Welcome to Helsinki! Please note that due to the Finnish EU presidency accommodation is in high demand. We suggest you book yours as soon as possible.
Below we provide offers from the hotels in Helsinki with special prices for our conference participants and other options to accommodate.
Scandic Paasi, the hotel at the conference venue (Paasitorni), is offering rooms with special price (limited number of rooms available):
Please book directly, here (when open the link, please note that you have BHEL231019 booking code already inserted in the appropriate field).
Hotel Arthur, the private hotel located in Helsinki city centre right next to the Central Railway Station. The hotel is 900 m and around 10-12 minutes walk away from the conference venue. The hotel offers rooms with special price (limited number of rooms available):
Please use the allotment code CRDAHelsinki2019 to book your room. Direct reservations by e-mail sales@hotelarthur.fi or reception@hotelarthur.fi.
Unihome is a special service for international scholars visiting the events related to two universities in Finland: University of Helsinki and Aalto University. For our conference participants it offers rooms and flats with special price (only a limited number of rooms and flats are available):
Please make your reservation via email to sales@unihome.fi as soon as possible, but no later than 23rd of September 2019. In your message, please indicate your name, arrival and departure dates (check-in 15.00 on day of arrival, check-out 11.00 day of departure) and the note that you wish to make a reservation from the allotment “Communication Rights In The Digital Age” which is valid 23rd-25th of October 2019. Reservation will be confirmed upon availability in the allotment, please wait for confirmation.
Forenom Hostel Helsinki Merihaka offers private 1-2 person rooms with excellent value for money right by the urban heart of Helsinki, Kallio. Forenom Merihaka hostel is 900 m and 10-12 minutes walk away from the conference location. Please use the campaign code WEB2019 to get 5% off from your booking. To book a room, you can use this link or visit Forenom Merihaka hostel webpage.
There are also other hostels right in the centre of Helsinki:
You might also be interested in renting an apartment while visiting Helsinki.
(Note that our conference days start with full breakfast)
Photo credit: Jaakko Kemppainen
The conference will be hosted in one of the most beautiful locations of Helsinki: Paasitorni. Paasitorni was designed in Art Nouveau style by architect Karl Lindahl and opened in 1908 as conference and leisure premises for the labour movement members. Nowadays, it is a conference and congress centre considered to be of exceptional value in terms of its architecture and cultural history. You can learn more about Paasitorni's history and its evolution from 'Paasitorni in the Heart of Helsinki', a nine-minute film produced by MakeFilms.
The location is central and easily accessible. Paasitorni website informs there are parking spaces in the vicinity of Paasitorni, but they are subject to a charge. There are also other parking options around: at Jaffa Station and S-Market Hakaniemi car park (Cityparkki). Paasitorni provides a parking map for your convenience.
We strongly recommend using public transportation, though. Journey planner will help you build the most convenient route from your current location to Paassitorni. The Central Railway Station is about a kilometre away, it can be a pleasant walk on foot or by bicycle as well. Paasitorni provides parking for bicycles on the side flanking Saariniemenkatu.
Photo: Paasitorni with the floating restaurant Meripaviljonki in the front, Paasitorni, Helsinki Workers’ House (© Jani Forsberg / Paasitorni, retrieved from Finnish Architecture Navigator)
All conference participants are warmly invited to attend the welcome reception on Wednesday 23rd October at 18:00. We are delighted to announce that the reception will be held in Unioninkadun Juhlahuoneistot, Unioninkatu 33, Helsinki, Finland. During the reception, our guests will be offered refreshments and a choice of delicious snacks.
The facilities are located in the heart of Helsinki historic centre. The building was completed in 1848 and designed by Ernst Bernhard Lohrmann (1803-1870) who followed Carl Ludvig Engel as Chief Architect in Helsinki. Currently, the facilities are used to host festive and significant events.
The location is easily accessible. Guests arriving by car can find parking spaces in P-Kluuvi, the nearest, with the entrance at HelsinkiPuutarhakatu 1, and exit at Kaisaniemenkatu 10. The parking is a subject to a charge (08–18:00: 3,50 €/ 30 min; and 18:00 - 21:00: 1 €/ 30 min). Please see the map to find more parking places around (only in Finnish) or contact us.
We recommend arriving by public transportation. There are many bus and tram lines that run through the location, and there is the University of Helsinki metro station (Finnish: Helsingin yliopiston metroasema) as well. The Central Railway Station is less than a kilometre away, a distance easily covered on foot in good weather. There is a direct train from Helsinki Airport to the Central Railway Station. Please use the Journey Planner to find the easiest and shortest way to the location.
