International Conferences

We are happy to host you in the south-western coast of Finland! You will be staying in Uusikaupunki, which means ‘New Town‘. It was new in 1617 when the Swedish king Gustaf II Adolf founded it. Finland was a part of Sweden from the 12th Century until 1809. Uusikaupunki is the 12th oldest town in Finland.
Uusikaupunki is located by the sea and has been an important ship building and import-export town. Today many locals own boats and there is a marina and a guest harbour in the centre of town, on the city bay. Your hotels are located next to the sea.

The town burned down partially 7 times, before adopting a fire safe town plan, with green fire alleys between houses. The old town with its wooden houses dates back to after the last two fires in 1846 and 1855. The oldest building in town is the old church from 1627 close to the bay. The new church next to the market square dates back to 1863.

Uusikaupunki is most famous from the peace agreement between Russia and Sweden in 1721 that was organized in Uusikaupunki market square and is called the Uusikaupunki Peace. Before that Russia had occupied Finland for 8 years. During the excursions you will get to know the surrounding countryside and towns. The area is called Vakka-Suomi, which comes from a long history of manufacturing and exporting wooden artifacts (vakka is a type of wooden container).

We will take a deep dive into the motivations of volunteers in Germany, Austria, Croatia and Finland today. Our keynote speaker Hazel Salminen, from the Finland Futures Research Center will get us thinking about the future of volunteering and you will work with other volunteers in workshops. Our excursions will show you inspiring examples of volunteering in the area. Local food, culture and winter weather will hopefully make your visit unforgettable!