Practical info
Conference Venue & Info
The conference takes place in Joensuu, the regional capital of North Karelia, at the University of Eastern Finland (UEF). Within the UEF, the conference is hosted by the Department of Geographical and Historical Studies in collaboration with the Karelian Institute.
Contact information
For inquiries please contact: NGM2022@uef.fi
Joensuu & Region
The city of Joensuu (literally ‘river mouth’) was founded by Tsar Nicholas I of Russia in 1848 and, as a border region, continues to act as a place of contact between West and East. Today the town, for some known as the ‘Forest Capital of Europe’, is a growing administrative, cultural and educational centre of 76500 inhabitants on the shores of Lake Pyhäselkä. An inspiration for the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, North Karelia is a unique meeting point of eastern and western cultures surrounded by about 2000 lakes and dense forests.
University & Departments
The University of Eastern Finland is the most multi-disciplinary university in Finland. Our high standard of interdisciplinary research and education respond to global challenges and build a sustainable future. The University of Eastern Finland was established in 2010, following a decision by the University of Joensuu (est. 1969) and the University of Kuopio (est. 1972) to join forces through a merger. The university comprises four faculties: the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies. Our campuses are located in Joensuu and nearby Kuopio, approximately 130 km to the west.
The Department of Geographical and Historical Studies is an innovative, multi-disciplinary department with over 500 students. It includes research and teaching in geography, history and environmental policy. Its geography section has a strong tradition of critical human geography and has hosted the NGM predecessor, “The Critical Nordic Geographers Meeting”, in 1990. Today, GIS-based research on northern ecosystems and geospatial analysis additionally have become a key element of our geographic research at the department. More generally, the department’s research responds to four ‘Global Challenges’: 1) Environmental change and sufficiency of natural resources; 2) Cultural encounters, mobilities and borders; 3) Ageing, lifestyles and health, and; 4) Learning in a digitised society. Our researchers are engaged in developing multidisciplinary approaches, theories, and methods in Human and Physical Geography, Environmental Policy, and History.
The Karelian Institute at the UEF is a multi-disciplinary and international research unit focussing on regional development, cultural studies and borders. The Institute is engaged in research in three overlapping thematic areas: 1) Regional and Rural Studies; 2) Ethnicity and Culture; and 3) Borders and Russia. It also provides a home to Spatia, the Centre for Regional Research, which carries out commissioned research in these fields and to the VERA Centre for Russian and Border Studies, which co-ordinates and promotes research and education programmes on Russian and Border Studies at the University of Eastern Finland.
How to get here
The NGM2022 will take place in the city of Joensuu, situated in eastern Finland, about 450 kilometres north-east from Helsinki, the capital of Finland. You can reach Joensuu from Helsinki by train or bus. Flights might be offered from Helsinki-Vantaa airport (currently reduced due to COVID) but we hope you will prefer the comfortable and scenic ride by train instead.
You can reach Helsinki by ferry, for example, from Tallinn, Stockholm and Travemünde, or by plane from many of the main airports within Europe. It is also possible to reach Joensuu by a 6-hour train journey from St. Petersburg.
Accommodation
There are various choices for accommodation in Joensuu, starting with hostels via hotel accommodation to cabins by the lake. A conference booking code and more details on conference offers is available here.