Registration and Welcome Coffee
Lightning of Qulliq
A traditional Inuit lamp lighting ceremony will start the conference.
Moderators
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Nicolas Van Hoecke
Managing Director, International Polar Foundation
Aaju Peter
Inuk Lawyer
Welcome from the Organisers
Welcome to the 15th Arctic Futures Symposium from the organisers: the International Polar Foundation and their many Arctic stakeholder partners!
Speakers
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Alain Hubert
Founder and President, International Polar Foundation
Opening Keynotes
Four keynote speeches will open this year's symposium.
Speakers
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Stefano Sannino
Secretary-General, European External Action Service
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Charlina Vitcheva
Director-General, Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE), European Commission
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Maria Varteressian
State Secretary of Norway
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Sara Olsvig
Chair, Inuit Circumpolar Council
Building on Progress: Reflections and Aspirations from the Norwegian and Kingdom of Denmark Arctic Council Chairships
This panel will highlight what the Norwegian Arctic Council Chairship has been able to achieve in spite of the current geopolitical situation and what the Kingdom of Denmark Chairship will carry on when it takes over in 2025.
Moderators
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Patti Bruns
Secretary-General, Arctic Mayors Forum
Speakers
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Morten Høglund
Norway's Ambassador for the Arctic; Chair of the Senior Arctic Officials of the Arctic Council
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Tobias Elling Rehfeld
Ambassador, Senior Arctic Official for Kingdom of Denmark, Danish Ministry for Foreign Affairs
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Sara Olsvig
Chair, Inuit Circumpolar Council
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Naja-Theresia Høegh
Law Student, Board Member, AVALAK; Former Special Advisor on Youth to the EU Commissioner on International Partnerships
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Coffee Break
Transatlantic Cooperation in the Arctic in 2025 and Beyond
Changing political dynamics between Arctic states and within Arctic states have the potential to accelerate the transformation of the Arctic from an area apart from geopolitical tension to an area of geopolitical competition. All Arctic Council states apart from Russia are now NATO members, and these Arctic 7 must grapple with increasingly challenging ties to Russia and China. Although current points of tension do not stem from the Arctic, this does not preclude heightened tensions from being expressed in the European High North, North Atlantic, or the North American Arctic. Climate change is opening new opportunities for trans-Arctic trade, drawing interests from both Arctic and non-Arctic States. During the summer months, the Northern Sea Route may be more accessible than the Northwest Passage, allowing Russia to be more competitive on the shipping front. Increasingly, Arctic states will have to address geopolitical concerns while also not losing sight or losing ground on priorities that have underpinned earlier eras of Arctic exceptionalism: ongoing work is essential on environmental protection, indigenous population rights and needs, climate change, and sustainable economic development. This panel will be split into two 45-minute panels with three speakers each. The first will focus on Transatlantic Cooperation Priorities : What Will Be New in 2025 and After, and the second will focus on Transatlantic Cooperation on the Ground: How Transatlantic Cooperation Can Deliver.
Moderators
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Ian Lesser
Distinguished Fellow and Adviser to the President, Head of Brussels Office, German Marshall Fund of the United States
Speakers
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Claude Véron-Réville
Head of Division for Western Europe and Special Envoy for Arctic Matters, EEAS
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Kristine Berzina
Managing Director, Geostrategy North, German Marshall Fund of the United States
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Johanna Ikävalko
Director, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland
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Bergdís Ellertsdóttir
Senior Arctic Official; Ambassador, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Iceland
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Willfred Nordlund
Member of Parliament for Nordland and Chair of the Standing Committee on Business and Industry, Norwegian Parliament
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Ulla-Kirsikka Vainio
Mayor of Rovaniemi, Finland
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Cocktail Reception hosted by Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Registration and Welcome Coffee
Welcome from the Organisers
Welcome to the second day of the 15th Arctic Futures Symposium
Moderators
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Mikael Janson
Director, North Sweden European Office
Keynote
A keynote speech will open the second day of the Arctic Futures Symposium
Speakers
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Høgni Hoydal
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign affairs, Industry and Trade, Faroe Islands
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Aaju Peter
Inuk Lawyer
The Current Security and Geopolitical Status of the Arctic
This panel will examine the current European and North American security landscape with regard to the Arctic and whether or not “low tension” continues to be a characteristic of security in the Arctic. The panel will discuss measures that can be taken to try and keep the Arctic an area of low tension in spite of the current geopolitical situation and increased military activity along the new NATO-Russia border in the Arctic. At the same time, it is important not to ignore the threats the Arctic 7 face in light of the new geopolitical situation. Can the right balance be struck?
