in Ukraine no longer makes it to the top news headlines. Therefore, we have decided to organize another #mothersforpeace event.

We must not forget. We must not close our eyes from the horrors of the war. We must not stay silent and leave Ukraine alone. As a nation, history will not reward us for ignorance. Ukraine needs all possible help and support now more than ever - from each of us - to maintain their independence and freedom.

Maintaining high visibility is crucial for Ukraine. Join us for the peace walk as a signal of your support to Ukrainians and to send an important message to decision makers.

The walk route starts at the Parliament House, goes through Mannerheimintie and Aleksanterinkatu and ends at the Senate Square. The event starts at 14:00 at the Parliament House stairs where the Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto and the Ambassador of Ukraine Olga Dibrova will open the event. After this, the peace walk begins, accompanied with with live music.

The program at the Senate Square starts at approximately 15:00. The journalist Baba Lybeck will open this part of the event. She will also host the event at the Cathedral. Top speakers and artists have been enlisted for the program. We expect the event to end by 16:45.

Join us to make a difference, to leave a mark and have your voice heard: We will not forget Ukraine!

Speakers and performers

Currently confirmed: The Finnish Foreign minister Pekka Haavisto and the Ambassador of Ukraine, Olga Dibrova will open the event. Authority for international politics, Mika Aaltola, professor for cyber security, Jarno Limnéll, journalist, Antti Kuronen, journalist Baba Lybeck and member of the parliament, Elina Valtonen have confirmed their participation. Julia Pivovar, a nurse from Kharkov and Natalia Kostiuk will represent with her speech a group of Ukrainian mothers, who have escaped from the war.

Confirmed performers at the event are rock band Apulanta the choir of boys and young men of Helsinki Cathedral, Cantores Minores with artistic director Hannu Norjanen, actress Ulla Tapaninen, opera and concert singer Waltteri Torikka and artists Andrei, Dreas and Ia Haka.  Also the beloved 7-years old Amelia Anisovych, who sang herself to the hearts of millions with Frozen song Let it go in the bomb shelter in Kiev, will perform at the event and sing the national anthem of Ukraine.

Further speakers and performers will be announced on this page as soon as they have been confirmed.

Schedule and program

The event will start at the stairs of the Parliament House on Saturday 3rd of September at 14:00

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Program at the Parliament house:

Welcome - Susanna Makaroff and Reetta Rajala, Mothers for Peace, peace walk organizers

Opening - Pekka Haavisto, Foreign Minister for Finland

Speech - Olga Dibrova, Ambassador of Ukraine

Poem - Ulla Tapaninen, Actress

The walk starts at the Parliament House along with live music at around 14:20, proceeding through Mannerheimintie to Aleksanterinkatu and to Senate Square where the program will continue latest at 15:00.

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Program at Senate Square on the stairs of the Cathedral

Opening speech - Baba Lybeck, Journalist

Specialist speech, Mika Aaltola, Public intellectual on question of war and peace

Specialist speech - Antti Kuronen, Journalist

Specialist speech - Jarno Limnéll, Professor, cyber security, Aalto University

Specialist speech - Elina Valtonen, Member of the Parliament

Experiences of the war - Mothers who have escaped from the war represented by Julia Pivovar

Music performances: Apulanta, Ia haka, Andrei, Dreas, Waltteri Torikka, Cantores Minores with artistic director Hannu Norjanen and Amelia Anisovych

Partners

Our partners at the event are Coredo, Gofore, Grano, Heymo by Sokos Hotels, LeadDesk, Nomart, Secto Automotive, Securitas, Sound Engine and WithSecure

Organizers and background

The persons behind the #Mothersforpeace peace walks are Susanna Makaroff and Reetta Rajala, two mothers in the Helsinki capital area. The anxiety caused by the war in Ukraine triggered them to organize a peace walk in March and to repeat it in September. By profession, Susanna is a communications and marketing professional, and Reetta is a transformation consultant and a board professional. Both are entrepreneurs and mothers with extended families with five children each.

According to the police estimate, the peace walk organized by Susanna ja Reetta 12th March drew together close to 10 000 people. The event was widely covered in the Finnish and international media including the main news broadcasts by YLE and MTV. The event was also streamed in Finland from the beginning to end. The feedback received via various channels was extremely positive.