Yesterday FIME had the pleasure to co-organise the seminar ”The future of Syria and the diaspora” at the University of Helsinki. The purpose of the seminar was to hear Syrians present their visions and hopes as the country is going through major transformations and for Finnish stakeholders to learn from them and network with the Finnish diaspora.
During the seminar we heard thought-provoking talks about the current situation in Syria, and prospects and visions for the future. In the seminar engineer Mohammed al-Doubosh talked about the humanitarian situation in Syria and the challenges facing the infrastructure of the country. Dr. Ammar Al Khani and Bassam Al Gayal, who is the Formal Head of Finpro Middle East, shared visions of rebuilding Syria and co-operation possibilities between Syria and Finland. Rania Ali from the Madaniya Network outlined the work done by the network, and Housana Alfashtaki from Lähi-idän naisten yhdistys talked about the role of Syrian women in rebuilding the country. Kadar Kharistan and Khallata Demir from Suomi-Rojava yhteistyö ry talked about the role and the current situation of the Kurdish people in Syria. The seminar ended with a panel of all the speakers and a lively discussion.
The seminar was organised by the University of Helsinki and doctoral researcher Tiina Hyyppä, the Finnish Syrian Friendship Association, the Finnish Institute in the Middle East, and Hakunilan kansainvälinen yhdistys. Opening remarks were heard from professor Hannu Juusola, executive director Mania Alkhatib (Finnish Syrian Friendship Association), director general Anna-Kaisa Heikkinen (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), executive officer Anu Leinonen (Finnish Institute in the Middle East), executive manager Burhan Hamdon (Hakunilan kansainvälinen yhdistys), and doctoral researcher Tiina Hyyppä.
