20.-21.5.2025, University of Helsinki
Education in Emergencies:
A LIFELINE FOR THE FUTURE
Welcome to Helsinki
Education in Emergencies: A Lifeline for the Future, this two-day international conference, hosted by Finn Church Aid and the University of Helsinki, is your opportunity to connect with leading experts, educators, academia and policymakers shaping the future of education in emergencies and protracted crises.
Why attend?
Gain exclusive insights from inspiring speakers like Prof. Loise Gichuhi, Danielle Falk, Ph.D and Friedrich Affolter.
Participate in interactive workshops and panels
Network with global changemakers
Together, we will shape education solutions that save and sustain lives in the most challenging circumstances.
Details
Date: 20.-21.5.2025
Place: University of Helsinki, Fabianinkatu 33
How to get there
- You can reach the venue by trams nro 2,5,7,10 and by walking.
- Venue is accessible by wheelchair
Where to stay
- Helsinki offers a nice selection of hotels for different tastes
- Registered Conference participants are entitled to discount in Scandic hotels in Helsinki
Registration has now closed!
If you would like to join a waiting list for cancellation places please email: teresa.heinamaa@kua.fi
Speakers
Margarita Focas Licht
Director of Partnerships, Global Partnership for Education
Margarita Focas Licht leads GPE’s efforts to strengthen partnership effectiveness and engagement. She has 30+ years of experience in education support to lower-income countries. Prior to joining GPE in 2011 she held positions with UNICEF, Save the Children, and UNESCO. Her work has focused on strengthening education opportunities for marginalized children through formal and alternative pathways, spanning development and emergency work and ranging from school- and community level to district, national and global program development, policy dialogue and partnerships.
Faiza Hassan
Director, INEE
Faiza Hassan became the Director of the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) in 2025, bringing nearly 20 years of experience in education in emergencies across technical and leadership roles. She's a chemical engineer, who transitioned into education leadership, dedicating her career to supporting crisis-affected learners. Before joining INEE, she worked extensively in East Africa with UNICEF, CARE, and Save the Children.
Loise Gichuhi
Professor, University of Nairobi, ERICC Board Vice Chair
She is widely recognized as a higher education educator and a consultant in Education in Emergencies. She has a Ph.D. in Economics of Education from the University of Nairobi, a Master’s in Education Planning and Curriculum Development, and a Bachelor of Education (Mathematics and Economics) from Kenyatta University. She has over 30 years of extensive experience in Education Policy, Planning and Curriculum Development; Education in Emergencies, Programming, Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation. She is currently based at the University of Nairobi, where she coordinates the Education in Emergencies Programme. She has a passion for humanitarian education and inclusive education that supports marginalised communities and refugees. From 2021 to February 2024, she held the role of the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) Country Focal Point for Kenya. She is a board member of ERICC and also serves as a vice chair.
Dianah Nelsen
Chief of Education, Education Cannot Wait
She brings over15 years of global experience to her role, shaped by her studies in anthropology, cultures, and educational studies. This "perfect trifecta" equipped her to navigate diverse contexts, design impactful programs, and advocate for quality education in emergencies. With over 15 years of experience in international development and the education sector, Dianah has worked with NGOs, UN agencies, and donors across 21 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Dianah is passionate about ensuring every child, regardless of circumstance, has access to a safe and secure learning environment. A proud KU Leuven alum, Dianah champions lifelong learning and believes in the power of collaboration to solve complex problems. Her driving force? To see a tangible reduction in the number of children whose education is disrupted by crises, a goal fueled by her unwavering belief that "we can do better than this!
Dr. Nafieh Assaf
Deputy Minister of Education, Palestine
Dr. Assaf, currently the Deputy Minister of Education, has held various leadership roles, including Assistant Deputy Minister for Administrative and Financial Affairs at the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Vice President for administration and finance affairs at Palestine Technical University. He has led projects with Palestine Technical University and the World Bank. As a proactive lecturer and researcher, Dr. Assaf has worked as an Assistant Professor at Palestine Technical University and An-Najah National University, contributing to academia with several publications. Dr. Assaf holds a PhD in financial accounting and corporate governance from the University of Cape Town.
