News
Read about news and events, and blog texts from Material Democracy.
Researcher Interview #4: Kaisa Schmidt-Thomé explains how our Democracy Workshop creates new space for dialogue
The Democracy Workshop of the Material Democracy project is an action-oriented forum where data collection, joint sensemaking, and experimentation with new modes of action run side by side. In the fourth part of our researcher interview series, Demos Helsinki’s Lead Researcher Kaisa Schmidt-Thomé explains the idea behind the Democracy Workshop.
Researcher interview #3: Antti Silvast and long-term planning — who does it and why should we care?
In the third part of our blog series interviewing the project's researchers, Antti Silvast, Associate Professor at LUT University and Deputy Director of the Material Democracy project, reflects on participation practices and knowledge production in long-term energy and infrastructure planning.
How should climate action be communicated in rural areas?
Kia Karhunen and Jenna Kuivalainen, Master's students in Environmental Change and Global Sustainability at the University of Helsinki, worked as research assistants for the Material Democracy project in the summer of 2025. In this article, they discuss climate communication as a means of increasing participation and reducing polarization in rural areas.