Eco-anxiety

Talk of Susan Clayton (College of Wooster, 2021-2022 Paris IAS Fellow) with the participation of Panu Pihkala, Kirsti Jylha and Maria Ojala as part of the conference "Ecoanxiety" organized by Helsinki University.

Presentation

Many leading international experts of eco-anxiety and eco-emotion research will gather in Helsinki 22nd June 2022. The venue, Puistokatu 4, is a brand new hub of environmental research and community work.

Eco-anxiety and its prevalent form, climate anxiety, seem to be growing worldwide. Fundamentally, eco-anxiety is an adaptive response: it is based on observing real threats, and it leads to changes in behaviour. However, it can also manifest as stronger anxiety and/or depressive moods. 
Research about eco-anxiety and various other eco-emotions is now growing fast. In this event, many leading researchers on related topics will speak about the current state of research and future needs. Prof. Susan Clayton from the US has published many pioneering studies and reports about climate anxiety. Docent and senior lecturer Maria Ojala from Sweden has studied climate worry and hope for about 20 years. Communicator and visionary Elin Kelsey, Ph.D., from Canada has developed educational resources for challenging the narrative of climate doomism and championing solutions journalism. They are hosted by Docent Panu Pihkala from Finland, an interdisciplinary eco-anxiety and eco-emotion scholar.

The discussions will also touch upon practical ideas for encountering eco-emotions constructively in societies, with a certain emphasis on communication and education. The event is part of the cooperation between ILVIES, a Finnish organization for environmental communication, and Elin Kelsey, funded by the Kone Foundation. Research psychologist Kirsti M. Jylhä , Ph.D., will facilitate the discussion together with the help of younger eco-emotion scholars such as Isabel Coppola. Kelsey will join over Zoom while the other speakers will be present in Helsinki. The event will have a Q & A session.

Practical informations :

Conference at 16:30 Paris time.
Follow the link to subscribe. A Zoom link will be sent to registered participants.