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Arctic Relations Circle First Meeting 29 01 2021

Discussions about business cooperation in the Arctic and within the Northern Forum. Joint project of the ArKtiKa Company LLC (Anchorage, Alaska, USA) and the Northern Forum. Participants are from the USA, Norway, Iceland, Denmark and Russia.

Geopolitics in the Arctic: Competition or Cooperation?

The Arctic region has long remained unaffected by international politics due to its inaccessibility. However, the rapid melting of the Arctic’s sea ice has opened the door to the possibility of gaining natural resources, forging new trade routes, and establishing military bases. But as with any geopolitical opportunity, there is opportunity for conflict in the Arctic as well. How will the international community respond to signs of greater investment in and militarization of the Arctic, and what is the likelihood of conflict in the region? Join us for a discussion of these developing trends with Alexander Sergunin, Professor of International Relations at the St. Petersburg State University and Higher School of Economics, Russia; Erin Sikorsky, Deputy Director of the Center for Climate and Security and the Director of the International Military Council on Climate and Security; and Duncan Depledge, Lecturer in Geopolitics & Security at the Loughborough University, United Kingdom.

2nd meeting - Arctic Business Relations Circle

3rd meeting - Arctic Business Relations Circle

This month's Arctic Business Relations meeting focuses on economic opportunities for Arctic communities, how to build reputation and partnerships. The owners of companies with an impeccable reputation, representatives of reindeer herders association, commercial and industrial companies, business associations, and regional administrations spoke at the meeting. An active and productive dialogue took place, giving a lot of ideas for the development of cooperation.

The Northern Forum is one of the members of the Arctic Council international project “EALLU: indigenous youth, adaptation to climate change and food culture”. As part of the US Arctic Council Chairmanship conclusion, EALLU final report was presented in a form of a culinary book of the Arctic indigenous peoples, in creation of which representatives of the main Arctic indigenous peoples’ organizations were involved – Permanent Participants of the Arctic Council. The project was initiated by Association of World Reindeer Herders and it was implemented in close cooperation with International Centre for Reindeer Husbandry. This book is available on www.reindeerherding.org. The event included a presentation of the Arctic indigenous peoples’ traditional dishes, as well as the workshop on traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples in food culture

In November 2013 Carnivore Center Gronklitt in Sweden presented their project Bear and Natives - Traditional knowledge among Natives - at the Northern Forum General Assembly in Moscow. The project involves indigenous people in the north including, Evenks, Samis, Inuits and Alutiiq, who for thousands of years have lived close to wildlife and bears. They have been self-sufficient and fully dependent on the natural world.

Traditional knowledge about bears, wildlife, fishing, sewing and more has been passed down from generation to generation by having the youths learn from their elders while participating in the daily routines. Today, this traditional way of life and source of knowledge is threatened by influences from modern society.

With the project Bear and Natives, that is a part of Northern Forum work, we want to highlight the importance of maintaining the traditional knowledge of the native peoples in north. The project will entail different activities such as exhibitions, youyh exchange, festivals and workshops. This passed summer the first exhibition has been presented at the Carnivore Center Gronklitt in Sweden.

The history of the Inuits on Greenland, told in a new way

Greenland has for hundreds of years been a part of Denmark. Since 1953 they have become more and more independent. The National Museum in Copenhagen showcases a lot of knowledge and exhibitions regarding the history of Greenland. The prehistory of Greenland has been documented by archeologists, researchers and travellers, and the museum has throughout the years received a lot of historical items from the thousands of years of life on Greenland. Because of excavations, research, documentation etc the museum has attained a very good academical knowledge based on the history of Greenland.

Inuit artist Nuka Godtfredsen

The chance to present academical knowledge in a new way occured when Inuit artist Nuka Godtfredsen came into contact with the museum. An idea was born to ask Nuka to illustrate the importance of Bears in early Inuit life and history. He presented one illustration that said more than thousands of words”. This contact ended up with a cooperation between Nuka and the Museum. He has now made two books ”The first Step” and ”The Ermine”, where he has illustrated what life may have been like on Greenland, starting from 5000 years ago.

