Porvoo hosts Parliament of Future on Thursday

History will be made in Porvoo on May 4 when the Parliament of the Future meets to discuss new forms of democratic and civic engagement in continuation of Finland’s 100 years of democratic government.

The government on the day will convene a plenary session and discussions participated by citizens, decision-makers and experts for the first time in front of a live audience, said an official press release.

The session of the Ministerial Finance Committee and the government plenary session will be followed by government discussions on how to develop Finnish democracy further.

What would the political party map of Finland look like, if it were drawn up now? How should democracy’s operating system be upgraded? Where are political start-ups? A total of 500 citizens interested in new forms of the democratic process and current political decision-makers will convene in the Parliament of the Future in Porvoo to address these issues. Valuable inputs will be provided by international keynote speakers.

The event will trace the roots of Finnish representative democracy: Finland’s first parliament called the Diet, in which people were represented by estates, was held in Porvoo in March 1809. By the time of the first parliamentary elections in 1907 after the Diet, the estates had been replaced by parties for political representation.