Contributing to a symposium on climate crisis, learning, and epistemic plurality
Our researchers Pirjo Kristiina Virtanen and Victoria Soyan Peemot presented their work in the Climate Crisis, Learning and Epistemic Plurality symposium in Helsinki. The event brought together scholars to explore how diverse knowledge systems, learning practices, and epistemological perspectives can help address the climate crisis and advance climate justice.
Event description
MultiBEING researchers Pirjo Kristiina Virtanen and Victoria Peemot (University of Helsinki) participated in the Climate Crisis, Learning and Epistemic Plurality symposium at the University of Helsinki in June. The interdisciplinary event provided a platform for discussing climate change, learning, education, and the role of diverse knowledge systems in addressing contemporary environmental challenges.
Pirjo Kristiina Virtanen presented on long-term and deep-time Amazonian perspectives on climate change, highlighting how Indigenous knowledge and historical understandings can deepen discussions on environmental transformations and resilience.
Victoria Peemot explored Indigenous approaches to environmental knowledge and multitemporal understandings of climate change, drawing attention to the ways Indigenous communities navigate and interpret environmental change across different temporal scales.
The symposium also featured a keynote address by Marcellus Mbah (University of Manchester), entitled “Epistemic Plurality in the Climate Crisis: African Indigenous Ontologies and Decolonial Education”. His presentation examined how African Indigenous ontologies and decolonial approaches to education can contribute to climate justice and more inclusive responses to the climate crisis.
The event reflected the growing recognition that addressing the climate crisis requires engagement with multiple knowledge systems, including Indigenous, local, and community-based understandings of the environment. The discussions resonated strongly with MultiBEING’s commitment to advancing epistemic plurality, environmental justice, and respectful dialogue across different ways of knowing.
We warmly thank the organisers, speakers, and participants for the inspiring presentations and stimulating discussions.
📸 Photos: Cintia Cruz
The programme is available here.
