Keynote speakers 2018

Kuva JR

Jyrki Ruohomäki

Jyrki Ruohomäki works as the Head of Development of CMC Finland (Kriisinhallintakeskus), which is the government agency responsible for training and seconding the Finnish civilian crisis management experts and conducting research related to crisis management.

Jyrki’s background is in academia where he has worked as a researcher and a lecturer since 2004. Jyrki defended his doctoral thesis in political science at the University of Jyväskylä in 2008. His thesis discussed the conflict in Northern Ireland and Jyrki also continued his work on the Northern Irish peace process as a postdoc, while working in such positions as a researcher at the Tampere Peace Research Institute’s (TAPRI) research group DIALOG. In addition to the universities of Jyväskylä and Tampere, Jyrki has worked in several universities abroad, including Columbia University in New York City (2010-2011), where he worked as a Fulbright Scholar and the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study (SCAS) where he held the Erik Allardt Fellowship in 2012. In addition to his interest in the conflict in Northern Ireland, Jyrki has published on the role of history, remembering and culture in peace processes and on the conceptual analysis of conflicts.

After joining CMC Finland, Jyrki has conducted research on the effectiveness of crisis management and peace operations. He hopes to contribute to developing crisis management, making it more effective, without forgetting its humanitarian and altruistic foundation.

© Jyrki Ruohomäki, 2018

photo_villelaakkonen

Ville Laakkonen

Ville is a researcher and a doctoral student at the University of Tampere. His research interests include refugees and displacement, migration, border studies, anthropology of the state, and humanitarianism. He earned his MSci degree in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies from The University of Oxford. He also holds a MSSci degree in Social Anthropology from The University of Tampere.

Ville has conducted fieldwork in both Finland and Iraqi Kurdistan. His upcoming field projects will take place in Greece and Italy. In addition, Ville currently works as an assistant editor for the Journal of the Finnish Anthropological Society, Suomen Antropologi. Through his academic and field experience, he has gained comprehensive knowledge about the politics of immigration in Europe from the perspectives of both political institutions and activist organizations.