Last week, over 1500 people flooded the Arctic Mayors’ Forum member municipality of Bodø to participate in the first ever Arctic Congress. This event combined three pillar Arctic conferences; The High North Dialogue, the UArctic Congress, and the International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences. The event was hosted by Nord University and Nordland Research Institute and brought together Indigenous people, youth, scientists, researchers, policy makers, Arctic organizations, businesses, and more.
AMF was involved in several sessions at the Arctic Congress this year, and there were many important conversations about the work that the Forum is doing. It was an incredible opportunity for policymakers at all levels to engage with researchers across many fields, and many of the issues facing AMF members, such as health, housing, climate-change, colonialism, youth engagement, retainment, and education were discussed at great length.
On Thursday, Secretary General Patti Bruns spoke on a panel organized by the German Institute of Development and Sustainability about “Localizing Arctic cooperation during geopolitical turmoil and beyond…” She spoke about how the Arctic Mayors’ Forum uses connection and cooperation to foster community resiliency across the Arctic. The panel addressed questions about how localities should be consulted in decisions regarding security, and international policy.
On Friday afternoon AMF co-hosted a panel with UArctic, in partnership with Global Affairs Canada, called “Sustainable Economic Development: the role of education and training.” The conversation brought diverse perspectives from policy and research together to discuss the unique challenges and opportunities related to education in the Arctic. The importance of centering Indigenous knowledge was a recurring theme throughout the conversation, and there were interesting insights on how we need to do that to provide meaningful education to communities. The need to educate people in the fields that are most relevant to the community was also discussed in depth. You can read more about this panel here.
On Saturday morning Secretary General Patti Bruns moderated a conversation following a panel called “Hubs and Networks in the Arctic; Connecting Locally, Cooperating Globally.” The session was organized by the Icelandic Arctic Cooperation Network and the Arctic Hub. The themes discussed included best practices for research networks, how they can cooperate, and how they should connect with and influence policy.
AMF also had the honor of presenting the High North Hero 2024 award to Dr Lawson Walter Brigham. Secretary General Patti Bruns, who is on the selection committee for the High North Hero award, announced the award right before the High North Seminar. Dr Lawson Walter Brigham has contributed to the Arctic for many years through a long career that has spanned from Coast Guard to senior policy advisor.
Other highlights from the week included getting to hear Mayor Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen welcome participants to Bodø, connecting with inhabitants in many of our membership cities, and getting a shout out from Jen Spence, the Project Director of the Arctic Initiative at the Belfer Centre in the Harvard Kennedy School, at the pubinar!