The City of Helsinki and the United Nations University’s World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) have teamed up to arrange a series of Sustainable Cities Discussion Forums, hosted by the Mayor of Helsinki Juhana Vartiainen. The first event in the series will take place at the Helsinki City Hall on Wednesday, 31 May 2022 at 15.30–17. The theme of this kick-off event is the UN Sustainable Development Goal SDG8, which focuses on decent work and economic growth. The event will be held in English and is open to the public.
Harvard University lecturer Professor Martha Chen will begin by shining a light into her research on informal work in emerging economies and its wide-ranging social implications. This will be followed by a panel discussion, where Professor Chen, Helsinki Mayor Vartiainen, London School of Economics emeritus professor Jo Beall and Kalliolan Setlementti community coordinator Mohamed Ghonam will assess what can be done to ensure sustainable economic growth that is built on decent jobs for everyone. The discussion will also touch on some everyday experiences in the realm of informal work.
Denise Wall will act as the event moderator. Wall has previously worked for the Finnish public broadcaster Yle and is now the director of Spoon Finland, a provider of strategy and consulting services.
More information:
Sustainable Cities Discussion Forum event page
Teaser video: “Coming up on 31 May 2022: Sustainable Cities Discussion Forum”
Livestream link on Helsinki-kanava (starting on 31 May 2022 at 15.30)