Thank you for joining Becky at the International Sauna Congress!Thank you | Kiitos | Takk for joining Becky Pelkonen for her International Sauna Congress 2026 talk, "Sauna as Common Good: How the Boom Can Become a Regenerative Force for Communities Across the Globe."
Becky explored how the growth of sauna can strengthen the places and people that make it possible. Drawing on the idea of sauna as a commons, she shared a Regenerative Sauna framework that asks who benefits as sauna grows, what we owe the cultures and places that sustain it, and how we can leave them stronger than we found them. The talk closed with Sauna for All and the Public Sauna-Bathing Charter, an invitation to shape a future where sauna stays open, shared, and rooted in community. See below for more about Becky or the Charter. |
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SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY
Becky Pelkonen, MScBecky Pelkonen is a sustainability educator, sauna entrepreneur, and community builder based in British Columbia’s East Kootenays. She teaches Sustainable Business at College of the Rockies and co-runs Kamu Sauna, creating inclusive and culturally grounded sauna experiences shaped by Finnish lineage and third-space design principles. Kamu Sauna has recently been working with Destination Canada to develop a scalable approach to "regenerative sauna principles" within the region and beyond. Becky also supports international member engagement with Sauna from Finland, contributing to the growth of the North American sauna community.
Becky has begun doctoral studies at the University of Eastern Finland, where her research focuses on third spaces, regenerative principles, and the cultural depth of sauna in relation to sustainable livelihoods. Grounded in systems thinking and Finnish cultural roots, her work explores how sauna rituals, hosting practices, and place-based storytelling shape wellbeing, cultural resilience, and ecological awareness. With more than twenty years of experience in sustainable development and regenerative tourism, including extensive work alongside Indigenous communities, Becky is committed to creating spaces that foster belonging, cultural care, and meaningful connection to place. She is also a mother of two boys and a grandmother to one; this past winter, three generations shared their first sauna together when her grandson was eight months old. |
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