Sigga-Marja Magga receives the Finnish Academies’ Risto Pelkonen Human Rights Award
The award is granted to an individual, community, or organization that has actively advanced the human rights of scholars. Its purpose is to increase the visibility of human rights issues within the scientific community and to highlight actions that defend academic freedom. Members of the scientific community may nominate candidates, and the selection is made by the Human Rights Committee of the Finnish Academies.
Professor Liisa Laakso, Chair of the Human Rights Committee, describes the grounds for the award:
Following the publication of the final report of the Sámi Truth and Reconciliation Commission in December 2025, there is broad interest in the rights of the Sámi Indigenous people. These rights also include the rights of Sámi researchers.
Through her work, Sigga-Marja Magga has demonstrated how free research supports Indigenous rights and how these rights, in turn, support research. In understanding and interpreting the distinctive features of Sámi culture—such as Magga’s own field of study, Sámi handicraft (duodji)—the participation and inclusion of the community play a crucial role.
Sigga-Marja Magga is one of the authors of the ethical guidelines for research concerning the Sámi, published in 2024. These guidelines emphasize respect for Sámi knowledge, traditions, and languages. In her current role as Director of the Giellagas Institute at the University of Oulu, she continues to advance these good practices in support of academic freedom, critical inquiry, objectivity, and the human rights of researchers.
The award ceremony (in Finnish), Kenen tieto – kuuluuko saamelaisten ääni tutkimuksessa? (Whose Knowledge – Is the Sámi Voice Heard in Research?), will be held at Tiedekulma in Helsinki on 11 May 2026 from 17:00 to 19:00. The event is open to everyone and can also be followed online.
The event description and program are available on the event page.
The Finnish Academies’ Risto Pelkonen Human Rights Award was established in 2021. In previous years, it has been awarded to the Scholars at Risk network of Finnish universities (2022), the Finnish National Theatre for the premiere of the play Dosentit (2023), Historians Without Borders in Finland (2024), and THL Chief Physician, Professor Hanna Nohynek (2025).