Save the date! We are happy to invite the entire extended HELCOM family to join online the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Helsinki Convention and HELCOM. Latvia, currently holding the Chairmanship of HELCOM, will host the celebration event on 25 April 2024 in Riga, starting at 14:00 (CET), with many special guests.
Ministers of the Environment of Latvia and Finland, Inga Bērziņa and Kai Mykkänen, will open the event.
An impressive list of keynote speakers, representing major stakeholder organizations, will also honour the celebrations with their presence. The names of the representatives will be announced soon – stay tuned!
The 50th anniversary celebrations will be preceded by the Ministerial Meeting of the Contracting Parties in the morning of 25 April 2024, and a side event organized by Coalition Clean Baltic and WWF, Waves of Change – Accelerating action and finance to save the Baltic Sea, will take place in Riga the day before.
The guests invited en site include representatives of the HELCOM Contracting Parties, observers and other friends of HELCOM past and present. The special programme reflects the achievements of the first 50 years of HELCOM while looking forward to future challenges. Please find the preliminary programme on the dedicated web page.
In 2024, it will be 50 years since the original Helsinki Convention was signed.
HELCOM, or the Helsinki Commission, was established at the same time, for the purposes of the Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area – in essence, to ensure that all the coastal states pursue the many commitments presented for a healthier Baltic Sea. It was a historical moment, as environmental concerns were only starting to shift closer to the mainstream thinking.
HELCOM is a true pioneer in international environment protection. As the awareness of the massive challenges, particularly climate crisis and biodiversity loss, has since significantly risen, we have much to share about cooperation through changing geopolitical situations.
Join us for a full year of celebrations! We are proud to have come this far.
