Professor Outi Fingerroos was awarded for her efforts to promote the organisation of international scientific conferences in Finland with the Scientific Conference Power Player prize. 

The EUR 5,000 award was donated by the Finnish Fair Foundation. The prizewinner was selected by the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies. 

Outi Fingerroos works at the Department of History and Ethnology in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Jyväskylä.  She has been involved in the organisation of workshops, symposiums and conferences related to her own research interests since 2002. The latest of these was the world congress of the International Somali Studies Association, the 12th SSIA Congress Revisiting Somali Identities – Addressing Gender, Generation and Belonging (2015) and the International Oral History Association’s XX IOHA Conference – Memory and Narration (2018).

Acquiring conferences takes effort

“Applying for and organising a major international conference requires long-term effort, preparation and networking. The reward is being able to bask in the international spotlight for a few days. Noone can become a conference power player on their own – the “chair” needs the support of a reliable conference secretary and a familiar organising team as well as the backing of a well-functioning service organisation. All these players roll up their sleeves at a very early stage. The University of Jyväskylä has been a good employer for me as a conference organiser,” says Fingerroos.

The Scientific Conference Power Player prize

This is the sixth time that the Scientific Power Player prize has been awarded.

“The Scientific Conference Power Player prize is awarded to individuals who have made a positive contribution to Finland’s role in international scientific activities and who have successfully petitioned for international conferences to be arranged in Finland. The award winner contributes to the positive image of the discipline in question, widely promotes the development of the discipline and has the ability to look to the future. Outi Fingerroos is exactly this kind of person,” comments Lea Ryynänen-Karjalainen, Executive Director of The Federation of Finnish Learned Societies, citing the grounds for the selection.

The competition for the 2019 Scientific Power Player award will be launched in January.

For more information about the the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies, please visit www.tsv.fi/en

The World Music Expo will travel to Finland for the first time in 2019. The event will be held at Tampere from Wednesday, 23 to Sunday, 27 October, 2019. WOMEX 19 is the event’s 25th edition.

What is WOMEX?

The World Music Expo is one of the biggest international music meetings in the world and the biggest conference of the global music scene, featuring a trade fair, talks, films and a showcase festival. Over 2,500 professionals come together every October from more than 90 countries. WOMEX consists of 7 stages, 700+ exhibiting companies, 80 speakers, films, an opening concert and an award ceremony across five packed networking days.

WOMEX 19 at Tampere Hall

The main location of the event is Tampere Hall, the largest conference and concert centre in the Nordic countries. WOMEX 19 will be realised with Rockadillo Production Oy as the main local partner. The event is supported by Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture, City of Tampere and Visit Tampere, and Music Finland as the strategic partner.

Read more about WOMEX 19 here.
Read more about Tampere Hall here.

Finlandia Hall is the largest and one of the best-known event and conference centres in Finland. The building’s turnover has doubled in six years.

Important and historic landmark

– Finlandia Hall is very important for Helsinki both as an architectural landmark and as a living conference centre, which enables the arrangement of diverse events in the capital city of Finland. This is why special care must be taken of the building. Every year Finlandia Hall welcomes more than 200,000 visitors. According to one study, they spend almost €50 million per year on various experiences, shopping and services in Helsinki, says Anni Sinnemäki, the Deputy Mayor for Urban Environment.

– The renewed Finlandia Hall is part of the larger Töölönlahti Bay area that is becoming a shared living room for all Helsinki residents more strongly than before. The new Helsinki Central Library Oodi, the Helsinki Music Centre, Kansalaistori Square, Kiasma and Finlandia Hall will together constitute a lively and diverse cultural hub in the centre of the city, Sinnemäki continues.

Major renovation scheduled to start in 2021

Facilities for new services at Finlandia Hall are to be built during renovation that is scheduled to start in 2021.

The project means not only restoration of existing premises but also construction of a framework for new services. Plans for the renewed Finlandia Hall include, for instance, an audio-visual exhibition and a design store. The kitchen will be modernized so the restaurant can be of service during large events and conferences in the future. Restaurant operations will be developed so that people from far away arrive at Finlandia Hall for dinner. A drink bar on the rooftop terrace is planned as a main attraction. For the area around Töölönlahti Bay, there are plans for glamping-type activity that connects Finlandia Hall more closely to the surrounding park area.

– Finlandia Hall was completed in 1971, so the building management systems require an upgrade. Facilities will be altered and the service range expanded during the extensive renovation. Finlandia Hall’s strategic intent is to serve as a low-threshold venue that offers new services to Helsinki residents and tourists alike. The reforms are aimed at achieving this goal, says Johanna Tolonen, the CEO of Finlandia Hall.

The renovation will proceed in stages, and Finlandia Hall remains open throughout the project.

Read more: www.finlandiatalo.fi

Professor Ahti Salo from Aalto University’s School of Science has been elected the Espoo Ambassador of 2018. The Espoo Ambassador promotes Espoo as a congress destination in Finland and abroad. Salo is the 10th Espoo Ambassador.

Respected researcher and active congress organiser

Professor Salo is the head of the Systems Analysis Laboratory research group in the Department of Mathematics and Systems Analysis at Aalto University. Salo is an internationally known and respected expert in operations research and an active member of Finnish and international associations in his field.

In addition to scientific positions of trust, Salo has taken part in the organisation of several international conferences in Finland and abroad. In 2017, he was the main local organiser of two international conferences held at Aalto University´s Otaniemi campus.

“Conferences creates new contacts that, at best, can lead to truly productive and long-lasting partnerships and friendships. Making these new opportunities possible and providing memorable conference experiences inspires me to take responsibility for organising them”, says Professor Salo.

In 2015, Salo served on the programme committee of the main European conference in operations research. This summer, this conference of roughly 3,000 participants was held in Valencia, Spain. On the basis of a preliminary exchange of ideas at the conference, the Finnish Operations Research Society is considering applying to host the conference in Espoo in 2022.

“With the new metro line connecting Espoo to capital Helsinki and the development of the Aalto University campus area, Espoo is, by all accounts, an attractive destination for this type of a larger conference”, says Salo.

Espoo Ambassador programme turns 10 years

Ten years ago, the City of Espoo together with the congress unit of Visit Espoo, launched the Espoo Ambassador programme. The aim of the programme is to attract more international conferences to Espoo by encouraging and supporting scientists to host conferences in Espoo. Important goal is also to highlight the wide-spread positive impact and high value of international scientific conferences on the City of Espoo, the academic community and companies operating in the area.

Read more: www.visitespoo.fi