He uses cartoon-style illustrations as his medium, but they are all scientifically valid and are based on historical science from excavations, etc. This way of presenting historical science is quite unique, and now other museums in the world wish to follow in the footsteps of the National Museum of Denmark in the same way.

Exhibition Ukaleq in Gronklitt

Anders Bjorklund, CEO of the Carnivore Center in Gronklitt and responsible for the project Bear and Natives in north, notes that ”making an exhibition around the amazing work done at the museum and illustrated by Nuka is fascinating”. His illustrations of history reaches all people from children to adult researchers. Reading the books and the stories gives you a good view of how life might have been like thousands of years ago. You feel familiar with the characters you meet in his books and for our project it is very interesting to follow the way they lived and looked at Polar Bears. The bears were considered holy and the Inuits wanted to get power and knowledge from the bears. Among many natives in Scandinavia, Alaska, Greenland and Siberia, the relationship to bears has taken a near-religious expression.”

Artwork as a part of science

In our project Bear and Natives we have observed among many different native groups that they are losing their history. Their traditional way of life and traditional knowledge is slowly being eroded by the pressure of the modern world. Anders says that ”it is fascinating to see how science has opened its doors to artists and let Nuka come into the scientific world. Through the work done in Copenhagen, the history of Greenland reaches everyone on Greenland, and the two books are already being used as school material. In the exhibition at Gronklitt parts of his work has been shown. Hopefully the exhibition that is produced can go on a world tour later on.

Images

Polar Bear Spirit Nuka 2 - The first Nuka illustration about the Inuits relation to Polar Bears that was the start of his book project.

1898 - At the exhibition in Gronklitt. Some of the illustrations about Inuits on Greenland made by Nuka Godtfredsen

1930 - At the exhibition in Gronklitt. Sami Marika Renhuvud, the model Ukaleq, designer Ingvor Ljung that participated in Moscow who has made the Ukaleq model and she works for Carnivore Center Gronklitt.

1945 - Ukaleq

Anders Bjorklund

CEO Carnivore Center Gronklitt Sweden

The Board of Governors is a supreme management body of the Northern Forum and makes major decisions on supporting the organization’s activities and on its development strategy.

The Board consists of the regions’ leaders of its members, each with a deciding vote. As a rule, the Board is convened during the General Assembly, held semi-annually. The Governor of Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug-Yugra, Russia Natalya Komarova is the current chair.

The Chair of the Regional Coordinators Committee and the Executive Director are responsible for preparing the Board meetings and attend them with a consultative vote.

The members of the Board of Governors are:

Natalya Komarova

Chair of the Northern Forum

Governor of Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug-Yugra, Russia

Yury Bezdudny

Vice-Chair of the Northern Forum

Governor of Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia

 

Kim Jin-tae

Governor of Gangwon Province, Republic of Korea

 

 

Vladimir Solodov

Governor of Kamchatka Krai, Russia

Dmitry Artyukhov

Governor of Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia

Mikhail Kotyukov

Governor of the Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia

Vladislav Kuznetsov

Governor of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia

Aisen Nikolaev

Head of the Sakha Republic, Russia

Mike J. Dunleavy

Governor of Alaska, USA

Rostislav Goldstein

Governor of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia

 

Mikhail Degtyarev

Governor of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia

Sergey Nosov

Governor of Magadan Oblast, Russia

Regional Coordinators Committee Business Partners Goodwill Ambassadors

The highest governing body of the Northern Forum is the Board of Governors, which in the 1990s was also called the Board of Directors. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the name Board of Governors has been adopted.

The Board is headed by a chairman. Depending on the number of member regions in certain periods, vice-chairmen are elected. At the beginning of history, there were 5 deputies by geography: North America, Northern Europe, Asia, Western and Eastern Russia. Currently, the Board of Governors elects one vice-chair.

In 1994, in recognition of the service of Alaska Governor Walter Hickel, the honorary position of Secretary General was created, in which he served until the end of his life.