Seme Nelson
Country Director, FCA South Sudan
Seme Nelson is the Country Director for the FCA South Sudan Country Office. Seme is a recipient of the Global Rotary Peace Fellowship. He holds a Master of Public Policy and Social Research with Major in Peace and Conflict Studies from the International Christian University, Tokyo Japan. He also holds a Master of Philosophy in Multicultural and International Education from the Oslo Metropolitan University (formerly Akershus University College), and a Bachelor of Education (History and Economics) from Makerere University. Seme is passionate about the deliberate need for integrated programming, and especially the nexus between Peace and Development. He has over 15 years in Humanitarian and Development Cooperation, and research in forced migration studies with a focus on refugee policies.
Danielle Falk, Ph.D.
Education Researcher at the International Rescue Committee
Her research focuses on the lived experiences of teachers in crisis contexts as well as the policy environment influencing their work.
For the last nine years, she has contributed to research on teacher well-being, teacher identity, teacher professional development (TPD), teacher management, and school leadership in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and South Sudan, and has designed and implemented multi-modal, continuous TPD for teachers in these settings.
Friedrich Affolter
Global Education Cluster Coordinator, UNICEF
He has led and participated in programmes on strengthening inclusive and gender-sensitive learning systems, community education and mobilization, risk-informed education-for-resilience programming, education for peacebuilding, early childhood development, and psychosocial protection – in duty stations including Syria, Afghanistan, Angola, South Africa, Sudan, Bolivia and UNICEF HQ New York.
Lyydia Mäkinen
Education in Emergencies Specialist, Plan International Finland’s humanitarian education programmes
She focuses on inclusive and quality education in fragile and crisis contexts. A teacher herself, Lyydia has a strong passion for human rights and enhancing equality through access to education. She has worked in global education development in Africa, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the Caribbean with the UN, NGOs, the Ministry of Education of Finland, as well as the private sector.
Nicole Riedle
Senior Policy and Partnerships Advisor at EiE Hub
She joined the EiE Hub with 15 years' experience in the legal and international humanitarian sectors. A trained lawyer, she worked several years with the ICRC in Afghanistan, Central African Republic, DRC and Colombia where she assumed various roles in the protection and assistance of victims of conflict, including coordination positions. Earlier in her career, she also worked for an NGO dedicated to the defence and rehabilitation of children living on the street in Latin America, contributing to the implementation of its educational activities.
Filbert Idha Ajax
Education Technical Lead at Finn Church Aid Uganda
With 18 years of experience in the education sector, he leads the Uganda programme strategies to enhance access to quality, inclusive education for over 150,000 learners and 1,900 teachers annually. Filbert guides FCA’s role as co-lead of the national EiE Sector Working Group alongside UNHCR and the Ministry of Education. He is a co-chair of Uganda’s Accelerated Education Programme, Cash for Education, and Secondary Education Task Teams in EiE Sector Working group. His academic background in education, population health, and monitoring & evaluation underpins his commitment to impactful solutions for displaced and marginalized communities.
Ata Darwish
Professor, Al-Azhar University
Prof. Darwish is an academic, author, consultant, and education sector developer. With over 40 published papers, an authored book and collaboration with instances such as UNRWA and GTZ, Prof. Darwish has expansive knowledge of the Palestinian education system. Having worked with Faculties of Education within Palestinian universities and through visits to European counterparts and a visiting lectureship to Pennsylvania University, Prof Darwish has contributed to teacher practicum, curricula development and quality control through a position as Dean Assistant, amongst others.
Natalia Savchenko
School principal, Ukraine
Natalia Savchenko, an English and Ukrainian language and literature teacher and a school principal from Ukraine. She was forced by war to leave her hometown. In a new community, she and her team not only rebuilt education for children but also supported other teachers in implementing education reforms. Her story is about the power of leadership, collaboration, proactivity, and trust in children’s potential for sustaining and advancing education, even in the midst of crisis.
