The Helsinki Process was created at the initiative of the Finnish Government in co-operation with the Tanzanian Government. The project was launched in December 2002 in Helsinki at a conference on the problems of global governance and the future of North–South relations.
The objective of the Helsinki Process is to bring about initiatives that are practical and that address issues which create problems for the individuals and communities most at risk. The process aims at finding large and small solutions to problems; solutions which will take development in the desired direction. However, the implementation of solutions requires mobilisation and a will to put joint decisions into practice. The Helsinki Process aims at generating goal-oriented action within partnerships that may previously have been considered untypical.