When the first day of the conference is over, you are welcome to get together for continuing conversations over appetizers and drinks.
Photo credit: HIVAN ARVIZU @soyhivan
Papers will be presented in panels (the panels are organized in themes), which run for a maximum of 85 minutes, including Q&A sessions. Each panel will be managed by a Chair, who is responsible for guiding the debate. You can see the title of your panel and the name of your Chair in the program.
Paper presentations will run for a total of 15-18 minutes each, depending on the number of panelists (3 or 4 presenters per panel).
The conference venue is provided with the necessary equipment for presentations in all panel rooms. Please note that software capabilities are limited to a PDF reader only.
You are kindly asked to email your presentation to Irina Khaldarova (irina.khaldarova(at)helsinki.fi), but pleased do so by 22 October the latest . If that is not possible, please bring your presentations as a PDF file on a USB memory stick (please check your USB drive for viruses in advance).
Presenters will not be able to use their own laptop computers for presentations since changing the audiovisual setups in the meeting rooms causes unnecessary technical delays at the beginning of panel sessions.
Photo credit: William Moreland
Papers presented in panels can be submitted for consideration for publication in a special issue of the Journal of Information Policy (JIP). The Journal is an open access, peer-reviewed, scholarly publication of the Institute of Information Policy at the Pennsylvania State University, published by Penn State University Press and archived on JSTOR. It is indexed on Scopus, IBZ and the Emerging Sources Citation Index. The JIP brings contemporary scholarly research and analysis of significant information policy issues to the attention of policymakers in a timely fashion via an online format. As an open access journal, all content on the JIP is freely available immediately upon publication without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users can read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, per the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND license, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author.
Deadline for submission of papers to the special issue is 31 January 2020.
Please submit your proposed article via the online system http://www.editorialmanager.com/jip/ and create an author profile. The system will guide you through the steps to upload your article for submission to the editorial office.
Dr. Minna Aslama Horowitz is your academic host during your stay in Helsinki. You are warmly welcome to contact her on any matter related to the conference programme and content: email: minna.aslama@helsinki.fi
Irina Khaldarova assists you with practical matters. Please contact her if you have questions about the venue, accommodation, transportation, meals, etc.: phone: +358 44 323 4807 (mobile), email: irina.khaldarova@helsinki.fi
Photo credit: Miguel Virkkunen Carvalho
All you need to know to plan your conference trip to Helsinki. In this file, you find the information on how to register, how to find accommodation in Helsinki, how to get ready for your paper presentation and how to make the best out of this conference. Please read through these practical details carefully and do not hesitate to ask if you have any further questions (contacts).
Photo credit: Lara Far
Getting to the city centre from Helsinki Airport (lentoasema):
Both Finnair City Bus and HSL buses and trains arrive at the Central Railway Station (rautatieasema) and their travel time from the airport is approximately 35 mins. The Central Railway Station is the final stop.
Please note, you will have to buy a regional ticket for travelling from the airport to Helsinki city centre by HSL bus. You can buy a ticket through a mobile application or from:
If you travel to Helsinki by train, you arrive in Central Railway Station. Central Railway Station is located in the city centre. It is within a walking distance to the conference venue. By the way, Helsinki Central was chosen as one of the world's most beautiful railway stations by BBC in 2013.
Olympia Terminal
Olympia Terminal is located at the South Harbour and there is a regular passenger ship link to Stockholm, Sweden. The terminal has an ATM, luggage lockers, a trolley rental, a restaurant, kiosk, and the Tallink Silja service point. Trams 2 and 3 stop next to the Olympia Terminal.
West Terminal 1
West Terminal 1 is located at the West Harbour and it serves ferries to and from Tallinn, Estonia. There is also a regular passenger ship link to St. Petersburg, Russia. The terminal has luggage lockers, a restaurant, café, kiosk, an ATM, money exchange office (open when the St. Petersburg ship is there) and the Eckerö Line, St. Peter Line and Tallink Silja Oy service points. Trams 7 and 6T stop at West Terminal 1.
West Terminal 2
West Terminal 2 is located at the end of West Harbour. There is a regular passenger ship link to Tallinn. The terminal has a restaurant, café, ATM, Tallink Silja and Eckerö Line service points. Trams 7 and 6T stop at West Terminal 2.
Katajanokka Terminal
Katajanokka Terminal is located at Katajanokka, with a regular ferry connection to Stockholm and Tallinn. The terminal has a restaurant, kiosk, a money exchange, an ATM, luggage lockers, and the Viking Line service point. Trams 4 and 5 stop next to the Katajanokka Terminal.