Valentine Moige
Special Needs Educator and inclusive education advocate, FCA-Kenya
Valentine Moige, an inclusive education educator from Kenya, specializes in supporting hearing-impaired learners. Holding a Bachelor's in Special Needs Education, she is furthering her expertise with studies in Clinical Audiology and a Masters in Educational Leadership. Passionate about inclusion, she has trained 80+ teachers in inclusive practices and raised awareness on disability, particularly in emergency contexts. Her efforts have significantly contributed to the increased enrolment of special needs learners in schools, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to thrive even when in crisis.
Pia Korpinen
Education Counsellor, Finnish Embassy in Ethiopia
Pia is the Counsellor of Education at the Finnish Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She oversees Finland’s support to education in Ethiopia, where Finland has a strong focus on inclusive education. She is also currently the Co-chair for the Education Technical Working Group in Ethiopia. Before working with the Embassy, she worked with EU delegated collaboration and with the ILO on disability inclusion in several East and Southern African Countries, based in Ethiopia and Zambia.
Jesper Ryynänen
Chief Operating Office, GraphoGame
Jesper Ryynänen is the cofounder and Chief Operating Officer of GraphoGame, an education technology company from Finland. GraphoGame is a suite of evidence-based literacy apps for 4-to 9-year-olds. A social entrepreneur and Master of Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship from the London School of Economics, Jesper is focused on democratising access to world class early literacy education by distributing gamified literacy apps on behalf of governments, foundations, and corporate social responsibility programmes. GraphoGame’s many language versions have been downloaded 8 million times.
Mario Aguilera
CEO, Tespack
Mario Aguilera is the CEO and Founder at Tespack, a company providing access to green energy infrastructure and Internet in rural regions, working with organisations such as UNICEF, UNDP, Fin Church Aid and Save the Children. Mario has a background in Business and Economics while he is a professional martial artist and ex-Special Forces Officer. He is an awarded entrepreneur, winner of the DITAC award, one of the Top 2 Global Winners of K Startup Challenge and Top 4 Entrepreneur Globally chosen by Forbes Midas List VC Neal Dempsey. Mario is also an invited keynote speaker to tech events such as Paris Peace Forum, Slush and Forbes Summit. Mario has been featured by Forbes, TNW, Wired, Fox and Korean National TV
Call to Action
Education in Emergencies – A Lifeline for the Future
Helsinki, 21 May 2025
At this critical juncture, we – the undersigned education experts, humanitarian leaders, civil society actors, and international organizations – convene in Helsinki with a shared sense of urgency. Across the globe, a generation of children is being left behind—not by accident, but by neglect and inaction.
While conflict, climate disasters, and forced displacement escalate at alarming rates, education funding is plummeting. This is a global emergency that not only threatens hard won development gain, it also fuels more cycles of crisis and instability. With renewed political commitment and smart investments, this can—and must be —reversed.
📊 The reality is staggering:
- 234 million school-aged children and adolescents living in crisis zones lack access to quality education. 85 million are entirely out of school.
- In 2024 alone, climate disasters disrupted the education of 242 million children across 85 countries.
- Education receives less than 3% of total humanitarian funding—and less than 2% of what the world spends annually on global military expenditure[i].
This is more than a funding gap. It is a failure to strategically invest in human capital and deliver on our global moral obligations.
Education is not a luxury — it is a life-saving intervention.
In emergencies and protracted crises, education is a lifeline. It provides safety, stability, and hope. It protects children from recruitment into armed groups, child marriage, trafficking, and other forms of violence. For girls, children with disabilities, and marginalized communities, education is often the only shield against exploitation. It also provides critical psychosocial support, offering structure, and healing.
When education is funded, children survive, heal and thrive. When it is not, children suffer.
