An exhibition is being organized for those who lost their homes and everything in the war as they have to run away from the conflict-ridden area and this will be seen by more than 7,000 business leaders.

The exhibition presents keys and their owners from conflict areas around the world: Ukraine, Mali, Bosnia, Burundi, Afghanistan, Palestine, Libya and ceded Karelia in Finland.

Authentic house keys from all over the world collected by a peace foundation and is being exhibited ahead of the International Day of Peace (October 21, 2022) at the Nordic Business Forum.

They come from different backgrounds, including a radio broadcaster, a serial entrepreneur, and a proponent of political discussion. The fact that their houses went from being the safest places on earth to the most unsafe is what unites them.

According to Janne Taalas, CEO of CMI, “House keys are our most valuable possessions. They always go with us – and yet the keys are the first thing that a person fleeing war no longer needs”.

Displacement of People

While the histories and settings vary, the common denominator in all of them is the displacement of people from their homes. The exhibition tracks the ups and downs of the escape trip, the fates of families, and yet the glimmers of hope in the midst of violence and war.  The opinions and reflections of those who are affected by the disputes on how they believe they might be resolved and how to find the secrets of peace will be shared.

One of the tales told in the exhibit is that of Martti Ahtisaari, a young boy who would grow up to become the president of Finland and a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Following the Soviet invasion of the Second World War, Ahtisaari was just two years old when his house in Karelia was evacuated. His key never returned to his house.

Mediators of peace

More and more demands for peace mediation are a reflection of these uncertain times. CMI cannot accommodate all of the requests for peace mediation it gets each year. It got 99 mediation requests in 2021, the most requests per year since it was founded in 2000.

He further added “Right now, there are already more than 100 million* of these stories, of people who had to leave their homes. Peace is always an option and all conflicts are solvable. What humanity has started, humanity can stop, we all hold the keys for peace”.