“We live in a time when people’s rights and freedoms are being limited, and civil society is under attack all over the world. We are organising World Village Festival so that the work of civil society organisations towards a sustainable future is powerfully visible on the streets. We hope that the festival will inspire and encourage everyone to defend civil liberties in their daily lives: to make their voices heard, participate in social discourse, and actively work towards a more just world”, says Fingo’s Communications Director Salla Peltonen.
The theme of Freedom is featured extensively, for example on the Speaker’s Stage in Bio Rex. The programme also includes concerts at the Music Stage, workshops and children’s activities at Luckan, Peace & Sports area for young people, events at Kamppi Chapel and Rosebud’s Book World, Funky Amigos’ terrace party, and nearly 90 exhibitors at Narinkka Square, Mauno Koivisto Square, and Bio Rex.
Talks and discussions include Farnaz Abdoli, Freddy Lim, Walden Bello, and Joseph White Eyes
Iranian fashion designer and activist Farnaz Abdoli offers a perspective on Iran, discussing forms of women’s resistance, the persecution she has faced, and her journey into exile. Helsinki Poetry Connection programme features one of the UK’s most influential spoken word artists, Joelle Taylor.
Vikes’ programme features the frontman of the Taiwanese metal band CHTHONIC and Taiwan’s representative in Finland Freddy Lim and May, an artist and filmmaker born in Myanmar who lives in Europe.
Filipino researcher-activist and University of Helsinki Honorary Doctor Walden Bello discusses the world after neoliberalism with theUniversity of Jyväskylä lecturer Bonn Juego.
Greenpeace’s programme features Joseph White Eyes, an activist from the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in the United States. Following the documentary Gaza’s Silent Threat, there will be an interview with James Elder, an international Unicef spokesperson with hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
The Finn Church Aidprogramme features Sierra Leonean artist MUSH and Kenyan creative activist Richard “Astar” Njau. KIOS’s interview features Kenyan advocacy specialist Michelle Mwelesa.
This year’s festival lineup for Talks and discussions includes Helsinki Deputy Mayors Shawn Huff (vihr.) and Johanna Laisaari (sd), Fingo Chair and Member of Parliament Eva Biaudet (r), and Member of the European Parliament Mika Aaltola (EPP, kok).
In addition, the programme will feature talks and discussions on the situations in Palestine and Ukraine, free journalism, the rights of children and young people, and the Somali diaspora, as well as a speech by Professor of World Politics Teivo Teivainen on liberalism, imperialism, and freedom.
Stars of the Music Stage: Ëda Diaz, Kizaba, and Jamila & The Other Heroes
French Colombian singer-bassist Ëda Diaz innovatively mixes traditional Latin American rhythms with experimental electronic music.Kizaba is known as a pioneer of Congolese electronic music. Berlin-based psychedelic desert rock band Jamila & The Other Heroes are known for their songs advocating Palestinian rights and liberation.
Among the Finnish artists, the programme will feature the rising star of soul music, Emilia Sisco Sextet, Vodou Fusion, who blend traditional Afrobeats, funk, reggae, and Afropop with West African voodoo rhythms, and Yona, who performs her own material as well as covers of Ukrainian songs.
The children’s music group Mutaveijarit will get the kids dancing right at the start of the festival. Jarmo Saari Republic will present, for the first time in their Freedom Speeches concert, a programme in which the music is built around famous historical speeches on freedom. Aizhan Sultan embarks on a musical exploration of contemporary Kazakh music.
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Additional information, media accreditation, interview requests, and photos
Media can apply for accreditation to festival via email no later than Wednesday, May 13. Accreditation is particularly recommended for photographers moving around the area and for journalists interviewing the audience and artists. Performers and festival organisers can be interviewed before or during the festival. The media is free to use the festival’s press photos from Flickr as well as photos taken at the festival.
Communications Manager Nelli Korpi, nelli.korpi@fingo.fi, +358 50 317 6698
World Village Festival with the theme Freedom, 16–17 May 2026, in the Lasipalatsi District and at Narinkka Square, Helsinki. Admission is free. Organised by Finnish Development NGOs Fingo, the main partners are the European Commission Representation in Finland and the European Parliament Liaison Office in Finland, Finn Church Aid and Maailman Kuvalehti magazine.
