Pre-conference: Impact of climate change on the Sámi health and wellbeing: ethical and community-driven approaches (SAMI)
Tuesday 11 November, 09:00 – 17:00 Helsinki time
(with network lunch at 12:30)
Organised by
Sámi Parliament in Finland, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), EUPHA Migrant and ethnic minority health section
Background
The Sámi are the only officially recognized indigenous people in the EU, constituting of approximately 100,000 persons living mainly in Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Russia. The impact of climate change is profound for the Sámi people, impacting daily lives and livelihood, health and wellbeing. The aim of the pre-conference is to bring together researchers, practitioners and policy experts to comprehensively discuss the impact of climate change on the health, wellbeing, and daily lives of the Sámi people and to develop capacity among participants in ethical aspects and good practices of working with indigenous people.
The programme consists of presentations, moderated panel discussions and active engagement of the audience, providing diverse perspectives on the impact of climate change on the health, wellbeing, and daily lives of the Sámi people. In addition to evidence-based knowledge, the crucial importance of indigenous knowledge and application of community-driven and ethically sustainable approaches in shaping practice and policy is emphasized. Current research, practice and policy are critically reflected from the decolonial perspective. The conference themes are also reflected from broader indigenous and minority ethnic groups perspective, encouraging discussions on how indigenous knowledge and research practices with indigenous people can inform the academic community working with migrants and minority ethnic groups and vice versa.
Programme
| Session 1: Sámi health and well-being in the era of climate change | ||
| 09:00 - 9:15 | Opening | Sámi musician Tuuni Partti and guitarist Eero Nurmela |
| Orientation to the day | ||
| Welcome remarks, brief overview of the programme |
Riitta Lehtola-Kosonen, Social Affairs and Health Secretary, Sámi Parliament of Finland Niila Rahko, Planning Officer, Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare (THL) |
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| 09:15 - 9:25 | Sámi Parliament | Tuomas Aslak Juuso, II Vice President, Acting President, Sámi Parliament |
| 09:25 - 9:35 | Director General of THL | Mika Salminen, Director General Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare (THL) |
| 09:35 - 10:00 | What do we talk about when we talk about the impacts of climate change on the Sámi people? |
Janne Hirvasvuopio, Adviser in the Saami Council, Member of the Sámi Parliament in Finland |
| 10:00 - 10:25 | What do we talk about when we talk about Sámi well-being and health | Jon Petter Stoor, Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Global Health, Umeå University, Finland |
| 10:25 - 10:30 | Short Q&A with audience | |
| 10:30 - 11:00 | Coffee/Tea Break | |
| 11:00 - 11:20 | How does climate change affect everyday life and well-being among the Sámi? | Aslak Paltto, Reindeer herder, journalist |
| 11:20 - 11:40 | Sámi mental health and climate change: experiences from the Uvjj - Sámi Psychosocial Support Unit | Heidi Eriksen, Project Manager, Uvjj – Sámi Psychosocial Support Unit |
| 11:40 - 12:05 | Decolonizing research- a relations reset: Decolonization is just the beginning of true dialogue between colonizer and colonized | Pauliina Feodoroff |
| 12:05 - 12:15 | Decolonising indigenous research at THL | Anna Kihlström, PhD candidate, University of North Dakota, USA |
| 12:15 - 12:30 | Q&A | |
| 12:30 - 13:30 | Lunch | |
| Session 2: Sámi health and welfare/ studies and ethical guidelines | ||
| 13:30 - 13:40 | Performance: welcome back from lunch | |
| 13:40 - 15:00 | Panel: Perspectives on Sámi well-being and climate change |
Moderators: Anni Koivisto, Social Affairs and Health Secretary, Sámi Parliament of Finland Saida Mäki-Penttilä, Development Manager, Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare (THL) Panelists: Leena Niittyvuopio-Jämsä, President of Social Affairs and Health Committee at the Sámi Parliament, Finland Eeva-Maria Mikkonen-Jeanneret, Special Adviser, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, International Affairs Unit, Finland Eeva Furman, Chief Specialist, Secretary General of Finnish National Commission on Sustainable Development, Prime Minister´s Office, Finland Aslak Paltto, Reindeer herder, journalist Donald Warne, Co-Director of the Center for Indigenous Health, Johns Hopkins University, USA |
| 15:00 - 15:30 | Coffee/Tea Break | |
| 15:30 16:35 | Indigenous Studies | |
| Sámi research ethical guidelines | Lydia Heikkilä, Working Group for Sámi Research Ethical Guidelines | |
| Adaptation of ethical research guidelines for research with Sámi people for research with Roma population | Marko Stenroos, Senior Researcher, Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare (THL) | |
| Broader indigenous people perspective | Emma Rawson Te-Patu, President of the World Federation of Public Health Associations, Director of ManuKahu Associates, New Zealand | |
| Q&A | ||
| 16:35 - 16:50 |
Takings from the day and the way forward Are there common points with Migrants and Ethnic Minority Research? |
Esperanza Díaz, Vice-President, EUPHA Migrant and ethnic minority health section; Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Norway |
| 16:50 - 17:00 |
Closing remarks Performance to close the day |
Tuomas Aslak Juuso, II Vice President, Acting President, Sámi Parliament Tuuni Partti, Sámi musician |
| 17:00 |
End of programme |
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Registration
The registration fee is EUR 25. Networking lunch and refreshments are included.