Wednesday 8th of July was the day we had been waiting for - the IIAS 2009 conference was finally officially opened! On the morning of the first day we had 285 pariticipants registered, which made us very happy.
At the opening session of the Minister of Public Administration and Local Governmnet Mari Kiviniemi welcomed the participants to the conference together with the professor Dr. Franz Strehl the President of IIAS, Mr. Rolet Loretan, The Director General of the IIAS and Ms. Katju Holkeri the President of the Organising Committee. We also had a possibility to enjoy the speech of our first keynote speaker the Honorable Jocelyne Bourgon as well as the introduction to the conference themes by the Professor Christopher Pollitt (in the picture) , the Rapporteur General of the Conference.
The afternoon of the first day was filled with the first sets of workshops and the host contry panel. People participated the sessions actively and seemed to be learning their way around the venue also. In the evening we were invited to the reception at the Helsinki City Hall. I think we all enjoyed the good company and the nice summary buffet, which gave us all a nice opportunity to relax!
Johanna.
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