UNITWIN CONFERENCE Career Guidance and Counselling for Hope in the Anthropocene
March 26-27 2025, Joensuu, FINLAND
** Organised by the career guidance and counselling units in University of Eastern Finland and University of Jyväskylä. **
Career guidance and counselling helps individuals plan for their futures. It is curious about the future changes and has potential for playing a key role in facilitating sustainable trajectories both for individuals and communities.
Recognizing that we live in an age of the Anthropocene means acknowledging our responsibility for keeping the planet habitable for future generations. This includes recognizing the fundamental entanglement and hybridized nature of ecological and social questions and challenges we are currently facing.
In this task, hope has been recognized as an approach in the professional field of career guidance and counselling for motivation to future planning in turbulent and uncertain times. How does building hope influence approaches of career guidance and counselling? How do we build hope in practice within career guidance and counselling contexts?
The conference is open for UNITWIN network members and all colleagues interested in career guidance, decent work, life design and related topics. WELCOME!
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Antti RAJALA; Professor of Sociocultural Psychology and Education; University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland:
- Utopian methodologies: Engendering hope via educational research
Meenakshi CHHABRA, Professor and Vice Provost; Fulbright Global Scholar & Fulbright faculty liaison; Lesley University, USA
- Restoring Dignity in the Anthropocene: Cultivating Hope Through the Ethics of Life
David BLUSTEIN, Professor, the Golden Eagle Faculty Fellow, Department of Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology at Boston College Boston College, USA
- Dignity at Work: A Critical Conceptual Framework and Research Agenda (Online keynote)
We will also hear a video lecture from professor emeritus, honorary UNITWIN Chair Jean GUICHARD:
- Sustainable and equitable life-designing: Principles, concepts and methods
PAPERS, SYMPOSIA, WORKSHOPS
We received an exciting set of proposals for each category and have sent out notifications of acceptance.
Here you can download the abstracts
for PAPERS
for WORKSHOPS
for SYMPOSIA
PROGRAMME
Here is the conference programme – we will reserve rights to changes.
REGISTRATION AND MEALS
Please register here: https://registration.contio.fi/uef/Registration/Login?id=8277-T_8277-9573
- Registration fee: 100 eur
- Dinner: 30 eur
You can register and pay the 100 eur registration fee here, as well as book your conference dinner for 30 eur. When you open the form, you first need to pick a “role” (participant, keynote speaker, UEF staff member), and then the entire form opens up. Prepare to use card for payment.
Please note that lunch and afternoon coffee/tea will be complimentary on both conference days for those who have registered. We will also organise some refreshments and snacks for you on Tuesday evening for a little welcome get-together, since most of you will be likely to arrive then.
The registration is open until 16th February 2025. In case you need to cancel, we will refund your complete fee if you cancel before that. After that, the fees are non-refundable.
If you have any problems with the registration, please contact Sanna Vehviläinen sanna.vehvilainen@uef.fi
WELCOME TO JOENSUU! We are looking forward to seeing you all!
ACCOMODATION
We recommend booking your hotel in Joensuu soon. We recommend the following three hotels that have offered us discount – once you register, you will be sent discount codes in your e-mail confirmation.
TRAVEL
Joensuu can be reached by train – if you fly to Helsinki, take a train from there. There is a train connection from the airport. You can also fly directly to Joensuu. We have have taken train schedules into account – the conference ends so that you will catch the train to Helsinki.
CONFERENCE ORGANISERS
The conference is organised in association with the UNESCO/UNITWIN International Network Life Designing Interventions (counseling, guidance, education) for decent work and sustainable development. The main operational organiser is University of Eastern Finland in collaboration with University of Jyväskylä.
The UniTwin international network “Life Designing Interventions (counseling, guidance, education) for decent work and sustainable development” promotes worldwide cooperation between universities on lifelong guidance and counseling to support decent work and sustainable development. The Unitwin international cooperating network brings together 21 universities from around the world. This scientific cooperation will allow developmental research and programs which promote lifelong learning opportunities and improve vocational counseling for all. This cooperation will also create programs to promote social inclusion by providing adapted intervention for disadvantaged, marginalized, underserved, and underrepresented groups.
University of Eastern Finland www.uef.fi
University of Jyväskylä www.jyu.fi
City of Joensuu www.joensuu.fi
Organising committee of the conference
Professor Sanna Vehviläinen (chair), University of Eastern Finland
Associate Professor Mira Kalalahti, University of Jyväskylä
Senior University Lecturer Anne-Mari Souto, University of Eastern Finland
University Teacher Jussi Semi, University of Eastern Finland
University Lecturer Toni Kosonen, University of Jyväskylä
Scientific board of the conference