The University of Lapland has granted strategic funding to five projects that support the University strategy implementation plan through its three strategic choices: global Arctic responsibility, future services and reachability, and sustainable tourism. Two of these funded projects are led by the Faculty of Law, with members from the LTDT Research Group, namely, the projects PromoTing Sustainable PRactices for Digitalizing IndigenoUS CulTural Heritage - Global North and South Juxtaposed (TRUST) (PI: Rosa Ballardini) and the project Regulating the Sustainability Transition of the Transport and Mobility System in the Arctic (ARCTIC TRANSIT) (PI: Jukka Similä).
Public descriptions of the projects:
TRUST: TRUST strengthens research in the Global North and South by concentrating on interdisciplinary groups processing practices for digitalizing Indigenous cultural heritage (CH). There is lack of holistic understanding and of workable solutions for how to navigate the legal and cultural tensions existing with the processes of digitilizing Indigenous CH in an ethical way. Legal frameworks, like IPR, fall short of offering a regime that is respectful of ethical principles that are central for Indigenous Peoples, while maintaining the incentive purpose the IP system was built for in the first place. To build TRUST we need to further develop the law so that it represents the interests of all parties involved in a balanced way. To reach this goal, the project applies educational methods and research to enable integration of the views of marginalised groups in law and develops socially innovative tools of engagement to promote knowledge co-creation amongst the stakeholders.
ARCTIC TRANSIT: Fighting climate change requires changing systems of production and consumption, transport and mobility being one such system. These changes are called sustainability transitions. With the Green Deal, the European Union seeks a sustainability transition of the transport and mobility system. While decisions on this transition are made at the European level, the effects are seen on the local level. Furthermore, due to the particular conditions of the Arctic a similar transport and mobility system is not feasible there as might be in European capitals. This project first identifies the local barriers, risks and solutions of this transitions in the Arctic. As law has a central role in the transition, the project then analyses how does current legislation affect sustainability transitions and what type of legislation Finland and the European Union should have in place in order to achieve the transition effectively yet in a manner that is considerate of the local situation at the Arctic.
Contact persons:
TRUST: Rosa Maria Ballardini, Professor of Intellectual Property Law
ARTIC TRANSIT: Jukka Similä, Research Professor of Natural Resources and Law
(E-mail addresses: firstname.surname@ulapland.fi)