To Iceland to build bridges and share knowledge
During the debates at the Arctic Circle Assembly conference, the focus will be on the strategic choices we face in the Arctic. UiT’s research on security, climate, and the environment will also be highlighted.
The annual Arctic Circle Assembly conference shines a spotlight on the strategic decisions we face in the Arctic.
It is held in Reykjavik, Iceland, and gathers 2,000 participants from politics, NGO's, governance, research communities, and the business sector from more than 60 countries.
From 16–18 October, a delegation from UiT will travel to Reykjavik to build bridges and share knowledge and experiences.
UiT’s focus areas
UiT is a key player with strong international connections, delivering research-based knowledge to the Arctic Council. We also contribute to ensuring that Norway maintains a leading role in research on security, climate, and the environment in the Arctic.
At the conference, the delegation will highlight the following focus areas:
- The establishment of the Centre for Geopolitics, Peace, and Security (GPS)
- UiT’s leadership of the research programme The Arctic Ocean 2050
- The environmental monitoring programme COAT
- Research on food security through the Resilient North project
UiT and international collaboration
UiT’s capacity for knowledge-building is enabled through platforms for international and Nordic university collaboration, such as UArctic and The Arctic Six.
At the conference, you can also learn more about how UiT’s students and PhD candidates contribute to developing solutions for sustainable societies through participation in the International Graduate Student Research Cohort (IGSRC).
You can follow UiT’s delegation on our website and social media.
Read more about the Arctic Circle Assembly programme here.
Participants in the UiT delegation
- Dag Rune Olsen – Rector at UiT
- Jørgen Berge – Prorector for Research at UiT
- Vito De Lucia – Professor at the Norwegian Centre for the Law of the Sea
- Bastiaan Klerk – Doctoral Candidate at the Norwegian Centre for the Law of the Sea
- Ketil Lenert Hansen – Professor at the Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare (RKBU North), Faculty of Health Sciences
- Magritt Brustad – Professor of Nutritional Epidemiology, Department of Community Medicine
- Rasmus G. Bertelsen – Professor of Arctic Studies, Barents Chair in Politics, Department of Social Sciences
- Marc Lanteigne – Senior Lecturer in Political Science, Department of Social Sciences
- Lluisa Puig Moner – Doctoral Research Fellow, Department of Mathematics and Statistics
- Sigrid Ag – Head of the Section for International Cooperation
- Lars Kullerud – UArctic President and Senior Adviser, Section for International Cooperation
- Astrid Brokke – Senior Advisor at the Section for International Cooperation
- Natalia Kononova – Senior Advisor at the Section for International Cooperation
- Isabelle Guissard – Senior Advisor at the Section for International Cooperation
- Ingvild Svestad – Senior Advisor at the Section for International Cooperation
- Zølvi Pedersen – Senior Advisor at the Section for Research and Innovation
- Linda Solstrand Dahlberg – Senior Adviser, Office for Research and Innovation and UiT’s representative in Brussels
- Kim Bredesen – Communications Advisor at UiT
- UiT students: Bård Andersen and Andrea Krokan
Sessions where UiT will contribute
16 October
09:40 – 10:35
China’s Arctic relations: strategic competition & pragmatic coopeation
Organiser: Institute for China-America Studies (ICAS), USA, Beijing Club for International Dialogue (CH)
10:50 – 11:45
Ensuring an Arctic Career
Organiser: Barents Regional Youth Council
10:50 – 11:45
NATO in the Arctic
Organiser: The North American and Arctic Defence and Security Network, FNI
18:15 – 19:10
Middle powers and small states: Evolving geopolitical roles in a changing Arctic
Organiser: The Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Japan
17 October
08:30 – 09:25
The changing Geopolitics of the Arctic: Wiews from the Indo-Pacific
Organiser: ESEAS – Uusof Ishak Institute, Singapore, UiT
15:55 – 16:50
Food security and emergency preparedness in the North: Cross-border cooperation
Organiser: Arctic Six, AMF, TFK, TK, Arctic Frontiers, NORA
17:05 – 18:00
Securitization of Arctic research: Governance, risks and strategic adaptation.
Organiser: Marie Curie-Sklodowska University, (PL), UiT, UiB, SIOS, AWI (DE)
18:15 – 19:10
Breaking barriers: Addressing the mental health of young men in the Arctic
Organizer: AMF, TK, AF, UiT, TFK, NOR
18 October
09:00 – 09:55
Defending the Canadian Arctic
Organiser: The North American and Arctic defence and security network
10:10 – 11:05
Death of the Arctic? Critical internventions in uncertain times
Organiser: Thematic Network on Critical Arctic Studies, UArctic
10:10 – 11:05
Political shifts in the Arctic: China, Russia and Regional Security
Organiser: Centre for Arctic Studies, Univ. Of Iceland
11:20 – 12:15
Dynamic ocean management in Arctic waters – New Dynamic with the BBNJ
Organiser: Ecologic Institute (DE), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (DE)
1315 – 15:20
Arctic Circle Polar Dialogue