We call on all donors — from the public and private sectors — to act with urgency and resolve.
📣 Our urgent appeal to the international community:
- Donor governments must immediately increase and ring-fence funding for education in emergencies. Education must be prioritized on par with life-saving interventions—because it is one.
- Governments must reassess national priorities. Invest more in development and education than in destruction. Investing in schools, not armament, is the path to sustainable peace.
- Foundations, private sector actors, and emerging donors must step up as essential partners to sustain education, working hand in hand with traditional aid partners.
- UN agencies, international financial institutions, and multilateral platforms must make education in crises a central pillar of their humanitarian and development strategies.
Because:
- Education saves lives. In crises, education protects from child recruitment, trafficking, child marriage, and gender-based violence.
- Education heals. It provides children with mental health support, safe spaces, and a sense of normalcy amidst chaos.
- Education empowers. It breaks cycles of poverty, drives economic growth, and fosters global citizenship. Every dollar invested in education returns up to $15 in economic return.
And above all:
- Education is a human right. No child should be denied a future because the world failed to act.
✊ We stand unified in this call.
Let us fund the future, not the fallout. Let us equip every child—not with weapons, but with books, skills, and hope.
Now is not the time to retreat. Now is the time to make the smartest investment to end cycles of crises and end aid dependency.
Because when we fund education in emergencies, we don’t just respond to crisis—we build a more resilient, prosperous and stable future for all.
[i] — Education Cannot Wait, 2023 Annual Results Report; UNESCO (2023); SIPRI Military Expenditure Database (2023)
Join the Call to Action! Co-sign this call to action by uploading your logo into this shared folder: Join the Call to Action
Please upload your logo by next Thursday 29.05.2025
Agenda
View sessions online
The main speeches and panels of the conference will be streamed online. Follow the live stream of the conference from this link: HelsinkiUniTube Live Stream
TUESDAY
8:30-9:15 Arrival
09:20 – 09:45 Welcome words: Tomi Järvinen, Executive Director, FCA and Kaarle Hämeri, Chancellor, University of Helsinki
Location: Auditorium
09:50-10:00 Opening remarks: Mikaela Nylander, Secretary of State, Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland
Location: Auditorium
10:00- 10:30 Keynote Address: Dianah Nelsen, Chief of Education, Education Cannot Wait (ECW)
Topic: No Child Left Behind: Safeguarding Learning Amid Global Disruption
Location: Auditorium
10:30-11:15 Coffee Break and networking with photo exhibition and booths.
Location: Agora
11:15 -12:00 High Level Panel: Dr. Nafieh Assaf, Deputy Minister of Education, Palestine; Ms. Margarita Focas Licht, Director of Partnerships, Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and H.E. Rashed Al Hemeiri, Director of Development and International Cooperation at United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Facilitator: Piya Itkonen, FCA Country Director Somalia
Location: Auditorium
12:00 – 12:30 Expert Speech: Friedrich Affolter, Global Education Cluster Coordinator
Topic: Now What? Education in Emergencies, the Education Cluster and the Humanitarian Reset
Location: Auditorium
12:30-14:00 Lunch
14:00 - 14:40 Panel discussion: Faiza Hassan, Director, Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE); Pia Korpinen, Education Specialist, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Finland Ethiopia; Seme Nelson, Country Director, Finn Church Aid (FCA) South Sudan
Facilitator: Jennifer Roberts, EiE Expert
Location: Auditorium
14:40-15:10 Agree / Disagree- statement based ‘Hot Seat’: Filbert Idha, FCA Uganda Education Lead Specialist; Lyydia Mäkinen, Plan International Finland, Education in Emergencies Specialist; Luke Stannard, Can’t Wait to Learn
Facilitator: Nadine Nashashibi, FCA IOPT Education Officer
Location: Auditorium
15:10-15:45 Fireside Chat: Regional Teacher Initiative for Africa with:
Oxfam Denmark: Collaborative and Empowered: Supporting Teachers in Crisis Context in South Sudan
Yei Teacher Training College: Inclusive Teacher Development in South Sudan
ADPP Mozambique: Enhancing Teachers Resilience and Well-being in Disaster-Prone areas of Mozambique
Finn Church Aid: The BRIGHT Project. Building Resilience, Inspiration and Growth Holistically for Teachers – BRIGHT in Crisis Contexts
Facilitator: Adeline Fournier, Deputy Team Lead, Regional Teachers Initiative for Africa
Location: Auditorium
15:45- 17:15 Parallel Academic Paper sessions
A parallel session for theoretical and empirical papers will take place on Tuesday 20th May. These sessions provide a forum for dialogue and sharing of expertise in Education in Emergency situations. The papers presented will focus on, but not limited to, the following sub-themes.
