Dear friends and supporters,
As this year draws to a close, we want to take a moment to thank you for continuing to support the work of our association and to share a look back at what has been a truly meaningful and active year for Global Visions. We chose the themes of our discussions and events to reflect our commitment to exploring multiple pathways toward a more just, sustainable, and inclusive future.
We began the year exploring the future of world governance with a podcast episode featuring Professor Heikki Patomäki and Professor Teivo Teivainen from the University of Helsinki. We then continued with an important conversation on Future Visions for the Global South with Professor Franklin Obeng-Odoom (University of Helsinki), Dr. Faith Mkwesha (University of Turku), and Dr. Bonn Juego (University of Jyväskylä). We also co-hosted the event Planetary Political Imagination and Democracy with our new partner POLIFA. Both podcast episodes are available on our Visions of a Better World podcast, and the POLIFA event can be watched on our YouTube channel.
In May we organized our panel discussion Confronting Climate Change, where we discussed societal and behavioural solutions with a strong focus on perspectives from the Global South. We were fortunate to have Associate Professor Senja Laakso (University of Helsinki), Professor Anja Nygren (University of Helsinki), and Dr. Bonn Juego (University of Helsinki) as guests.
We also participated in this year’s World Village Festival and had an inspiring volunteer turnout to help spread the word about our association. Our heartfelt thanks go to all of our volunteers for their time, energy, and enthusiasm.
During the summer we turned our focus toward ethics and moral philosophy in a conversation with two moral philosophers, Professor Antti Kauppinen (University of Helsinki) and Dr. Simo Kyllönen (University of Helsinki). Together, we explored the ethical dimensions of some of the most pressing global issues of our time.
Democracy is another theme we continue to examine, especially how it might evolve and improve in the future. We held a thought-provoking discussion with Associate Professor Anniina Leiviskä (University of Oulu) and Postdoctoral Researcher Tuija Kasa (University of Helsinki) about democracy, human rights, and education. Both discussions are available to listen to on our Visions of a Better World podcast.
In September we hosted a panel discussion titled Global Carbon Tax with Professor Janne Hukkinen (University of Helsinki), Professor Heikki Patomäki (University of Helsinki), Juha Turkki (CLC), and Dr. Ville Seppälä (VTV) as guests. The discussion explored the feasibility of a global carbon tax and the challenges of current carbon pricing mechanisms.
In October we followed up on this topic with another discussion featuring Professor Jamie Morgan (Leeds Beckett University) and Professor Heikki Patomäki (University of Helsinki). The discussion is now available on our podcast.
Our partnership with Entergrate has also continued, and we have been fortunate to have Osita Ifezue as a contributing guest writer. We also sponsored and participated in this year’s TEDx Viikki event, Amplifying Silent Voices, held in October. You can read Osita’s insightful articles on our blog.
We concluded the year with our annual State of the World event , featuring a keynote lecture by historian Risto Marjomaa (University of Helsinki), followed by a panel discussion with Future Studies Professor Emerita Sirkka Heinonen (University of Turku), Political Researcher Johanna Vuorelma (University of Helsinki), and leading economist Sixten Korkman. The lecture and panel discussion are both available to watch on our YouTube channel. Thank you to all of our guests, volunteers and audience for a great event.
As we look ahead to the coming year, we remain guided by our renewed mission: to explore how the world can be improved from the perspective of global justice and equality, and to promote such change through dialogue and collaboration. Global Visions exists to bring together people, ideas, and organisations committed to imagining and realizing a more ethical and cooperative world. By continuing to nurture this community of visionaries, we hope to inspire collective reflection and bold thinking about what a just global society could look like and how we can work together to make it a reality.
With gratitude and warm wishes,
The Global Visions Team
