Africa-EU relations, migration, development and integration
The Africa-EU relations, migration, development and integration (AEMDI) project, aims to bring into conversation leading academics, policy makers, political observers and practitioners from civil society to explore and examine intra-Africa migration on one hand and EU-Africa relationships vis-à-vis migration on the other hand. Efforts to integrate Africa, through the RECs, should, then, be informed by lessons and parallels drawn from across Africa, and chiefly, the integration experience of the EU—particularly the Schengen Area—in moving from free movement of labour (only) to EU citizenship, as enshrined in Article 20 (1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Its main activities of AEMDI will include two international workshops and one international conference. One workshop will be hosted by the University of Eastern Finland and another by the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation (GovInn) at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. The main output of AEMDI activities will be a scientific edited volume, based on deliberations in and papers from the workshops. The main outcome of AEMDI is the promotion of the Jean Monnet Programme and adoption of best practices from the EU`s successes in regional integration, in Africa. The impacts of AEMDI will include increased networking and expertise between/of academics, policy makers, professionals and relevant stakeholders in Africa and the EU. AEMDI responds to the need to promote development and well-being in Africa through, among other things, learned experiences from observed successes in EU integration.
Aija Lulle (aija.lulle@uef.fi)
I am a migration scholar and geographer, currently working on a project Returning home? Making and imagining ageing futures. This research examines the lives of ageing people in the historical context of recent large-scale emigration and the unprecedented acceleration of population ageing in Eastern Europe. Its rationale originates from an urgent necessity to understand the wellbeing needs of ageing people. The theoretical approach is grounded in concepts from human geography and migration theory, focusing on migrants’ capabilities to aspire. The project utilises sensory, practical and imaginative homemaking practices.
Prior to my current research post, I was Lecturer and Senior Lecturer at Loughborough University, UK. My experience includes intense teaching and diverse fieldwork in Baltics, Nordic countries, border regions with Russia and the UK. In addition, I have significant leadership and administrative skills (as Director of the Diaspora and Migration Research Centre in Latvia (2014-2015) and as head of Doctoral Programmes in Geography and Environment in Loughborough (2021-2022).
Aleksi Heinilä (aleksi.heinila@uef.fi)
Aleksi Heinilä works as Senior Lecturer in Environmental Law at UEF Law School. He defended his dissertation on planning and building law in 2017. He has extensive experience in Finnish environmental administration as an environmental law specialist. Currently, he works in a consortium “Collaborative remedies for fragmented societies” (CORE) funded by Strategic Research Council (Academy of Finland), as well as in the Academy of Finland -funded research project Transforming anatomies of democratic planning: Combining planning-theoretical and legal perspectives on flexible regulation in Finnish land use law (TRANAPLAN).
Alex Berg (alex.berg@uef.fi)
The current project that I am working on currently at the UEF Law School addresses the Legal Rights of Older Immigrants and Immigrants with Dementia in Finland.
The legal rights of older immigrants and immigrants with dementia have not been researched extensively globally. In Finland, the research in this area is scarce. It is important to study these groups of people as the numbers of older immigrants and immigrants with dementia is increasing in the country. The study aims at investigating their lived experiences and the obstacles they might face regarding their legal rights and access to justice, and whether they feel stigmatized in society because of their vulnerable situation. It is also necessary to find solutions and strategies that aim at improving their lives and welfare in the Finnish society. The study will primarily employ an empirical approach to investigate the firsthand experiences of these groups through conducting semi-structured qualitative interviews with them. The inputs and experiences of people dealing with these groups will be considered as well in the data collection process. From a legal perspective, the research will analyze the policies regarding access to justice for these two groups, such as the Elderly Care Act, the Non-Discrimination Act, and the Social Welfare Act. From a social perspective, the problem will be looked at from a social stigmatization standpoint. This is in the sense that belonging to one of the categories of being ‘immigrant’, ‘old’, and ‘ill’ can lead to stigmatization. This research addresses groups of immigrants who belong to at least two of these categories, hence what can be identified as ‘intersecting stigmas’, and potentially a reinforced experience of hindrances to access to justice.
Andrew Copus (andrew.copus@uef.fi)
Andrew has more than thirty years experience in Rural Development Research at Institutes and Universities in Scotland. Also ten years part-time secondment to Nordregio, (Stockholm).
His interests include rural demography, development approaches for remote rural areas and islands, and European and National rural/regional policy.
Anne Väisänen (anne.vaisanen@uef.fi)
In my doctoral research, I explore the prosodic features of deceptive speech, beliefs about cues to deception, and lie detection. The primary research material consists of emergency call recordings, with a specific focus on the acoustic-prosodic features of hoax emergency calls. My research interests extend broadly to speech prosody and the impressions it creates, but I am also interested in vocal health, voice training methods, and research on these topics. I did my Master’s degree in the University of Tampere, majoring in speech technique and vocology.
My teaching experience includes instructing a wide range of speech research methods in general linguistics at the University of Eastern Finland, particularly focusing on the Praat software and evaluating voice by utilizing acoustic measurements.
Antti Väisänen (antti.vaisanen@uef.fi)
Special expertise in indoor air and occupational hygiene subjects. Exceptional experience in chemical and particulate analytics, plastic materials, and cleanliness classification of ventilation products.
Anu Puusa (anu.puusa@uef.fi)
I work as a Professor in Management. My current research interest areas are co-operatives, work-community skills/Organization Citizenship behaviour, organizational identity and change. I have published textbooks and numerous journal articles and other publications.
I also believe in giving back: I have positions of trust such as membership of the board at Cooperatives Europe and Pellervo Coop Center (I am bit of a co-operative enthusiastic).
I am experienced organizational speaker and an awarded teacher. I am an academic who does not believe that theory and practice are opposites. My philosophical background lies in the interpretative paradigm: “We look at the same target, but do we see the same thing?”
I am a realist who tend to look at the bright side of life. I believe in the power of questions. Joint pondering and cooperation are the ways forward.
Anu Räihä (anurai@uef.fi)
International research of loneliness; loneliness among 30-60 years old people living alone, the experiences and the means of preventing loneliness.
Survey in New Zealand – https://link.webropol.com/s/surveyloneliness
Survey in Finland – https://link.webropol.com/s/yksinaisyyskysely
Survey in other English-speaking countries – https://link.webropol.com/s/loneliness