The Northern Forum Advisory Council, which included former Northern Forum Chairs, also functioned for a time.

Membership Category I: Regional Authorities

The candidate for Regional Membership must be a governmental entity from a region meeting basic characteristics of a northern region or a region interested in involvement in international cooperation in the Arctic and the North.

Annual Membership Due 

• For Regional Member with a population of less than 100,000 - USD 5,000 (Five thousand);
• For Regional Member with a population between 100,000 and 200,000 – USD 9,000 (Nine thousand);
• For Regional Member with a population between 200,000 and 300,000 – USD 13,000 (Thirteen thousand);
• For Regional Member with a population between 300,000 and 400,000 – USD17,000 (Seventeen thousand);
• For Regional Member with a population between 400,000 and 500,000 – USD 21,000 (Twenty-one thousand);
• For Regional Member with a population above 500,000 - USD 25,000 (Twenty-five thousand).

• For Regional Member with a population of less than 100,000 – RUB 500 000,00 (Five hundred thousand);
• For Regional Member with a population between 100,000 and 200,000 – RUB 800 000,00 (Eight hundred thousand);
• For Regional Member with a population between 200,000 and 300,000 – RUB 1 100 000,00 (One million one hundred thousand);
• For Regional Member with a population between 300,000 and 400,000– RUB 1 400 000,00 (ne million four hundred thousand);
• For Regional Member with a population between 400,000 and 500,000 – RUB 1 700 000,00 (One million seven hundred thousand);
• For Regional Member with a population above 500,000 – RUB 2 000 000,00 (Two million).

Membership Category II: Business Partners

Business Partner Membership status may be granted to business and corporate institutions, non-profit organizations and NGOs, which demonstrate interest in issues relevant to the Northern Forum and commitment to work in partnership with the Northern Forum as per its mission and goals.

Annual Membership Due

• For companies with 50 or less employees – USD 1,000 (One thousand);
• For companies with the number of employees between 51 and 100 – USD 2,500 (Two thousand five hundred);
• For companies with more than 100 employees – USD 5,000 (Five thousand);
• For Sponsor Partners – USD 10,000 (Ten thousand) or more.

• For companies with 50 or less employees – RUB 100 000,00 (One hundred thousand);
• For companies with the number of employees between 51 and 100 – RUB 250 000,00 (Two hundred and fifty thousand);
• For companies with more than 100 employees – RUB 500 000,00 (Five hundred thousand);
• For Sponsor Partners – RUB 1 000 000,00 (One million).

Documents

• Resolution No. 182 "On the admission of new regions and business partners to the members of the Northern Forum"
• Resolution #180 Membership dues gradation
• Resolution #180 Annex

1993

The first General Assembly of Northern Forum

October, province of Tromsø, Norway

The first General Assembly signed and approved the Tromsø Declaration (Norway). Adopted by the first General Forum of the Northern Forum in 1993, supported and joined the implementation of the principles of the 21st Century Agenda of the United Nations (Rio de Janeiro, 1992). Then for the first time the following areas of cooperation were identified:

• Ecology of the North;
• The Northern Sea Route;
• Economic development;
• Culture;
• Science;
• Cooperation of national and regional governments.

1995

II General Assembly of the Northern Forum

September, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan

The second General Assembly signed and approved the Hokkaido Declaration (Japan).

1997

III General Assembly of the Northern Forum

August, Yakutsk, Russia

The third General Assembly signed and approved the Yakutian Declaration (Russia).

Regions: Hokkaido, Alberta, Yukon, Heilongjiang, Lapland, RS (I), Evenki JSC, Kamchatka region, Alaska, Komi, Magadan region, Sakhalin region, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous district and Vasterbotten (Sweden).

1999

IV General Assembly of the Northern Forum

June, Rovaniemi, Finland

The fourth General Assembly signed and approved the Lapland Declaration (Finland). 20 members of the Board of Directors accepted participation in the General Assembly.

