Professor Burelli’s timely and highly significant work is situated at the crossroads of environmental law, Indigenous peoples’ law, intellectual property and research ethics. Motivated by a desire to give Indigenous communities a voice and a role in how their traditional knowledge is used, Professor Burelli has worked to denounce unethical and abusive practices by researchers and organizations that have engaged, either willingly or unknowingly, in the misappropriation of Indigenous intellectual property. Specifically, his research aims to raise awareness about biopiracy – the practice of taking Indigenous traditional knowledge and patenting it for profit. His efforts have helped to curb this practice by identifying and exposing several high-profile instances of the appropriation and misuse of Indigenous traditional knowledge in France, New Caledonia and Guyana. While he has often faced pressure and even retaliation from multinational corporations urging him to stop this work, Professor Burelli has proven to be a strong leader and advocate for Indigenous rights.
In addition to his impactful work on biopiracy, Professor Burelli has recently begun studying university pedagogy – specifically the creation of game-based activities in education and the effects of these approaches on student learning. He participated, for example, in the development of a board game called Otoktonia, created by the Fondation France Libertés, to help raise awareness among young people about the rights of Indigenous peoples. And he has developed game-based classroom tools that simulate international negotiation scenarios related to environmental law. His goal is to use these experiential learning activities to help remove obstacles to participation in research and education for communities that otherwise have little access to, or interest in, higher education.
Based in Germany, The GYA provides a rallying point for outstanding young scientists and scholars from around the world, developing, connecting, and mobilizing new talent from six continents. The Academy seeks to empower young researchers, providing members with the opportunity to develop their leadership by addressing interdisciplinary public policy issues related to the role of scientific research and the improvement of its influence in international development. In an era when communities around the world are faced with common issues, the Global Young Academy offers an immense opportunity for global collaboration.
Professor Burelli is one of 39 new members elected to the Global Young Academy for 2022. New members this year represent 24 different countries and 27 nationalities from around the world. Professor Burelli is the third member of the Civil Law Section to be elected to the GYA, joining Professor Sophie Thériault and Dean Marie-Eve Sylvestre.
Visit the Global Young Academy website, or follow the Academy on Facebook and Twitter.
Congratulations to Professor Burelli!