Hanken focuses on sustainability during theme week
In the face of the existential sustainability challenges our planet is facing, Hanken wants to be at the forefront by leading the discussions and by providing a platform for people from all walks of life to come together and find innovative solutions.
“As an educational and research institution, we have the knowledge, the power and responsibility to be the driver of the change required to make this world a more sustainable place and the SDG week plays an important role in that’’ explains Rector Karen Spens.
“Innovation and Inclusion” at the Responsible Organising Conference
The SDG week kicks off on November 19th with the third Responsible Organising Conference.
The theme of the morning plenary session is 'Innovation and Inclusion' with a central question: are innovations always contributing to making the world a better place?
“Innovation has been filled with hopeful aspirations for the potential solutions that can solve wicked problems as well as lay a ground for new technological and social breakthroughs. When a concept is so positively charged, the hopes expressed may blur the sight for potential shortcomings and deadlocks”, says Karin Berglund, Professor at Stockholm Business School and one of the key-note speakers at the event.
While Helsinki is getting ready to host “the world’s leading Start-Up event” Slush couple of days after the conference, a strong emphasis will be on the Tech sector with Katja Toropainen as one of the key-note speakers. She is one of the 100 most impactful and influential figures in the Nordic startup and technology scene, was in the leadership team of Slush for the past two years. She has now founded Inklusiiv, a movement that advances diversity and inclusion in the work life.
“While the Nordics have been the forerunners in equality in so many ways, awareness about diversity & inclusion in tech seems to be lagging behind, especially in Finland. There are a lot of stereotypes, biases and prejudices that impede inclusion and limit the full potential of the industry. We need to show that diversity and inclusion matter, because they can help build extraordinarily powerful organisations”, comments Katja.
To bring in another perspective to the topic, Antti Nousjoki, partner at ALA, Architects behind the world-famous Oodi library, will illustrate architecture’s key role in enabling inclusion in our cities.
In the afternoon, there are 10 workshops on varied sustainability topics, dealing with different SDGs.
Programme during the whole week
There will be art and other SDG exhibitions on display in both Helsinki and Vaasa during the whole week. Other events include a flea market with clothing-donation facilities, a student case competition on sustainability and societal impact, a ‘Green Office' event for staff, and an interactive workshop about how to bring about societal change through work and community.
Full program for the week can be found here! Some of the events have limited seats and require registration-check it out!
More information
Sanchi Maheshwari, social responsibility coordinator
+358 50 468 7794