Session 1: Mental Health and Psychosocial (MHPSS) support for teachers and students in emergencies
Room: U3043
Session 2: Preparing teachers in pre-and in-service teacher education for emergencies and crises
Room: U3039
Session 3: Partnerships and cooperation within Education in Emergencies responses
Room: F3005
Session 4a: Values and principles underlying Education in Emergencies
Room: U4075
Session 4b: Values and principles underlying Education in Emergencies
Room: F4050
Online session 1, Room: U3029
Online Session 2, Room: U4080
View detailed list of papers presented in each session here: PROGRAMME FOR THE ACADEMIC PARALLEL SESSIONS
We have also created a PDF book of abstracts of all the abstracts from this call, you can access it here.
17:20-17:45 Launch of the joint Call to Action: Tomi Järvinen, Executive Director of FCA and Danielle Falk, International Rescue Committee
Location: Auditorium
18.00 Leaving for the Reception
18:30-20:00 Helsinki City Reception
Location: Helsinki City Hall
WEDNESDAY
08:30 - 09:00 Arrival
09:00 - 09:10 Opening Remarks: Ikali Karvinen, Deputy Executive Director FCA and Arto Kallioniemi, UNESCO Chair and Hannele Niemi, UNESCO Chair
Location: Auditorium
09:10-09:30 Keynote Address: Prof. Loise Gichuhi, University of Nairobi, Education Economist and EiE Expert, INEE Focal point for Kenya, ERICC Board Vice Chair
Location: Auditorium
09:30-10:00 Keynote Address: Valentine Moige, Junior school teacher and focal point for SNE and Inclusion, Kenya; Natalia Savchenko, teacher and a school principal, Ukraine
Topic: Being a teacher in EiE- the realities and lived experiences from Kenya and Ukraine
Location: Auditorium
10:00 - 11:00 Coffee Break and networking with photo exhibition and booths.
Location: Agora
11.00-11.40 Expert Speech: Danielle Falk, Ph.D., ERICC Research Consortium Global Lead on Teacher Issues
Topic: Evidence base on supporting teacher wellbeing and best practices for continuous professional development in EiE settings
Location: Auditorium
11:45 - 12:30 Panel Discussion: Prof. Loise Gichuhi, University of Nairobi; Valentine Moige, Junior school teacher and focal point for SNE and Inclusion, Kenya; Natalia Savchenko, teacher and a school principal, Ukraine; Dr Ata H Darwish, Al-Azhar University.
Facilitator: Alevtina Sedochenko, Education Advisor FCA Ukraine
Topic: Critical voices around teacher wellbeing and CPD in Education in Emergencies
Location: Auditorium
12:30 – 14:00 Lunch Break
14:00-14:15 Moving to selected sessions and takeaway coffee served in lobby outside Auditorium
14:15 – 16:30 Parallel Sessions: Practitioners’ Corners
Session 1: Innovations in EiE Delivery
Topic: Come to discover high-quality tech solutions for various infrastructural environments, all focusing on enhancing learning outcomes and experiences as well as teachers’ pedagogical approaches. During the spotlights you will have a chance to hear more from the UNICEF Global Learning Innovation Hub, who will showcase its work in accelerating access to quality digital education, including in emergency settings working with UNICEF Country Offices and governments. GraphoGame: the most researched literacy game in the world, will bring their award winning learning platform and HundrED: a mission-driven organisation helping every child flourish through education innovation presents solutions from their Global Collection 2025. Tespack will showcase their solution on bringing energy and internet to distant and challenging contexts.
