Introduction
The very first International Forest Camp will be held at Vuonislahti village, in the town of Lieksa, some 80 km north from town of Joensuu. The Forest Camp event in Vuonsilahti belongs to the group of Forest Camps organized by IMPDET program at the University of Joensuu and Vuonis-kylämatkailuverkosto/Osuuskunta Vuonis association which will take care of the local organisation and accomodation.
The theme of the first Forest Camp is Technologies for Rural Villages. The aim of the Forest Camp is to map out the possibilities for using technologies in sparsely populated rural areas, like in Eastern-Finland or developing countries. The program for the two-day event includes expert presentations, active discussions, an excursion to the Vuonislahti and Kylänlahti Villages and workshop activities.
A concrete aim of the meeting is to figure out applicable research topics related to the theme of the camp. The Forest Camp serves also as a forum for meeting new people and for getting acquainted with them. It is also a place to foster collaboration between researchers, companies and people living at rural villages.
The topics covered during the Forest Camp include, but are not limited to:
Pocket School - novel solutions for schooling in rural areas
Advanced technologies for rural tourism services
The role of mobile technology in village communities
ICT for development
The expert presentations will be held by:
Prof. Johannes Cronje, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Prof. Erkki Sutinen, University of Joensuu, Finland
Heikki Kukkonen, lecturer of Urban Planning and Design of the Department of Architecture of Helsinki University of Technology
Raija Wirekoski, General Secretary of The Theme Group on Tourism of The Rural Policy Committee
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