The event of the Helinä Rautavaraa Museum on 30/11/2023 was dedicated to a ‚hot‘ topic of our times: “How to bring peace to Ukraine – What can a single person do for peace?” The afternoon eencounter consisted of presentations, and together we tried out the interactive learning methods learned in the MOMEM project. There was also time for discussion and questions. Speakers were the non-fiction author Timo Virtala; Nimco Noor, who published his biography, and the cultural teachers Taina Kilpelä and Elina Mäkelä.
The presentation of Timo Virtala was followed by a joint experiment with interactive learning methods, facilitated by Katri Hirvonen-Nurmi. Each person was asked to express their opinion on absolute or relative methods of peacebuilding by positioning themselves on a fictitious line. In group work, the situations of important historical figures such as Bertha von Suttner, Albert Einstein and Arndt Pekurinen were brought to life by means of “frozen statues”. Ample time was reserved for discussion and questions, too. Through examples of historical situations the participants discussed different orientations of peace work, whether more absolute conscientious objection or relative pacifism, which accepts national defence.