Presenters: UNICEF Innovation and Learning Hub, HundrED, GraphoGame, Tespack
Facilitation: Reeta Partanen, FCA
Room: F3005
Session 2: Refugee Integration
Topic: Join the discussion on challenges and solutions of future refugee responses. How to move from encampment policy to national integration? How to support host governments in integration of refugee learners to national education systems?
Presenters: ERICC Research Consortium, UNHCR and Mazen Khzouz Country Director Syria FCA , Wycliffe Nsheka Country Director Uganda and Ethiopia FCA
Facilitators: Filbert Idha, Finn Church Aid
Room: Pieni Juhlasali (F4050)
Session 3: Teacher Continuous Professional Development in EiE settings
Topic: Join World University Service of Canada and Finn Church Aid in a learning session on professional development opportunities in Education in Emergencies and Protracted Crises situations. What has worked and why in teacher training, mentoring and coaching? What should be done differently?
Presenters: World University Service of Canada (WUSC), Finn Church Aid
Facilitators: WUSC & Saara Turunen, FCA
Room: Studium 1 (F3020)
Session 4: Human rights-based argumentation for EiE
Topic: Join this practical session to work on EiE Advocacy. We will be using international human rights treaties as a base of advocacy messaging, using examples from different humanitarian contexts.
Presenters: EiE Hub and UNESCO (online), INEE and Finn Church Aid
Facilitators: Faiza Hassan, INEE
Room: F3010
16:30-17:15 Closing by Organisers: Lin Min Aung Country Director FCA Myanmar and Dean Johanna Mäkelä, Faculty of Educational Sciences
Location: Auditorium
Join us in Helsinki this May
Call for Abstracts
University of Helsinki, Faculty of Educational Sciences
Parallel Session: Scientific research in EiE
20 May 2025
The Book of Abstracts
We have created a PDF book of abstracts of all the abstracts from this call, you can access it here.
Description of the call
Considering the increasing number of emergencies and crises at a global level, more research is needed to address challenges in different contexts and conditions. In war zones, in conflict and violence-prone environments, extreme weather or environmental disasters of health put students and teachers at risk and under high stress, and also increase poverty, inequality and discrimination.
Education in Emergencies (EiE) Conference invites researchers to share their studies on how to support students, teachers, parents, and education systems in emergencies and crises. Educating teachers, student teachers and education professionals in and for education in emergencies, has become an urgent task in our global world.
UNESCO (2010) defines an educational emergency as “a crisis situation created by conflicts or natural disasters which have destabilised, disorganised or even destroyed the education system, and which requires an integrated process of crisis and post-crisis response”. Education in emergency programs are, then, a response to crisis conditions and require planning for future educational development. For planning education programs for emergency and crisis situations, an awareness of international development and humanitarian policies is needed, as well as the principles and practices underlying a rights-based approach.
To deal with these contemporary, burning issues, the EiE Conference: A Lifeline for the Future will host a parallel session for research presentations and open up a forum for dialogue and sharing of expertise in Education in Emergency situations globally and locally.
Toward this end, the papers that will be presented in the parallel session will focus on, but not limited to, the following sub-themes (and examples for possible research foci):
• Mental Health and Psychosocial (MHPSS) support for teachers and students in emergencies (for example, proposals can focus on (but not be limited to): socio-emotional support, cooperation with different actors; preparing and providing material support; practices and strategies for inclusion of youth; dealing with death and loss).
• Preparing teachers in pre-and in-service teacher education for emergencies and crises (for example: pedagogy in displacement contexts: case studies of implementations and background with regard to teacher support, supervision, coaching and mentoring etc.).
