Helsinki and Dnipro – Cities for peace and a sustainable future

Cities are powerful actors in building a peaceful and civilised future. More than ever, they play a key role in fostering international cooperation and security.  

The mayor of Helsinki, Juhana Vartiainen, the mayor of Dnipro, Borys Filatov and Ukrainian Ambassador to Finland, Olga Dibrova will discuss cooperation between Finnish and Ukrainian cities and how local activities such as twin towns and school and youth exchanges can have a global impact.   

The panel discussion will be moderated by Outi Jäppinen, International Affairs Expert at the City of Helsinki. The programme is in English. The programme can be followed on the festival’s Speaker’s Stage in Tiivistämö or via streaming on the festival’s website.  

After the programme, you can meet the panellists in the Lämpiö next to the Speaker’s Stage.

Juhana Vartiainen

Mayor of Helsinki and Finnish politician Juhana Vartiainen (Coalition Party) has a PhD in political science. In addition to Helsinki, he has lived in Paris, London and Stockholm. Vartiainen is also a patron of World Village Festival.  

Olga Dibrova

Olga Dibrova has been Ukraine’s ambassador to Finland and Iceland since 2020. She is an experienced diplomat with more than 20 years of experience in the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. She has promoted Ukrainian cooperation with Turkey, the South Caucasus and Eastern European countries, and has worked on Ukraine’s EU integration.    

Borys Filatov

Borys Filatov is a Ukrainian politician, lawyer and former journalist. He has served as Deputy Chairman of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Administration, Member of the Ukrainian Parliament and since 2015 as Mayor of Dnipro. During the full-scale Russian invasion, he has played a key role in developing the city into a centre for logistics, humanitarian aid and military support.