Between June 9 and 13, 2025, Helsinki, Finland, became the focal point of international nursing leadership when it welcomed the thirtieth Congress of the International Council of Nurses (ICN) at the Messukeskus Expo and Convention Centre. Under the banner Nursing Power to Change the World, the meeting celebrated a centennial return, precisely one hundred years after Finland last hosted the gathering in 1925. Approximately seven thousand delegates from one hundred forty-five nations attended, among them a spirited and well-prepared contingent from the Philippines, headed by Dr. Rosana Grace Belo Delariarte, President of the Philippine Nurses Association. Filipinos are recognized globally for their clinical excellence and advocacy. Filipino nurses enriched the forum with vital research, bold policy proposals, and lively cultural exchanges.
Under the guidance of Dr. Delariarte, the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) took an assertive seat at the table during the Executive sessions and the Council of National Nursing Associations gathering. Filipino delegates engaged in discussions about investing in the workforce, ethical recruitment, mental health care, and building future leaders, all carried out in the spirit of the ICN’s Helsinki Communiqué. Their active participation underscored the country’s steady push for fair pay, secure workplaces, and pathways to advanced nursing practice. Backed by a team of nurse scholars from the Philippines and the broader diaspora, the delegation also presented a series of abstracts and posters across nine themes, ranging from disaster response to digital health, mobility, migration, and artificial intelligence, demonstrating the intellectual depth and global relevance of the Filipino nursing profession.
Beyond the meeting rooms, the group proudly stepped into the Parade of Nations. These festive moments deepened ties with other national associations and with global bodies such as the World Health Organization and the ICN leadership councils. Finland, renowned for striking a balance between inventive spirit and social fairness, proved an ideal venue for the gathering. Delegates moved between green convention spaces, policy cafés, and expert panels, while masterclasses and guided visits showcased cutting-edge Finnish hospitals. Marking its hundredth anniversary, the Finnish Nurses Association collaborated closely with the ICN to ensure that each participant felt both welcomed and deeply engaged. Evenings at venues like Finlandia Hall and displays organized by groups such as these further enriched the schedule, spotlighting successful, nurse-led reforms in care delivery.
When the event drew to a close, attendees from every continent voiced a single demand: greater funding for education, stronger leadership programs, improved staff welfare, and broader health and security measures for the Filipino contingent, the week served not only as a festive reunion but also as a springboard, a chance to review their field’s history while recharging ambitions for the future. They flew home to their host countries, armed with practical ideas, fresh global partnerships, and a steely determination to reshape health systems in the Philippines and elsewhere. The 2025 ICN Congress in Helsinki thus confirmed what many already sensed: nursing, and Filipino nurses in particular, possess the capacity to alter tomorrow’s world. A new elected president takes the helm, Dr. Jose Luis Cobos Serrano, after the incredible leadership of Dr. Pamela Cipriano. The next ICN congress will be held in Taipei, Taiwan, in 2027.
