Indigenous Studies at the University of Helsinki is excited to announce that consortium co-led by Professor Pirjo Kristiina Virtanen was a selected as one of the Research Council of Finland’s upcoming Centres of Excellence. It is also led by Professors Sanna Valkonen and Lotta Viikari at the University of Lapland. The new Centre of Excellence, entitled ‘MultiBEING Justice in Indigenous Societies,’ will be active from 2026 to 2033 and encompass a diverse range of researchers from both associated universities and collaborating academics internationally.
This is a historically significant moment for the academic and institutional recognition of the importance of Indigenous knowledges at a high level in Finland.
The work of the Centre will focus on employing community-based and Indigenous research methodologies that operate on long-term reciprocal relationships with communities. ‘MultiBEING Justice’ focuses on diverse place-based knowledges across various geographical settings and Indigenous contexts in the Arctic, Amazonia, Inner Asia, and the Pacific.
Areas of upcoming research for the new Centre of Excellence, especially those led by the University of Helsinki, include a focus on conceptual research of multi-being justice and advancing Indigenous perspectives with digital technologies. The core research group at the University of Helsinki involved in the Centre of Excellence includes Pirjo Kristiina Virtanen, Jelena Porsanger, Outi Laiti, Victoria Soyan Peemot, Maria Fedina, Svetlana Jedygarova, and Riho Grunthal.
It is the first time a leading research consortium includes several Indigenous scholars. As the Research Council of Finland notes, the Centre of Excellence program is designed to support cutting-edge research across fields of science, fostering creative research environments that have capacity for scientific renewal and high societal impact.