Moderators
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Gunhild Hoogensen Gjørv
Professor in Security and Geopolitics; Arctic Six Chair in Security Studies, UiT, The Arctic University of Norway
Speakers
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Rolf Folland
Lt Gen, Norwegian Military Representative to NATO
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Anita Parlow
Author, International Strategic Advisor, A.L. Parlow & Associates, LLC
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Dag Rune Olsen
Rector, UiT the Arctic University of Norway
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Tuukka Karjalainen
Senior Advisor, City of Rovaniemi
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Jonas Andersson
Chair for Region Jämtland Härjedalen, Sweden
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Coffee break
Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Regional Collaboration to Meet Arctic Challenges Sustainably
This panel will look at labour, social acceptance, energy, investments and other key elements needed in building a culture of sustainable entrepreneurship in the High North.
Moderators
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Linda Solstrand Dahlberg
Senior Adviser and the Brussels Representative for the University of Tromsø - the Arctic University of Norway
Speakers
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Tânia Frazão Nunes
Legal and Policy Adviser, Small and Medium Enterprises, DG GROW
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Helga Kristín Friðjónsdóttir
Founder and CEO, Iceland Unwrapped
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Sabrina Suikki
International Affairs and Regional Export Cooperation, Norbotten Chamber of Commerce
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Ernst Olsen
Advisor, North Atlantic Cooperation (NORA)
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Aina Elise Fagereng
Project Manager, Bodø International School; BRUS - Developing the Bodø region
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Presentation of the Laurence Trân Arctic Futures Award
Presentation of the winner of the Laurence Trân Arctic Futures Award
Moderators
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Nicolas Van Hoecke
Managing Director, International Polar Foundation
Patti Bruns
Secretary-General, Arctic Mayors Forum
Piet Steel
Vice-President, Belgian Polar Secretariat; Director, IPF Board; Former Belgian Ambassador to Vietnam
Brigitte Trân-Loustau
Representative from the Trân Family
Lunch
Building and Maintaining an Arctic Workforce and Resilient Arctic Communities
This panel will highlight key challenges and smart initiatives that allow the High North to build and maintain a well-trained Arctic workforce and resilient communities. The panel will in particular discuss the situation for young people across the Arctic, the role of education and skills, health and wellbeing, and what the EU can do to support Arctic communities.
Moderators
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Johan Sandström
Professor, Industrial Engineering and Management, Luleå University of Technology; Arctic Six Chair
Lena Abrahamsson
Professor and Head of Subject, Chaired Professor, Human Work Sciences, Luelå University of Technology
Speakers
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Glenn Berggård
Vice Chair of the Regional Executive Board of Region Norrbotten, Sweden
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Riitta Rissanen
Rector, Lapland University of Applied Sciences
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Pavel Tkach
Junior Researcher, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland (Finland); Acting Managing Director, Arctic Youth Network (Canada)
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Pilo Samuelsen
Chief Operating Officer, SiuTsiu, Nuuk, Greenland
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Magni Mohr
Dean, University of the Faroe Islands
Coffee Break
Critical Raw Materials and Resource Supply Chains: Tensions and Trade-offs
This panel will ask: What can the EU do to promote responsible mining in the Arctic? What is the EU willing to invest to get the CRM it needs? With the Arctic warming up to seven percent faster than the rest of the planet, nowhere else is the need to address climate change more urgently. The key to mitigating its effects lies in the energy transition, which is inextricably linked to the mining of critical raw materials. The European Arctic offers enormous potential for mining CRMs, confirmed most recently by the new rare earths deposit adjacent to the existing Kiruna mine in northern Sweden. The European Arctic is also home to the Saami, Europe’s only indigenous peoples, a non-indigenous rural population that struggles with out-migration and extraordinary natural landscapes important for mitigating climate change while also providing business opportunities in tourism and forestry. Europe has long been at the vanguard of the sustainability movement and European policy-makers insist it can remain so as mining can and will be done responsibly. But what is responsible mining in the European context and can mining be responsible if there are communities in opposition? Who wins and who loses? And should those most directly affected have the right to say no?
Moderators
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Pamela Lesser
Doctoral Researcher, Faculty of Social Sciences, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland
Speakers
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Sara Olsvig
Chair, Inuit Circumpolar Council
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Willfred Nordlund
Member of Parliament for Nordland and Chair of the Standing Committee on Business and Industry, Norwegian Parliament
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Ellen Marie Jensen
Independent Scholar, Affiliate of the Austrian Polar Research Institute Research Group on Social and Cultural Systems
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Pertti Lamberg
CEO & Project Manager, Sakatti, Anglo American
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Killian Charles
President and CEO, Brunswick Exploration
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Summary and Closing Remarks
Summary and Closing remarks with Marie-Anne Coninsx
Moderators
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Marie-Anne Coninsx
Former EU Ambassador at Large for the Arctic; IPF Board Member; Senior Fellow, Egmont Institute
Michael Sfraga
Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs, United States