Mayor Armas Lahoniitty's address
Nordic Forum, Turku 12.8.2004

Distinguished Participants of the Anniversary Seminar, Ladies and Gentlemen

Ten years ago, more than 15,000 persons interested in questions concerning equality gathered together in the Nordic Forum in Turku. The Forum was a preparatory meeting for the Fourth United Nations World Conference on Women, which was held in Beijing and Huairou in 1995.

Now the time has come to gather together under these signs again, to see what has changed during ten years, to evaluate the present situation and to discuss the future. The City of Turku has had the pleasure of being one of the organisers, together with the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Centre for Continuing Education at Åbo Akademi University. The theme for this anniversary seminar is Equal Opportunities - for WoMen. Several top delegates are attending, and they will discuss highly topical issues in their addresses.

The seminar is also one of the international key events of Turku's 775-years celebrations.

Turku, the oldest town in Finland, is often said to have been founded in 1229. Actually, Turku was never founded in the proper sense of the word. The year 1229 has been chosen because the Pope then decreed the transfer of the episcopal see from Nousiainen to Koroinen in Turku. From the very beginning, Turku was a cite for international commerce, and cultural influences from the west spread to other parts of Finland from here.

Today Turku is the centre of Southwest Finland that has half a million inhabitants. Turku has three uni-versities, several polytechnics and many research institutes. Our strength is the special know-how that we have in biotechnology, information technology, metal technology and other technical branches. Today Turku has large international co-operative and interest surveillance networks in different parts of Europe, but especially in the Baltic and the Nordic countries.

I wish you warmly welcome to Turku. I'm sure that your seminar will be interesting and rewarding, and I hope you will enjoy your stay here in 775-year-old Turku.