BPW International

BPW Finland had its Spring Meeting in Helsinki on April 16th.

After the official meeting  nearly 70 BPW sisters met  at Restaurant Kansallissali* to celebrate the 80th anniversary of BPW Helsinki. This Club was established already 15 years before we got BPW Finland.

The President of BPW Helsinki, Merja Rokio-Hlitunen, opened the ceremony by reminiscing the Clubs' long history. Thereafter we enjoyed a delicious dinner and the representative of the City of Helsinki, Chief Communications Officer, Eero Waronen, verbally painted a picture of what kind of a city Helsinki was in the 1930s when the Club was established.

The President of BPW Finland, Leena Roivas, had the pleasure of inviting a new honorary president namely Past BPW International President Tuulikki Juusela. Congratulations, Tuulikki!

After dinner Clubs from all around Finland who had representatives at the party presented greetings to the Helsinki Club and the stack of gifts was really generous. The President  discovered this while carrying the gifts from Kansallissali after the party! Thanks again to everyone who remembered us and our respectable old age!.

The highlight of the Anniversary Celebration was the performance of the magician / stand-up comedian Martti Vannas. The half hour stand-up show was a huge success and the performance was full of audience participation and laughter. Every second was planned to capture the eye of the spectator. Evidence of the success could clearly be noticed on the guests’ happy faces when they left the party.

The entire party was a success; warm-hearted and filled with humour. I have received numerous thanks for the excellent arrangements.

But in order to have a memorable party, wonderful  guests are needed -  and we had the entire dinner hall full of them! Thank you again to all of you for making our party unforgettable!

Merja Rokio-Hiltunen
President of BPW Helsinki                


* Kansallissali was designed by three young Finnish architects Herman Geselius, Armas Lindgren and Eliel Saarinen. The building with its unique National Romantic atmosphere was originally built in 1901 as the headquarters of a Finnish fire insurance company Pohjola. The facade is guarded by very well recognizable soapstone features from the Finnish folklore, Kalevala, and was created by sculptor Hilda Flodini.