The Royal Court

King unveils bilateral works of art at Hanaholmen

Foto:Jonas Ekströmer/Scanpix

Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/Scanpix

On Thursday 8 October, The King and Finland's President Tarja Halonen together opened two new works of art at Hanaholmen.
The two outdoor works of art were created as part of a collaboration between Finnish artist Kaarina Kaikkonen and Swedish artist Elisabet Sagefors. The works symbolise the solidarity between Finland and Sweden. They are part of a collaborative project between the National Public Art Council in Sweden and the Arts Council of Finland.

In his opening speech, The King remarked that “the good relations between Sweden and Finland are often shown through art and culture. Our relations are a guarantee that we will build a society in which people can live a good and dignified life. But today you could well say that the friendship bond is set in stone. "

Following the speech a seminar on value-based leadership was held at Hanaholmen. The seminar marked the launch of a new leadership training course for people aged under 26.

In his speech ahead of the seminar, The King pointed out that the leadership course for scouts is the first international leadership training course in which Swedish and Finnish young people will meet and work together to develop their leadership skills. Even if we are good neighbours, there are still cultural differences which contribute towards making the course more dynamic and interesting.

On Friday 9 October, The King visited southwest Finland's scout district in Turku.