Aili Pyhälä

Aili has extensive grassroots-level experience in more than 25 countries, immersing herself in, and engaging with, indigenous peoples and local communities, along with their knowledge systems, beliefs and practices.
She has 20 years of experience evaluating international cooperation projects worldwide, and is a committed activist defending territories of life and their defenders, in support of decolonized and decentralized governance systems. She has on several occasions worked with national government and inter-ministerial policy groups in attempts to assist the incorporation of more holistic and integrated
sustainability indicators (e.g. Ecological Footprint, Gross National Happiness) into decision-making. Aili is currently Adjunct Professor at the University of Helsinki, in the Faculty of Social Sciences (Programme for Society and Change). She teaches critical development studies, supervises students (across all levels), and pursues research in indigenous peoples’ knowledge and rights, alternative education, conservation psychology, global responsibility, human-nature relations, and cross-cultural notions of wellbeing. A trained permaculturist, (also teacher of 2 PDCs), with vast training in sustainable community building (including the 4-week EDE), fluent in 8 languages, she enjoys connecting people and movements, facilitating events, and promoting cross-cultural communication and exchange. Aili sits on the Council of the ICCA Consortium, an international member-based organization supporting and promoting the biocultural rights of indigenous peoples and local communities. She is also Partner of the Centre of Indigenous Conservation and Development Alternatives (CICADA), and Ambassador for the Global Ecovillage Network. Contact: aili.pyhala@helsinki.fi