2006 ISAF Annual Conference

Helsinki, Finland, 2 - 12 November 2006

The 2006 ISAF Annual Conference will be held in Helsinki, Finland from 2 to 12 November.

Helsinki may seem provincial compared to the other sprawling Scandinavian capitals (its only 'skyscraper' is just 12 stories high), but this small city is surprisingly cosmopolitan. The Finnish capital boasts a highly educated, cultured and affluent populace; its streets are filled with coffee-guzzling, mobile-phone wielding go-getters. The technology boom and the presence of a prestigious university make for a young city with an active nightlife. Helsinki also enjoys an impressive selection of cultural institutions, from a brand new opera house to a cutting-edge contemporary art museum.

Although Helsinki is by no means diverse, it does have a larger foreign population than the rest of the country, and the Swedish and Russian influence on the area is evident in its architecture, cuisine and language. With a milder climate than most of Finland and a spirited maritime character, Helsinki is a lively city whose people are generally friendly, if not immediately gregarious. Clean, green (over one-quarter of the city is covered in parks) and sophisticated, Helsinki is a delight for outdoorsy and artsy travellers alike.

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