Photo credit: Tobias Tullius
In Helsinki, all public transport works within the integrated public transport ticket system. This means that you can transfer from one vehicle to another with the same ticket within the validity of your ticket. Tickets are valid from the moment of purchase. You must get on a bus, tram or train before the expiry time of your ticket, but you can complete your journey even after your ticket has expired. The minimum validity period is 60 min (Helsinki internal single tickets). The expiry time is always printed on the ticket.
You can buy a ticket through a mobile application or from:
The ticket sales points are well distributed in the city, and there is no problem to find one or two around. However, you might want to have a sales points map at hand to feel on the safe side.
Please note that bus drivers sell tickets, but for tram and commuter train journeys tickets must be bought before boarding. When purchasing a ticket from a driver, please have small change ready; exact change would be appreciated. The driver does not have to accept notes larger than EUR 20. Drivers only accept cash.
Also remember that the price and validity time of the ticket depends on the zone(s) in which you wish to travel, i.e. whether you travel within one municipality or in several municipalities. For example, the airport and the city centre are located in two different municipalities (zones), therefore you would need a regional ticket between the airport (Vantaa) and Helsinki city centre. For more information about zones, please check here.
And if you choose a tram, also keep in mind: tram tickets are valid for 60 minutes. The ticket allows you to transfer from one tram route to another but not to other modes of transport.
Useful website for planning your journey on public transport around Helsinki.
City bikes are shared bicycles available to everyone in Helsinki or Espoo. For a city bike user, a bicycle is always close by, and it’s easy to get around and exercise while doing so!
You can purchase access to city bikes for a day, week or the entire cycling season. All passes include an unlimited number of 30-minute bike rides. For a small extra fee, you can use the bike for longer, five hours at most. After use, the bike is returned to a bike station.
Please check the instructions on how to rent a city bike.
You can use a journey planner to build your best route by bike.
Taxi stands are located throughout the city centre. Taksi-Helsinki: tel. +358 (0)100 0700 (1,17€/call +0,25€/10 seconds + local call charge).
Photo credit: Giuseppe Milo
Taxis:
Taxis can be ordered from TaksiHelsinki via the number 0100 0700. By ordering a taxi from the TaksiHelsinki you can ensure that your taxi will be legitimate, high-quality and safe. The taxi contains a sealed taxi metre and a driver is always a person who has a professional driving permit issued by the police authorities.
Currency exchange:
Money can be exchanged either at banks or at currency exchange points around the city. There is a Forex Bank at the Central Railway Station, open Mon-Fri 8.00–20.00, Sat-Sun 9.00–19:00
Banks:
Usually open Mon-Fri 9:30–,16.00. The nearest bank to the conference location is Nordea, at the address Paasivuorenkatu 3, 00530 Helsinki.
Pharmacies:
The nearest pharmacies are 350-400 m far from the conference venue:
Doctor:
If you stay in a hotel, the hotel reception will assist you in reserving an appointment with a doctor or ordering an ambulance.
If you stay in an apartment, please call 112 in emergency cases or 116 117 to ask for advice in sudden health problems (this is the Medical Helpline number and it is free of charge). You can also contact our conference coordinator Irina Khaldarova (+358443234807), she can help to make an appointment to the doctor if needed.
Store opening times:
Grocery stores Mon-Sat 7.00–23.00, Sun 10.00–23.00 (varies from store to store). The nearest grocery store to the conference venue is Alepa Grönnäsgatan, Viherniemenkatu 9, 00530 Helsinki (500 m away from the conference location). Weekdays Alepa Grönnäsgatan is open from 6.30 to 23.00.
Churches:
Smoking:
It is prohibited to smoke in all public indoor areas, in public transportation and in the interiors of restaurants. Smoking is permitted in outdoor areas of restaurants.
Alcohol consumption:
It is prohibited to consume alcohol in public areas.
It is forbidden to bring your own alcoholic beverages into the hotel.
There is a minimum age limit of 18 years in force in licensed premises. In some night clubs, the minimum age limit might be up to 23 years. Grocery stores sell medium-strength alcohol beverages to customers over 18 years of age.
Police:
General Emergency Number 112
Photo credit: Tapio Haaja
There is a number of Helsinki's most fascinating cultural and historical assets in the neighbourhood of the conference venue: Ateneum Art Museum, Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, The National Museum of Finland (Kansallismuseo), Helsinki Cathedral and many others.
If you would like to know more what is going on in Helsinki during your visit, please follow the link: myhelsinki.fi/en
More practical information for conference visitors can be found here.
The most exact weather forecast for Helsinki.
Photo credit: Julius Jansson