Brazilian researcher investigating citizen perspectives to South American regionalism. Currently researching Brazilian civil society's modes of participation in face of the MERCOSUR–EU agreement on trade.

Hi! I am Marianna Birmoser Ferreira-Aulu, project researcher and doctoral student at the University of Turku (UTU), Finland. My long-term professional goal is to contribute to society by exploring innovative pathways towards just and sustainable futures. I intend to do this by producing high-quality scientific materials, by popularizing science to catalyze positive transformations, and by engaging with the civil society to collaborate with various stakeholders. During the past five years, I have been working as project researcher in two departments in the University of Turku: the Finland Futures Research Centre, and the Centre for Collaborative Research. I have been engaged with various projects in strategic foresight, futures literacy, sustainability and climate action, renewable energy, food research, and international collaboration. In addition to desk research, I enjoy doing workshop facilitation (have experience in Finland, Peru and Colombia). I have also been quite active in public speaking, by giving talks in various seminars and conferences. I also enjoy cooperating to developing the strategy of our own organization. I have represented UTU in international cooperation initiatives through international education services. Since the beginning of 2021, I have also been pursuing my doctoral degree in Futures Studies. The working-title of my dissertation is “Building a Strategic Roadmap for Ecologically Sound and Socio-politically supported Conservation of the Brazilian Amazonia”. The research takes into consideration the local socio-political dynamics, the uniqueness of its peoples and its biodiversity. I look at the conservation of Amazonia as a wicked problem that needs diverse set of actions to attempt to solve it. This research topic is a continuation, and expansion of my Master’s Thesis, where I explored futures scenarios for the Volta Grande do Xingu, the region most affected by the construction of the Belo Monte Dam, in the East of the Brazilian Amazonia.

Eurídice, a versatile social scientist with an interdisciplinary foundation, is dedicated to unraveling the intricate links between public spaces, migration dynamics, and identity development. Drawing on her multifaceted background built between Brazil and Finland, Eurídice engages in cutting-edge explorations of urban design to foster social mixing and combat prejudice, leveraging her early proficiency in public management and legal studies. Her research agenda focuses on cultural public spaces and the dynamics of identity development in mixed-background individuals, a topic directly connected to her activist work at Ninho ry. Additionally, Eurídice has contributed to research projects centered around public spaces and deradicalization, smart mobility to counteract inequalities, and establishing daycare centers catering to children of informal female workers.

Projects

The Politics of Corporate Resource Exploitation: Social Movement Influence on Paper- and Metal Industry Investments in Brazil and India

My PhD research revolves around how teacher education programs can nurture student teacher professional agency in two countries: Brazil and Finland. The two study cases have different personal and environmental elements that influence student teacher professional development: curriculum coherence between theory and practice, pedagogical interactions of the learning environment, and negotiation of professional identity.

I am starting the Doctorate Program at Aalto University in 2021. My research project aims at investigating how frugal social innovations from the Global South might create alternative concepts and appropriated meanings of quality, well-being, social change, consequently, development. This proposal is aligned with contemporary efforts to link management research to Grand Challenges such as poverty alleviation (Kistruck & Shulist, 2020), positioned at the emergent and interdisciplinary field of Business and Development (Lund-Thomsen et al., 2020). I believe that being part of the UniPID DocNet will be an excellent opportunity to expand my training opportunities, exchange and partnerships, while also collaborating with the network, bringing a different background and commitment to discuss the grand societal challenges and development issues in the world. To embark on such an endeavor, I bring an interdisciplinary and multifaceted background, as a researcher and educator from Latin America, working with topics related to social innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustainable development, including significant experience in international collaborations in Brazil, the USA, Uganda, India, and other countries in Latin America and Europe.

Saila-Maria Saaristo is a doctoral researcher and lecturer in Global Development Studies at the University of Helsinki, and a member of Urbaria (Helsinki Institute of Urban and Regional Studies). Her current research project focuses on studying inequalities and discriminations, which are approached through the case of inequalities in access to housing, with a particular focus on homelessness and forced evictions. The study investigates especially gendered, classed and racialised housing exclusions. In addition to the academic career, Saaristo has worked extensively as a consultor, manager and coordinator of different kinds of international cooperation projects financed by the European Union and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, in the areas of urban development and housing, civil society, good governance and democracy, human rights, and gender. She has worked and lived in many countries, including Cape Verde, Tanzania, Mozambique, Brazil, Bolivia and Portugal.

Projects

Transformative Actions? Occupations and Evictions in Lisbon Metropolitan Area, Portugal

Projects

Creative indigenous actors: Integration of Indigenous Studies at the University of Helsinki

New Native Leaderships and Forms of Power in Amazonia

Transforming the future in Brazil: ritual and indigenous agencies

United in Diversity: Monumental Landscapes, Regionality, and Cultural Dynamism in Pre-Columbian Western Amazonia

Passado e Presente de Povos Aruák na Amazônia Ocidental