2025 Young and Emerging Researchers' Forum

Jenni Pekkarinen is a PhD candidate in Cultural Policy at the Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy of the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Her doctoral research explores how international Capital of Culture programmes – particularly the European and Ibero-American initiatives – address the relationship between culture and sustainability. She has published several works on cultural policy and sustainability, including "Towards an ecosystemic approach to culture and sustainability" (International Journal of Cultural Policy, 2025), "Meaningful encounters: value-based foundations of art-ups" (Uniarts Helsinki, 2024), and "An Intersectional Analysis of Young People’s Cultural Participation in the Context of the European Capital of Culture: The Case of Oulu2026" (Nordisk Kulturpolitisk Tidskrift, 2023). Her earlier publications include contributions on the societal role of the arts and the reconstruction of the arts sector from a sustainability perspective. Her research interests focus on cultural sustainability, cultural policy, and the transformative role of the arts in society.