News & Views

Hannes Snellman Organising a Debate at SuomiAreena in Pori

12 June 2018

Hannes Snellman will be organising a debate at SuomiAreena on Wednesday 18 July 2018 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. The topic of the debate is “Companies Too Are Citizens – What Implications Does It Have?”. The panellists of the event are Ms Anne Berner, Minister of Transport and Communications at the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Ms Tuija Brax, Secretary-General at Suomen Sydänliitto ry (the Finnish Heart Association, a NGO), Mr Yrjö Närhinen, CEO of Terveystalo Plc, and Mr Johan Aalto, Lagman and Senior Partner at Hannes Snellman. The discussion will be moderated by Journalist Jussi-Pekka Rantanen.

Corporates have a number of mandatory responsibilities set by the society. A majority of companies have, in addition, assumed social and other forms of voluntary responsibilities. But what are the rights of the companies? What can they, as citizens, demand, and from whom? Should companies be more active in pursuing such rights by participating in the public debate? “In 2019, Hannes Snellman will turn 110 years old, and we feel that our long history as part of the Finnish society gives us the responsibility to contribute with our expertise and resources promoting values and causes that benefit this community. Being part of SuomiAreena’s discussions is one way to carry out this responsibility and mission”, says Johan Aalto, Hannes Snellman’s Senior Partner.

SuomiAreena is a public debate forum held in Pori, Finland, in July. This year, SuomiAreena Events take place between 16 and 20 July, and the main themes are security, non-discrimination, and responsibility. The organisers of SuomiAreena events include the Ministries, governmental and municipal organizations, NGOs, labour market organizations, political parties, and companies. The discussion topics range from politics and society to culture and sports. Last year, the event had some 74,000 visitors. SuomiAreena is part of the Democracy Festival Platform, which unites Democracy Festival secretariats from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania.