Theme: Unseen Forces

Step into a world where the invisible takes center stage. TEDxVaasa 2025 invites you to explore the unseen forces shaping our lives—forces that influence our decisions, shape societies, and drive innovation in ways we may not even realize.

From cultural undercurrents to technological revolutions, from unconscious biases to hidden networks, this year’s theme delves into the forces that operate beneath the surface yet hold immense power in defining our future.

Join us for an inspiring day of thought-provoking talks, groundbreaking ideas, and meaningful connections. Let’s uncover the invisible, challenge our perceptions, and ignite conversations that matter.

📅 Date: Friday | April 25, 2025
📍 Location: Wasa Innovation Center
🎟 Tickets are out now: https://tedxvaasa.com/

Come curious. Leave transformed.

Hashtags:
#TEDxVaasa #TEDxVaasa2025 #UnseenForces #IdeasWorthSpreading

Vaasa
Gerbyntie 16
Vaasa, Pohjanmaa, 65230
Finland

Andrew Agbaje

Professor, University of Eastern Finland

Professor Andrew Agbaje is an internationally recognized researcher and physician-scientist specializing in the early detection and prevention of childhood obesity. His pioneering work has gained attention from global media outlets, including the BBC and CNN. With a passion for child health and data-driven solutions, Andrew is reshaping how we understand long-term well-being from adolescence to adulthood. He is the principal investigator of UndeRstanding FITness and Cardiometabolic Health In Little Darlings (urfit-child.com) research group at the University of Eastern Finland.

Anna Granskog

Partner, McKinsey & Company

Anna Granskog is a Partner at McKinsey & Company with 28 years of consulting experience focused on energy, industrial strategy, and organizational transformation. As a leader within McKinsey Sustainability, she helps clients scale next-generation climate technologies and drive real progress toward net zero. Drawing on her deep expertise, Anna shows us how to align personal choices with global solutions and scale climate action from the grocery aisle to boardroom decisions.

Anna Häggblom

Entrepreneur, AveoAI

Anna Häggblom is an AI strategist, entrepreneur, and speaker who helps organizations adopt AI in ways that benefit both people and profits. With a background in finance and statistics, she founded AveoAI to guide companies through human-centered, sustainable AI integration. A passionate advocate for cognitive well-being and the four-day workweek, Anna is on a mission to prove that when people have time to think, innovation follows.

Anu Ennelin

Entrepreneur, Vastuutakomo

Anu Ennelin is a Finnish sustainability consultant, certified change leader, and former HR executive whose career spans science, business, and social impact. As the founder of Vastuutakomo, she helps companies, especially SMEs, turn sustainability strategies into meaningful actions by empowering employees at every level. Anu believes that sustainability should be practical, inclusive, and driven by how people actually think and behave, not how we wish they did.

Christof Middeke

Wilderness Guide, NordicByNature

Christof Middeke is a wilderness guide and sufficiency advocate who builds bridges between the modern human experience and natural realities.

Elina Viitasaari

Special Youth Councelor (Youth Street Violence Prevention), City of Vaasa

Elina Viitasaari is an award-winning expert in sexual and gender-based violence, with a career that spans from direct client work on the ground to shaping global policy in UN forums. Her work bridges the personal and the political, grounded in both empathy and action. With a deep commitment to ending violence and building safer, more just societies, Elina continues to lead conversations that turn awareness into impact.

Kamilla Sultanova

Entrepreneur, ConnectUz

Kamilla Sultanova is an award-winning speaker, event host, and DEI consultant with a gift for turning difference into strength. Fluent in several languages and deeply immersed in Nordic culture, she brings experience from corporate, startup, and civic spaces to every stage she steps on. Whether engaging presidents or local communities, Kamilla uses her voice to break down barriers and build bridges.

Khin Phyu Cyn Kyi

Trainee for Marketing (Transformers Hub Europe) and HR (Finland), Hitachi Energy

Khin Phyu Cyn Kyi, also known as K, is a passionate youth advocate for community development and international collaboration. Originally trained in civil engineering, she now studies international business in Finland and actively participates in global diplomacy programs like SSEAYP, AFMAM, AAYLF, and YSEALI. Through her blog The K Channel and her work with Vaasa for All, she empowers young people to chase their goals, embrace diversity, and grow with confidence in cross-cultural spaces.

Leonor Carvalho

Entrepreneur, Leonor Coaching

Leonor Carvalho, PhD, is a coach and hypnotherapist who helps founders, entrepreneurs, and leaders recover from burnout and realign their lives through self-awareness and deep emotional reconnection. Having experienced burnout firsthand—twice—she brings both lived experience and a transformative approach that blends coaching with subconscious work. Today, she guides others to step off autopilot and create lives that feel sustainable, aligned, and meaningful.

Lukumanu Iddrisu

Project Manager, Vaasa Spouse Programme

Lukumanu Iddrisu is a speaker, storyteller, and advocate for meaningful connection, based in Finland. With a background in economics and business administration, he currently work as an HR Business Partner at ABB Oy and a part-time lecturer at Vaasa University of Applied Sciences (VAMK). Through his work and online presence, Lukumanu helps individuals unlock hidden opportunities by rethinking personal branding, inclusion, and the unspoken dynamics of career development.

Megha Goswami

Content Creator & Marketing Specialist, Couple of Expats

Megha Goswami is a marketing professional, digital creator, and storyteller with a passion for cultural connection. Originally from India and raised partly in the U.S., Megha chose Finland as her home, a decision that sparked the creation of Couple of Expats, a platform she co-founded to help others navigate Finnish life from an immigrant’s perspective. With over 20 million views on their content, Megha uses her voice to build bridges between people and cultures, one story at a time.

Pauliina Ståhlberg

Executive Director, Helsinki International Film Festival

Pauliina Ståhlberg is the Executive Director of the Helsinki International Film Festival, Finland’s largest film festival. With a rich background in cultural leadership and international arts diplomacy, she previously served as the Director of the Finnish Cultural Institutes in both Madrid and London. She’s also an acclaimed audiovisual producer behind Netflix’s Nordic Noir hit Deadwind/Karppi. In her free time, she enjoys scuba diving, training karate, and of course, watching films.

Petri Uusikylä

Research Director, University of Vaasa

Petri Uusikylä (PhD) is a research director at the University of Vaasa, specializing in public policy, governance, and resilience. With over 25 years of experience in systems analysis, complexity research, and innovation policy, he has worked as a consultant and advisor to governments across Europe and the Global South. Petri is also a published author and entrepreneur, with a deep commitment to helping societies thrive in “wicked environments.”

Ulla Kruhse-Lehtonen

CEO, DAIN Studios Finland

Ulla Kruhse-Lehtonen is a leading expert in AI and data strategy, and the co-founder of DAIN Studios, a Finnish-German consultancy guiding companies through AI-driven transformation. With a PhD in Economics and a background in senior analytics roles at Sanoma and Nokia, Ulla brings deep expertise in using data to unlock real business value. Through her work, she helps businesses not just keep up with change, but lead it.