Niti's research interests lie in the intersection between design methods, knowledge systems particularly local, traditional and indigenous knowledges, and participatory social design-driven transformation. She is currently exploring the relationship between post-colonial indigenous research paradigms (Chilisa 2019) and integrated product development strategies for holistic knowledge production that implements cognitive justice (Visvanathan 1997; 2021) for research at the Cultural Interface (Nakata 1997, 2007; Durie 2005). Over 30 years of professional creative practice in design and innovation. This includes 15 years of leading interdisciplinary teams for fieldwork using design anthropology methodologies (rapid ethnography, indepth interviews, day in the life, observations and shadowing in markets, farms, villages, borderlands and more). Fieldwork personally completed in South Africa, The Philippines, India, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and with local assistance in Benin and Malawi. Networks span the African continent. Public recognition of original knowledge production includes Invitation to mainstage of TED Global 2017 in Arusha Tanzania TEDTalk video https://www.ted.com/talks/niti_bhan_the_hidden_opportunities_of_the_informal_economy

Doctoral researcher in sustainability transformations with a focus on indigenous knowledges, agroecology practices, native seeds protection and intellectual property law for protection of ancestral knowledges. Economics and political science background.

I am a doctoral researcher in peace and conflict studies at Tampere Peace Research Institute, Tampere University. My doctoral research focuses on transnational women’s rights activism, solidarity, and working across differences in the case of Iran. My professional work has been focused on women’s rights activism in Iran and in the diaspora from the feminist peace studies and intersectionality perspective. Previously I have conducted research on the characteristics of the Iranian women’s movement and the peaceful transformation of Iranian society. Besides, I am a journalist, and I have been working as a journalist for more than 10 years. I am a co-founder of the first news agency for Persian-speaking immigrants in Finland.

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.

My research contributes towards Development Studies, and focuses on Degrowth. The objective of my research is to explore how degrowth can be promoted at the social level and thus contribute towards the social agenda within degrowth. Primarily I am concerned with the 'decolonisation of the imaginary' which refers to the 'transformation' needed to allow for alternative models of living, such as degrowth, to penetrate the imaginations of society, so that the current model of living is not viewed as the only rational pathway. I will be attempting to create a framework which can be utilized to explore this transformation 'decolonisation of the imaginary' and attempt to use it within a case study, to hopefully gain insight in to how this transformation can occur and be brought about.

Applying foresight methods and tools in a range of topics, in particular to anticipate the energy transition in the Global South. Research interests: anticipatory governance, innovation ecosystems, off-grid solar photovoltaics, pioneer analysis, science-communication, startups. Co-author of "Electrification in Peer-to-Peer Society - a New Narrative for Sustainable Futures" (2019) and "La Electrificación en la Sociedad Entre Pares – Una Nueva Narrativa para Futuros Sostenibles" (2020).

Projects

Neo-Carbon Enabling Neo-Growth Society – Transformative Energy Futures 2050

The Image and Practices of Evolving State-Society Relations: Uzbekistan´s Street-Level Bureaucrats in Administrative Transformations

Abraham is currently pursuing his PhD as a doctoral researcher at the Centre for Environmental and Respiratory Health Research (CERH), Research Unit of Population Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu with support from Finnish government’s Planetary Health, Sustainability Transformations Doctoral Education Pilot (SusTra) program. Abraham intends to demonstrate synergistic vulnerabilities between infectious tropical diseases with climate change including correlation of ambient air pollutant (PM2.5, VOCs, Radon gas) with seasonal peaks in hospital visits/admissions for ARDS, Asthma and COPD exacerbation. Abraham also has in-depth interest in social and non-biomedical determinants of health including preparation and presentation of policy briefs to stakeholders e.g., at the WHO Executive Board Meeting. His recent field of work has been centered around sustainability of HIV and TB prevention, Care, Treatment program in LMICs beyond external assistance in the context of climate crises and global health security threats.

I have had a background in International Relations with bachelor's and master's degrees as I wrote my MA thesis on the role of local non-state actors in the integration of refugees. Currently, I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Sociology at Middle East Technical University and a visiting doctoral researcher in the Discipline of Global Development Studies at the University of Helsinki. My major research area is the sociology of migration, and my minor is environmental sociology. At the nexus of these two main areas, I have specifically focused on the nexus of the climate crisis, neoliberal governance, and migratory movements along with the urban-rural dynamics, socio-ecological and political-economic transformations in the web of life. In addition to that, I have an interest in decolonial philosophy, which lead me to investigate each phase of climate crisis and migration processes through the relations of power, capital, nature, and coloniality.

An investigation of the values of humanitarian ethics in transformation, focused on compassion, empathy, humanity principles.