Unfolding Tomorrow — Expecting the unexpected

Are you ready to take on the unexpected?

Anticipatory governance allows us to think about the future in advance so that we can plan for it proactively. It’s not just about creating new policies around climate change or other global issues — it’s about creating an entire “system of systems” that employs foresight to develop plans and execute relevant actions.

In this Unfolding Tomorrow event, we’ll discuss how anticipatory governance works at the local level, how it’s connected to international efforts like those supported by the United Nations, and how it can help us prepare for some of our most pressing problems. The event is tied to United Nations Day on 24 October.

At Aalto University, we believe in solving problems related to sustainability through entrepreneurship, facing problems rather than pretending they don’t exist, and educating ourselves rather than using the lack of knowledge as an excuse. And we believe in you.

Unfolding Tomorrow is an event series that brings the brightest minds in business, academia, and government together to talk about what we can do today to make tomorrow better. The event topics come from the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their targets and indicators. Unfolding Tomorrow is organized together with the UN Association of Finland and the City of Espoo.

This Unfolding Tomorrow session is related to SDG 16: ‘Peace, justice and strong institutions’.

We’re joined by experts from politics, NGOs, and business for brief introductory talks followed by a panel discussion.

Meet the speakers

Jaana Tapanainen-Thiess

Secretary General, Government Report on the Future and Government Foresight Group

Jaana Tapanainen-Thiess is now leading the “Finland for Future Generations” scenario project, as part of the Government Report on the Future, in intensive cross-governmental collaboration with all 12 Ministries of Finland. The Government Report on the Future identifies important issues for long-term decision-making and forms the strategic futures dialogue between the Government and the Parliament, opening discussion for the coming years about the kind of future we want for Finland. Jaana Tapanainen-Thiess is also part of the boards in organisations such as the World Futures Studies Federation which is a UNESCO and UN consultative partner, and Suomi-Seura ry.

Mikko Dufva

Leading foresight specialist at Sitra

Mikko Dufva is Sitra's futures expert and docent of futures research at Aalto University. In his work, he examines the future developments, the tensions between them and the images related to the future. In addition, he tries to identify non-obvious but essential things for the future. Mikko has extensive experience in forecasting, and he has a doctorate in technology in generating information about the future and systemic forecasting.

Päivi Koivisto

Vice President, Sustainability at Cargotec

Päivi Koivisto (MSc Environmental Technology & eMBA) is a sustainability professional with over 20 years of experience in environmental and sustainability positions in multinational companies. Currently she is heading sustainability work at Cargotec and has been successfully leading the company's ambitious climate work. Cargotec is a leading provider of cargo and load handling solutions with the goal of becoming the global leader in sustainable cargo flow.

Moderated by Jenni Kauppila

Advocacy Officer and Sustainable Development Expert at United Nations Association of Finland

Since 2009, Kauppila has been in charge of various UNA Finland’s development cooperation projects focusing on civil society capacity strengthening and SDG implementation, mostly in East Africa. Prior to joining UNA Finland, she worked as a researcher, lecturer, development cooperation consultant, and did voluntary and part-time work for several NGOs.

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