Last week on Monday March 30th, the MultiBEING Justice Centre of Excellence (CoE) team had a successful kick-off in Aanaar (Inari). At the opening event, researchers presented and discussed their forthcoming research in Sámi home region.
Artist Áilu Valle opened the event with a ceremony and created a special joik for the research team. The opening speeches by CoE work package leaders were held in Finnish and North Sámi with simultaneous translation, and the event was also livestreamed.
The MultiBEING Centre of Excellence examines human’s ultimate responsibility for ensuring a good and just life for all life forms and advances the concept of multibeing justice. Its research draws on Indigenous knowledge practices and conceptual frameworks, which are brought into dialogue with human, social, and legal sciences.
The MultiBEING Centre of Excellence is funded by the Research Council of Finland and will operate during the 2026–2033 programme period. It is led by Professor of Sámi Studies Sanna Valkonen from the University of Lapland, Professor of Indigenous Studies Pirjo Kristiina Virtanen from the University of Helsinki, and Professor of International Law Lotta Viikari from the University of Lapland.
– The ways in which Indigenous peoples organise their societies and live alongside other beings can offer new perspectives and solutions for building a more just and sustainable world order, says consortium leader and Professor of Sámi Studies Sanna Valkonen.
– We want to conduct research together with Indigenous communities and in a way that respects them, so it is important for us to hold the Centre’s public opening in the Sámi homeland, says Professor of Indigenous Studies Pirjo Kristiina Virtanen.
After the remarks of work package leaders on Indigenous concepts, forms of governance, jurisprudence, and use of digital technologies, coffee was served for on‑site attendees, who joined in discussions with the researchers.
Many thanks to all those who participated, and we are looking forward to many coming years of collaboration and research co-creation!
You can read more about the event in