President of the Republic of Finland Alexander Stubb participated in the national school peace declaration event in Hämeenlinna at the Seminaarin koulu primary school on Wednesday 28 August 2024. The theme for the school year 2024–2025 is “You are not alone”.
This year’s school peace declaration was written by pupils in Hämeenlinna and read out in both Finnish and Swedish. The programme also included student performances, with this year’s guest performer being pop singer Robin Packalen.
President Stubb began his address to the pupils by explaining why this year’s theme is so important: “Because no one should be left alone”.
“We’re all very different and that’s great. Why? Because being different means we can learn from each other,” President Stubb continued.
At the end of his speech, the President gave the schoolchildren some advice: “Be curious, take care of your friends and ask how they are doing”.
After the visit to the school, President Stubb met the pupils who had organised the event for lunch at the Hämeenlinna Town Hall, together with representatives of the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare and the management of the City of Hämeenlinna. During the lunch, the guests were entertained by a rap performance by school children.
In the afternoon, President Stubb visited Voutilakeskus, a multi-service centre and service home for the elderly. At the beginning of the visit, the President was introduced to GerBiili, the mobile geriatric care unit in Oma Häme, the Kanta-Häme welfare region. The aim is to provide care for the elderly at home, avoiding unnecessary trips to the urgent care centre. The President was then shown the daily life and activities of the multi-service centre. The visit was rounded off with a get-together and coffee with the residents and staff.