• Partnerships and cooperation of different actors and stakeholders within Education in Emergencies responses (for example: mitigation and preparation for global vs. local crises, including disasters caused by natural hazards, complex emergencies, displacement crises etc., in the education sector; peace work at different levels (e.g., peacebuilding, peace education, conflict resolution, triple nexus etc.); organization of learning environments in emergencies and protracted crises).
• Values and principles underlying Education in Emergencies (for example: cultural and ethical challenges with regard to equity, gender, inclusiveness, intersectionality, minority rights etc.; humanitarian & development interventions; aims, purposes and implementation of EiE; ethical, cultural, philosophical, psychological, historical and policy perspectives on EiE).
Research session organizers:
Prof. Hannele Niemi, UNESCO Chair on Educational Ecosystems for Equity and Quality of Learning
Prof. Arto Kallioniemi, UNESCO Chair on Values, Dialogue and Human Rights
Timeline
• The call for abstracts has now closed and all letters of acceptance have been sent!
• One of these sessions will be held in a hybrid manner, offering the opportunity to present online to those that cannot travel.
Guidelines for Presenters:
• Prepare for max. 10 minute presentation, with not more than 6 powerpoint slides.
• Send the presentation to riikka.suhonen@helsinki.f via e-mail one week before, the latest 14 May 2025. The presentations will only be shared to the chairs of the session in advance.
• Set-up in the session room to be done at 13:30, please be ready to be in there by then.
• In case of cancellation, inform us as soon as possible.
FAQ
Conference Venue
The conference is held at the University of Helsinki Main Building, Fabianinkatu 33.
The registration desk will open at 8:30 on the 20th of May in the main lobby of the building. Please arrive at the venue early to have time to pick up your conference badge, as there may be queues! You need your conference badge to enter the conference sessions.
Accommodation
We are happy to be able to offer the conference participants a discount with Scandic Hotels. You will automatically receive the discount code after registering, to the e-mail address provided.
Reservations are made at Scandic Hotels. You can choose your preferred room type from all Scandic Hotels in Helsinki city.
You are eligible for an additional discount when paying for the reservation immediately upon booking.
The cancellation conditions of the reservation depends on the type of reservation chosen by you at booking. To confirm the reservation, the guest must provide the hotel with valid credit card information.
The rooms can be booked according to the hotel's booking status no later than 10 days before arrival.
Arrival
There is a direct train connection from Helsinki Airport to the Helsinki city center. You can purchase tickets at the train station or via the HSL app.
Visas
Please visit Visa to visit Finland - Ministry for Foreign Affairs for information on the visa process and countries eligibility.
Getting around
The venue is centrally located, within easy walking distance of hotels in the Helsinki city area. For longer distances, you can use trams 10, 7, 5, 4, and 2. Tickets can be purchased via the HSL app.
Dress code
No dress code, please feel free to dress comfortably as per your choosing.
Zero-tolerance policy to SEAH
FCA maintains a strict zero-tolerance policy towards any form of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment. All conference participants are required to adhere to this policy to ensure a safe and respectful environment for everyone. Our safeguarding policies are designed to protect against any form of harm, abuse, or exploitation, and we expect participants of the conference to always uphold these standards.
Click here for more information or to submit a complaint: Complaints are welcome - Kirkon Ulkomaanapu
Conference fee
The conference attendance is free of charge. The places are limited, make sure to register to secure your place.
Whilst the event is free, please note we cannot offer any scholarships or support for travel, visa or accommodation costs.
Registration
Registration has now closed!
If you would like to join a waiting list for cancellation places email: teresa.heinamaa@kua.fi
Online Participation
This conference is mainly an in-person event. One of the academic paper sessions will be organized in a hybrid manner, to allow those that cannot travel to present online.
We will also stream some of the key-note speeches of the event. All links to streams will be published on this site!
Contact details
You can reach out to teresa.heinamaa@kirkonulkomaanapu.fi with any additional questions or issues
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