In 2025 Finland will be holding the Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers. During the year issues in focus will be on the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Platform, resistance to gender equality, gender-based violence, men and masculinity, and the welfare of LGBTI people. The presidency’s priorities, projects and activities constitute one of the frameworks for NIKK’s activities during the year.
2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the adoption by 189 UN Member States of the Beijing Platform for Action – the most visionary agenda for gender equality and women´s rights. During the year, the Finnish presidency will promote a discussion on the significance of the Platform for Action from a Nordic perspective and what remains to be implemented.
In 2022, the Nordic Council of Ministers launched a two-year roadmap to strengthen joint work on gender equality and equal rights for LGBTI people. In 2024, the initiative was extended and the Pushing for Progress programme will run from 2025 to 2027. The Finnish Presidency is contributing to this by examining how existing resistance to gender equality and LGBTI rights in the Nordic countries manifests itself and what effects it has. The aim is to offer methods for developing this work based on the information gathered.
A Nordic-Baltic meeting on the Istanbul Convention will be organised during this year. The meeting is aimed at the national coordinating bodies for the Istanbul Convention in the Nordic and Baltic countries. One ambition is to form an expert group, which would make it easier to continue co-operation in the future.
The results of the Nordic project (länk) Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value in the Nordic Region from 2024 will be shared during the Finnish Presidency. A seminar will be organised in Helsinki together with national key stakeholders.
A series of webinars will be held during the year to increase research-based knowledge of gender equality issues relating to boys and men and to share experiences between different stakeholders in the Nordic Region. In dialogs with experts, issues such as the role of men in crises and the involvement of men and boys in promoting positive masculinity will be discussed.
During the year, a project will be implemented to support and develop public data collection on LGBTI people in the Nordic countries. The project will organise a research conference and establish a network of researchers and experts. A report about the theme and the results of the conference will also be produced.