On April 1st, Speak Up will host its first webinar, in a series of four webinars in total. The City of Malmö and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) will join forces and talk about their method of community-based dialogues. In this interview, we will talk with Julia Jokiaho, who works as a researcher at SEI, about how to engage citizens in dialogues regarding climate change, sustainability, and behavioral change in the green transition. Curious about the webinar? Check out the event here!
Can you tell us something about yourself and your organization?
Hi! I’m Julia Jokiaho, a researcher at the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), where I focus on citizen engagement, sustainability transitions, and participatory methods. SEI is an international research institute bridging science, policy, and practice to tackle global sustainability challenges. We emphasize inclusive, participatory approaches to ensure diverse voices shape the transition to a sustainable future. In this webinar, I look forward to sharing insights on engaging citizens in climate dialogues and exploring practical ways to drive meaningful change. Excited for the discussion!
Can community-based dialogues make a difference? And why is it so important to involve citizens in the debate around climate change?
Yes, absolutely! To answer your first question, community-based dialogues—or place-based dialogues—help ground climate action in citizens their everyday life. Instead of a top-down approach, these discussions recognize citizens as experts in their own lives. Their daily interactions with their surroundings—whether through infrastructure, social networks—offer valuable insights that traditional science or policy might overlook.
And to your second question—why is it so important to involve citizens? Because when people are actively engaged in shaping solutions, they are more likely to support and implement them. These dialogues foster awareness, behavior change, and a sense of ownership, making sustainability efforts more inclusive and impactful. Participation also democratizes climate decision-making, ensuring that those most affected by policies have a voice in shaping them.
How do you as a knowledge institution collaborate with local governments and citizens?
At SEI, we use inclusive and participatory research methods to ensure that both local governments and citizens play an active role in shaping knowledge and solutions. Rather than researchers defining problems and delivering answers, we focus on co-creation—where participation begins with identifying challenges, continues through data collection and analysis, and ends with applying the insights back into the local context.
This approach builds trust, relationships, and ownership, making outcomes more relevant and actionable. When stakeholders are directly involved, they have a stronger sense of agency, and the solutions developed are more likely to be adopted and sustained. Instead of a one-way flow of knowledge from experts, we emphasize multi-directional learning, where all participants—researchers, policymakers, and citizens—bring valuable insights to the table.
What can other organizations learn from your approach and collaboration?
At SEI, we believe that tackling sustainability challenges requires open science, public engagement, and co-creation. Our approach ensures that research is accessible, actionable, and inclusive, fostering collaboration with communities, businesses, and policymakers to develop solutions that are both relevant and impactful. Rather than relying on a top-down model, we emphasize participatory methods that empower stakeholders and drive meaningful change.
A great example of this is our Adaptation AGORA project, which creates spaces for co-designing and co-creating adaptation strategies for climate resilience. Additionally, our project in Avesta examines how reducing consumption-based emissions can not only be sustainable but also maintain or even improve quality of life.
Explore our work on co-production and participatory methods, or dive into our tools—there’s plenty to learn!