I founded the think tank Demos Helsinki together with my fellow student Roope Mokka ten years ago. We work on issues that are important to both society and me personally. These issues are complex, and they cannot be mastered through any single traditional profession or field of expertise. Or what do you think about tackling climate change, renewing democracy and increasing the control people have over their lives, just to mention few of the themes related to my work?

It is to be expected that I am continually tackling themes where others have stronger expertise. Nevertheless, my colleagues and I bring a broader perspective to these questions, one that slices across society. We help people and organisations understand how things change when some new phenomenon spreads from one particular profession or sector and begins shaping the actions of people, businesses and other communities.

To achieve this we utilise many of the methods of futures studies, which are based on postulating alternative futures by observing and conceptualising contemporary phenomena. To support this I try to be curious, listen carefully to what people have to say, voraciously consume books and articles on new ideas, build myself yardsticks and at the same time consider the things that really drive change.

The ideas and activities of Demos Helsinki have a large audience, and they are often met with enthusiasm. You have to be enormously grateful for that. I could already feel quite content just with being allowed to work on such interesting issues in the first place. However, this whole thing is motivated by having an influence on society. That is why it is essential to remain constantly abreast with how our ideas spread and what kind of actions they precipitate.