Panel discussion on publishing research in Indigenous languages
How can academic publishing better support Indigenous languages and multilingual knowledge production? As part of the Science Publishing Days 2026, MultiBEING is organising a panel discussion in Rovaniemi on 8 October on the challenges and opportunities of publishing research in Indigenous languages, with a focus on Sámi-language scholarly publishing.
The annual Science Publishing Days 2026 will take place on 8–9 October 2026 at the University of Lapland in Rovaniemi, with the possibility to participate both onsite and online. This year’s theme, Space for Thinking, invites reflection on the role of scholarly publishing in shaping science, knowledge production and society. The event will be organised in Finnish.
As part of the programme, MultiBEING is organising a panel discussion focusing on academic publishing in Indigenous languages. We warmly welcome all those interested in Indigenous languages, multilingual knowledge production and the future of scholarly publishing.
Please note that the Science Publishing Days, including this panel discussion, will be held entirely in Finnish.
Panel Discussion: Publishing Research in Indigenous Languages
Description: Academic publishing continues to be shaped largely by dominant-language journals, publication metrics and evaluation systems. As a result, publishing research in Indigenous languages remains challenging. Researchers often need to balance international visibility with the importance of producing and sharing knowledge in their own languages and for their own communities.
This panel explores these structural challenges and discusses how the conditions for publishing research in Indigenous languages, particularly Sámi, can be strengthened. The discussion will address existing publishing outlets, future development needs, and the roles of researchers, publishers, funders and higher education institutions in advancing multilingual scholarly publishing. It will also consider the opportunities that emerging language technologies may offer for smaller Indigenous languages.
Panellists: Petter Morottaja (University of Oulu), Kristiina Ojala (University of Helsinki) and Jarno Valkonen (University of Lapland)
Chair: Tiina Seppälä (University of Lapland)
Event details
Date and time: Thursday 8 October 2026, 10.10–12.00
Venue: Rovaniemi, University of Lapland, Lecture Hall B127 and online
Language: Finnish
Registration: Please register by 2 October 2026 on the event website: https://www.tiedejulki.fi/ohjelma
The Science Publishing Days 2026 is organised by the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies (TSV), the Association of Finnish Scientific Publishers and the University of Lapland.
📸 Photo: Ville Rinne
