Battle of Ideas

Battle of Ideas is an annual, international festival of debate which been running for over 20 years. The festival starts with a two-day event in London in October and then expands across Europe.

In Helsinki, the event hosts a day of panel discussions on important political, social and cultural issues, featuring a diverse lineup of European and Finnish speakers.

The festival is a meeting place for people and ideas to promote discussion and debate. The event hosts a series of conversations for the public, with the public, in public. The mottos are free speech allowed and free thinkers welcome. 

Programme:

11:30 Registration and coffee

12:30 Welcomes and introductions

12:35 Panel debate: Populism: giving the people a voice?

14:15 Panel debates
War on words? The battles over language / Dystopia versus Utopia: is AI changing everything?

15:15-16:15 Lunch break

15:20-16:05 Lunchtime shorts
Meet the authors: Eric Kaufmann and Frank Furedon on cultural renewal / Europe’s free-speech crisis: launching the fightback

16:15 Panel debates
GenZ: the lost generation? / Independence: does the nation state still matter?

17:30 Closing panel debate. Free speech: should we have the right to be offensive?

18:45-19:30 Drinks reception

Balder Hall

31.10.2026

14.00-21.30
Tickets 12,50€, age limit 18 yrs

Held in Finnish and in English