ArcticNet annual meeting for the first time in the Arctic
The 19th edition of ArcticNet ASM2023 scientific meeting took place between December 4 and 7 in Iqaluit, Nunavut. And that’s a first. Indeed, the event had never before been held in the Far North, and on Inuit territory.
ArcticNet ASM2023 was a great success, not only in terms of attendance – 450 members of the Canadian and international Arctic research community – but also in terms of Arctic researchers, who made up almost half (43%) of the participants, according to a press release published on the ArcticNet website.
For the organizers, it’s “the most representative conference to date” and ensures that people living in the North are an integral part of discussions on the state of Arctic research.
Researchers, scientists, members of circumpolar Indigenous communities and governments gathered to discuss the environmental, social, economic and political issues facing an Arctic in the face of climate change. The challenges of modernizing the Arctic were also discussed. The backdrop is the importance of self-determination and knowledge for Indigenous peoples, a subject that has already been addressed many times, notably at the last COP28, in which several circumpolar Indigenous organizations took part.
Some forty presentations and four panel discussions were held on environmental, health and socio-economic issues in the Arctic. Among the panels, four young Inuit researchers and students met to discuss the difficulties they had encountered.
It’s not easy to create vocations when there’s no university nearby (the Canadian Arctic has only one university, located in the Yukon). This is one of the points that came out of the discussion, along with the fact that it’s not easy to integrate elements of traditional knowledge when it’s Western science that’s valued, and Inuit are generally under-represented in research teams. Hence the need for this kind of meeting to open up discussion and increase the number of researchers, in particular by inspiring new vocations.
Finally, ArcticNet has formed a partnership with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, an Inuit representative organization, and Polar Knowledge Canada. This fund, jointly administered by the federal Innovation, Science and Economic Development Department and Health Canada, is expected to provide funding over the next five years. “This investment demonstrates an understanding of the urgent need to address challenges in the rapidly changing Arctic and is an acknowledgement that the Arctic is a sentinel of change that will have cascading effects around the globe.”, explained Jackie Dawson, ArcticNet’s Scientific Director, in a recent press release published on the organization’s website. “ArcticNet’s current and future research will provide much needed answers to resolve on-going issues in Canada’s North for the benefit of all Canadians.”
The federal funding is intended to support scientific research that respects Inuit self-determination, with a particular focus on the use of Inuit knowledge in an Arctic undergoing major upheaval as a result of global warming.
The next ArcticNet conference will be held next year, from December 9 to 12 in Ottawa, Canada.
For more information on ArcticNet: https: //arcticnet.ulaval.ca
Mirjana Binggeli, PolarJournal
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