About 500 Rotarians celebrated the 120th anniversary of the organization at Tampere Hall from May 23 to May 25, 2025. The event began with a relaxed Get Together on Friday, May 23, 2025, and continued with a celebration seminar and evening gala on Saturday, May 24, 2025.
The theme of the event was peace. Peace is one of Rotary’s seven main focus areas and a fundamental condition for doing good and for the development of society. During the celebration, we enjoyed top-level speakers, friendship, recognition of good deeds, and the joy of meeting one another.
On Saturday, a House of Friendship fair was held on the celebration floor, where various Rotary projects were showcased. From our district, examples included the water backpack project, the herring rowing event, and a developing water protection project for the headwaters of the Vantaanjoki River.
The day continued with the celebration seminar, which began with exchange students marching in with a flag parade. The seminar featured speeches by:
• Maggie Keskinen, Director of Relations at the City of Tampere,
• Stephanie A. Urchick, President of Rotary International,
• Marina Toivonen, Policy and Planning Officer from the UN Peace Operations Unit,
• Architect, science journalist, and PDG Aaro Söderlund,
• Rotary Peace Fellow Sadia Bibi,
• Panel discussion on the future of Rotary with Stephanie A. Urchick, Suzan Stenberg, Christina Daous, and Jaana Koskela,
• Member of Parliament Pekka Haavisto on Finnish peace mediation
The evening gala with dinner was festive. Rotarians had the opportunity to share experiences with one another. The lively discussions reflected the deep connection between Finnish and Estonian Rotarians and the friendship and positive spirit of the Rotary community.
