Speakers

Meri Kulmala (DSocSci, MA) is a Research Director at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki. She is a sociologist and an expert in inequality studies with extensive experience in co-research in the context of various marginalized and minoritized groups. She leads, among others, the Helsinki Inequality Initiative (INEQ) research network and serves as one of the Theme Leads in Resilient and Just Systems (RESET) at the University of Helsinki. She also leads the OBaMa (Overcoming Barriers to Democratic Participation with Minoritized and Marginalized Groups) research project funded by the Strategic Research Council of Finland. In addition, she is a founding member of The Co-research Network. Meri Kulmala is Docent of Social and Public Policy at the University of Eastern Finland and Docent of Russian Eurasian Studies at the University of Helsinki.

Lasse Peltonen D.Adm.Sc. (Environmental Policy), Professor of Environmental Governance and Conflict Resolution at the Department of Historical and Geographical Studies, University of Eastern Finland. He is also co-director of the International Master’s Programme in Environmental Policy and Law at UEF. His work revolves around environmental conflicts, conflict resolution, and collaborative methods in the fields of natural resource use, conservation, and, recently, the green transition. In addition to his academic work, he is co-founder of Akordi Oy, a company specializing in environmental conflict resolution.