Nordic Democracy Forum 2024

What?

Nordic Democracy Forum 2024

Over the course of the past few years the safety and security of Nordic communities have changed. New and unprecedented threats today pose profound and transformational challenges to our politics, our institutions, and our way of life.

Conflict in Europe and in the Middle East, a proliferation of digital harms from disinformation to artificial intelligence, and growing polarisation across our cities are putting our democracy and social cohesion under pressure.

Despite the Nordics being a relatively small and peaceful region, these challenges underscore the need to safeguard the democratic principles that have fostered trust and cohesion in Nordic societies and kept our communities safe, robust and prosperous. We cannot take the safety of our democracy for granted. Against this backdrop, it is timelier than ever to unite and safeguard our democracies and social cohesion.

The inaugural Nordic Democracy Forum 2024 represents an opportunity to safeguard and invest in our democratic way of life for generations to come and will ensure that the Nordic region and cities remain beacons of democracy, safety and security in the times to come.

It will not be business as usual. The Forum will be about identifying and innovating solutions that would not be possible without cross-sector collaboration.

Ministers, mayors, leaders and representatives from all Nordic countries and governments will participate, as well as local practitioners, civil society, tech companies, youth advocates and a selected group of global partners.

We hope to capture the visions and ideas that will ensure we stay on the forefront in our prevention efforts to keep the Nordic Region a safe, secure, and inclusive place for all in the years to come.

Key themes and discussions include:

– How do we create and develop an inclusive democracy for all?

– How do we support, empower, and integrate youth in building a strong and cohesive democratic society?

– How do we combat cross-border youth crime?

– How do we foster cross-sector initiatives that create safe neighbourhoods and avoid the deepening of segregation and the development of crime and recruitment to gangs?

– How do we create safer digital communities given the challenges posed by disinformation and AI?

When?

The 20-21st of November 2024

Who?

Confirmed speakers – preliminary:

GUNNAR STRÖMMER, Swedish Minister for Justice.

KARIN WANNGÅRD Mayor, City of Stockholm.

KAREN HÆKKERUP Chair, Nordic Safe Cities Board, Former Minister for Justice and Social Affairs, Denmark.

DANIEL SAZONOV Deputy Mayor, City of Helsinki.

PEKKA TIMONEN Mayor, City of Vantaa.

MARTIN RUBY Director of Policy, Meta.

SOPHIA WIKANDER Chief Executive Officer, Microsoft Sweden.

KASPER FISKER Criminologist, Author & Nordic Safe Cities Advisor.

MAGNUS RANSTORP Co-Chair, Nordic Safe Cities Board, Strategic Advisor, Swedish Defence University.

LAILA BOKHARI Co-Chair, Nordic Safe Cities Board, Former State Deputy- Minister with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

ANNA KÖNIG JERLMYR Nordic Safe Cities Board Member, CEO Arwidssonstiftelsen, Former Mayor of Stockholm.

ÖZLEM CEKIC General Secretary, Brobyggerne.

STINA LILJEKVIST Chairman of the Board, Skandia – Ideas for Life Foundation.

KARIN SVANBERG Head of Development of Crime Prevention work, the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention.

TORE BJØRGO Director, C-REX.

LINN CATRINE LUNDER Head of Local Community and Cultural Heritage, Sparebankstiftelsen DNB.

INGRID TOLLÅNES Director of Philanthropy, Gjensidige Foundation.

NATASHA AL-HARIRI Head of Democracy, TrygFonden.

CHARLOTTE STORM GREGERSEN Director, Culture & Citizen service, City of Aarhus.