As part of a panel on forest-related gender research at the IFPM5 (10-12 April 2024), Dr. Susanne Koch shared preliminary insights from an on-going analysis of gendered struggles in forest science carried out as part of the In-Forest project. 

The International Forest Policy Meeting (IFPM) is a biennial event addressing forest and forest-related issues from a social science perspective and bringing together scholars and research from different parts of the world. In 2024, the IFPM5 was hosted by the University of Helsinki and took place from 10-12 April on the Viikki Campus where the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry is located. 

Dr. Susanne Koch held two talks at the event to share findings and insights from the In-Forest project – one on the question ‘what counts’ in international forest policy research, based on a paper already published, and the other on gendered struggles in doing forest science, as part of a panel entitled “Epistemic patterns and concepts: Facilitating critical analysis on gender in forestry”. The panel consisted of two sessions which attracted a large audience and was set up to bring together scholars working on gender issues in the realm of forest research. 

The IFPM5 also provided a space for the launch of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to which Susanne contributed. The course “Gender Equality, Diversity & Inclusion in Forestry-related Sectors (ForGEDI)” is available open access on the Future Learn Platform (without subscription for a year) and aims to empower participants with the knowledge and tools needed to advance gender equality and promote diversity and inclusion in forestry-related fields.

Read a conference blog post on the IFPM5 by Simon Fleckenstein here, and by Ayami Kan here. 

Sign up for the ForGEDI MOOC and read more about the initiative here.