University of Oulu invites you to join the annual colloquium of the Finnish Society for Environmental Social Science (YHYS)! The event will be held in Oulu, Finland, on 24th–26th of November 2025.
The theme of this year's colloquium is “Applied, Alongside, Against: Participatory, transdisciplinary, and critical approaches to environmental knowledge and action”. Our aim is to draw attention to transformative research that tackles environmental problems by transcending disciplinary boundaries and challenging injustices. Read more about the theme.
Access full program with abstracts
Highlights from this year's program
15 sessions organised by researchers across environmental social science, featuring presentations, storytelling, a walking workshop, and much more. Find out more about sessions.
Two keynote presentations by Dr. Rebecca Lave, Professor of Geography at Indiana University Bloomington, US, and Dr. Patrick Devine-Wright, Professor of Human Geography at the University of Exeter, UK.
Social science of soil – a talk by special invited speaker Dr. Lesley Green, a Professor of Earth Politics and Director of Environmental Humanities South at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Tactical spores – a participatory session on art and transdisciplinary research, led by artist and researcher Dr. Margherita Pevere. Find out more and register here. Spaces are limited.
A round-table discussion on the successes and challenges of transdisciplinary knowledge production, featuring Markku Heikkilä (Arctic Centre, University of Lapland), Anna Krzywoszynska (University of Oulu), Michiru Nagatsu (HELSUS, University of Helsinki), and Rebecca Carlson (University of Oulu).
A documentary screening of 11 Underground on Sunday evening before the Colloquium kicks off, followed by a Q&A with the director Arturo Delgado Pereira. Read more and register here. Limited seating.
About the event
The annual YHYS Fall Colloquium is Finland’s flagship international scientific meeting in the field of environmental social science. It supports the development of the field by bringing together researchers from a wide range of disciplines, inviting internationally accomplished researchers to present their work, and providing opportunities for junior researchers to build their academic skills and networks.
This year's event has received funding from the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies, Eudaimonia Centre as well as three research programmes at the University of Oulu: ANTS, FRONT, and SAFIRE.
Details about registration and practical information to be announced.
Important dates
Call for sessions: 1 April – 15 May
Call for a special session on artistic research: 5 May – 15 June
Call for a post-conference PhD Day: 15 June – 8 September
Call for abstracts: 4 August – 19 September
Registration: 1 September – 31 October
(These dates are preliminary and subject to change.)
