Helsinki: Decolonizing Peace Work in Palestine-Israel -seminaari
Sumud – Suomen Palestiina-verkosto ry, Helsingin yliopisto ja Tampereen yliopisto järjestävät Decolonizing peace work in Palestine-Israel -seminaarin Helsingin yliopistolla 22. tammikuuta 2026.
Ilmoittaudu seminaariin 19. tammikuuta mennessä: https://forms.gle/JyCY1qS8gUm2Vgie8
Seminaarin kieli on englanti. Ohjelma löytyy alta.
Ohjelma
8:30–9:00 Registration
9:00–10:00 Opening
Opening words by Jasmin Paananen (Sumud)
Keynote by Wassim Ghantous (University of Tampere): Rethinking the globality of Palestine: On homologies, frontiers, and other destinies
10:00–10:30 Break
10:30–11:30 Panel discussion I: How can the Finnish defence sector detach itself from colonial power structures?
Moderator: Linda Nyholm
Speakers: Kari Paasonen (Doctoral Researcher at Tampere Peace Research Institute), Frank Slijper (Project Leader of the Arms Trade project at PAX)
Organised by Sumud’s Justice Not Arms campaign, this panel examines Finland’s role in the global arms trade amid Israel’s ongoing military occupation of Palestine and the genocide in Gaza. Focusing on the F-35 fighter jet programme and Finland’s military cooperation with Israel, the discussion critically explores how arms trade sustains colonial power asymmetries, violates international law, and contradicts Finland’s human rights commitments. Bringing together academic, civil society, and campaigning perspectives, the panel asks what responsibility Finland carries, and how civil society, students, and researchers can push for accountability, arms embargoes, and decolonized approaches to peace and justice.
11:30–12:00 Break
12:00–13:30 Session I: International actors, civil society and Palestine
Moderator: Koko Hubara
Kris Clarke: Social work, genocide and the coloniality of silence
Anne Heikkinen: Decolonizing the Ecumenical Movement? The WCC, GETI 2025, and the Question of Palestine
Iris Pajunen: Decolonial Solidarity Collection for Palestine: mixing research, art, and activism
13:30–14:30 Lunch break
14:30–15:30 Panel discussion II: Towards decolonizing international peace-based volunteerism in Palestine and beyond
Moderator: Suvi Baloch
Speakers: Sara Tabrizizadeh (Programme Coordinator & Human Rights Expert, Deaconess Foundation), Hanna Sainio (Chairman of Maailmanvaihto ry), Renaz Ebrahimi (Crew Member of Global Sumud Flotilla), Evgeni Jokiniemi (Chairman of Kansainvälinen vapaaehtoistyö ry)
Several non-profit organizations have been facilitating international volunteerism (and voluntourism) for decades in Finland. While there are differences in focus (human rights/ youth work/ cultural exchange), the NGOs are all more or less committed to advancing peace and solidarity through individual, practical and non-remunerated involvement in local communities. International volunteerism has been criticized for being constrained by colonial continuities, such as enabling mainly those based in the global North to ‘explore’ the global South. Such questions have been addressed in recent years in some of the organiza ons under official programmes and unofficial proceedings in the name of decolonizing volunteerism. Yet these experiences have not been shared to the wider public.
This discussion brings together representatives from organizations enabling peace-based
voluntary work in the Palestinian territories and global South and former volunteers involved in these programmes.
15:30–16:00 Break
16:00–17:00 Session II: Forms of colonial violence
Moderator: TBA
Falk-Andersson, J., Bueno, M.M, Karasik, R., and Pecuchet, L.: How can the marine management sciences contribute to understanding the impact of the conflict and war on Gaza and support blue justice in re-building?
Alex Oksanen: They’re the same as animals. If it’s dead, it’s okay”: Dehumanization as justification for genocide.”
Jasmin Paananen: Violence beyond the Battlefield: Refugee Perceptions of UNRWA amid Increased Uncertainty
17:00–17:30 Break
17:30–18:30 Panel discussion III: The role of universities and academia in Palestine-Israel – the case for an academic boycott of Israel
Moderator: Lili De Paola (Sumud)
Speakers: Eugenie Touma van der Meulen (Students for Palestine), Syksy Räsänen (Researchers for Palestine)
How are Israeli academic institutions complicit in apartheid, genocide and colonization of Palestinian lands? What kinds of ties does the University of Helsinki have to Israeli institutions? What does the academic boycott of Israel mean and why would it be effective? The discussion offers an opportunity for members of the academic community to learn about the role of academia in upholding and dismantling the status quo in Palestine-Israel.
18:30–19:00 Closing
Closing words by Hannu Juusola (University of Helsinki)
Saapumisohjeet
Seminaari järjestetään Porthaniassa (Yliopistonkatu 3) Helsingin yliopistolla.
