The theme of the Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit Conference this year is climate change and the future generations. Organizers invite young people, decision-makers and researchers to a common, solution-oriented dialogue. The Conference will take place November 12th-13th in Rovaniemi, Finland.
The opening session of the conference brings the young generation of the Arctic to the fore. What are their thoughts, fears, hopes and ideas concerning climate change and living in the Arctic? The Finnish Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Krista Mikkonen will give the opening speech and participate in a discussion with active youth participants form the different parts of the Arctic.
The first Conference day also addresses decision-making concerning climate change. The Conference debates whether it is possible to find consensus through international climate negotiations, how radical measures should be applied, who should bear the biggest responsibility and whom should the decision-makers listen to.
– Climate change is a challenge that we can and must confront at many levels and layers. The conference discusses the different levels and perspectives of decision-making and action such as indigenous, national, regional, local and NGO, says Markku Heikkilä, one of the organizers from the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland.
He also reminds how the recent UN Climate Summit had a strong focus on youth and how the latest IPCC report highlighted the increasing speed of Arctic change.
– In Rovaniemi conference, these two themes are connected, he says.
Second day of the conference consists of parallel sessions with research presentations and panel discussions. Topics include, among others, climate change as a human rights issue, youth well-being in Arctic towns and cities and security aspects of climate change. The conference is an official side event of Finland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union and one of the panels takes a look at the future of Finland’s and the EU’s Arctic policy.
The registration for the conference is now open on the conference website www.rovaniemiarcticspirit.fi. The early bird fee is available until 20 October 2019.
More information:
Program and registration: www.rovaniemiarcticspirit.fi
Twitter: @TheArcticSpirit
Facebook: @rovaniemiarcticspirit
#ArcticSpirit
Anne Raja-Hanhela, Conference coordinator
Arctic Centre, University of Lapland
anne.raja-hanhela(at)ulapland.fi, +358 40 039 1337
Markku Heikkilä, Head of Science Communications
Arctic Centre, University of Lapland
markku.heikkila(at)ulapland.fi, +358 40 484 4300