Finnish Conference on Research on Family and Personal Relationships 2024

24.-26.4.2024 Kuopio, Finland

Personal relationships on the move

Welcome to the Finnish Conference on Research on Families and Personal Relationships (fmr. Family Research Conference) in Kuopio 25.-26.4.2024! The conference is organised in collaboration with the Department of Social Sciences at the University of Eastern Finland. The theme of the 2024 conference is Personal relationships on the move. Researchers, students, professionals working with families, NGOs, policymakers and anyone interested in family and personal relationships are all warmly welcome to participate.

The theme of the conference emphasizes flexibility and dynamic character of contemporary family and personal relationships which sets new requirements for professionals working in the field. Families are diverse and composed of various types of intimacies and relationships that can be considered significant. The needs of families differ as well, and services must adapt to increasingly complex situations in which people of varying ages and families with different backgrounds seek for help and support. Migration, increase in cultural diversity, and the aging population challenge the service system in new ways. For people to trust that their significant family relationships will be acknowledged and recognized in the future, Finnish society needs to develop sensitivity towards diverse constellations of people’s significant relationships. For this purpose, a cross-sectoral and multidisciplinary discussion between experts in different fields is vital.

The conference keynotes will highlight a selection of timely topics on families and relationships including aging and migration, lgbtqi+ relationships, and the services for families with neurodivergent children and youth. The keynotes will be held by Dr. Shruti Chaudhry from Scotland (University of Edinburgh), postdoctoral researcher Annukka Lahti (University of Eastern Finland) and the chief medical officer of children’s psychiatry Anita Puustjärvi (Kuopio University Hospital). As usual the conference also offers many working group sessions.

See you in Kuopio!

News

Registration is now open until 16.4.2024. You can register here!

The deadline for abstract applications has been extended until 8.3. See the instructions here!