New member of the Northern Forum: Arkhangelsk region (Russia)

2001

V General Assembly of the Northern Forum

October, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

The fifth General Assembly signed and approved the Declaration of Alberta (Canada). 16 members of the Board of Directors participated in the General Assembly.

New member of the Northern Forum: Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (Russia), Vologda area of Russia.

New business partners: Taiga trading company, Fortum oil & gas LTD, Cometos LTD and Zvezda-Energetika.

2003

VI General Assembly of the Northern Forum

April, Saint Petersburg, Russia

The sixth General Assembly signed and approved the Saint Petersburg Declaration (Russia).

New members of the Federation Council: the province of Oulu (Finland) and the city of Akureyri (Iceland)

New business partners: Circumpolar expedition, Cruise West, Empire SPb, Ilin-Tour, UNDER project development LLC, Inkom, world trade Alaska, Zvezda Energetika, Makarov " Clean Water", Global Information Technologies LLS, world Communications Center, Institute management and business technologies Krasnoyarsk state University technical University, Nienschanz and the newspaper “The Polar circle”

2005

VII General Assembly of the Northern Forum

June, Harbin, Heilongjiang province, China

The seventh General Assembly signed and approved the Harbin Declaration (China).

New business partners: Alaskan indigenous cultural heritage Center, Dani Almas, Nokia Shoe company, Promtechnology-Arctic, Seven Generations Consulting, Tuimaada-USA, International women's auto exhibitions”

The General Assembly of the Northern Forum, held in Heilongjiang province, 21 projects were approved in three programs: 15 of them were recommended as priority projects – "reindeer management", "Northern aviation", "circumpolar infrastructure", "New technologies for the North", "Business cooperation", "tourism Marketing in the North", "Healthy lifestyle", "Santa Claus and Santa Claus...", "Telemedicine", "waterfowl aviation Accounting", "brown bear population Management", "Youth EcoForum", "flood working group", "cooperation between Northern zoos", " changing snow cover»; the status of approved projects is assigned to "Sustainable tourism", "Languages of the North", "Management", "Cooperation between the media", and the "Save and preserve" Campaign.

2007

VIII General Assembly of the Northern Forum

September, Khanty-Mansiysk, Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Yugra, Russia

The eighth General Assembly signed and approved the Khanty-Mansiysk Declaration (Russia).

New member of the Northern Forum: Kangwon province, Republic of Korea.

New business partners: Khanty-Mansiysk Bank, Ugra timber holding, Ferguson, Simek, Clark international, Yugoria state insurance company, Yugra TV and radio Company”, the agro-industrial complex Tiksi, the Patrimony of father Frost, the group “Intercontinental tunnel and railway across the Bering Strait "and SE" Executive Directorate of the generation Fund of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra".

2009

IX General Assembly of the Northern Forum

September, Whitehorse, Yukon

The ninth General Assembly signed and approved the Declaration Of Whitehorse.

New member of the Northern Forum: Nunavut territory, Canada

New business partners: Denali Commission, and the company Aadland flint (Alaska, USA), Yukon cold climate innovation center (Yukon, Canada), Rockford lang international Consulting (Alberta. Canada)

2011

X General Assembly of the Northern Forum

June, Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, South Korea

The Pyeongchang Declaration was signed in the tenth General Assembly (South Korea).

2013

XI General Assembly of the Northern Forum

October, Moscow, Russia

The chairmanship of the Northern Forum for 2013-2015 was approved.

2015

XII General Assembly of the Northern Forum

November, Yakutsk, Russia

In twelfth General Assembly The Yakutsk Declaration was signed.

2018

XIII General Assembly of the Northern Forum

November, Krasnoyarsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia

In thirteenth General Assembly The Krasnoyarsk Declaration was signed.

2021

XIV General Assembly of the Northern Forum

April, Naryan-Mar, Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia

In fourteenth General Assembly the Naryan-Mar Declaration was signed.

2023

XV General Assembly of the Northern Forum

July, Khanty-Mansiysk, Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Yugra, Russia

In fifteen General Assembly The Khanty-Mansiysk Declaration was signed. 

New member of the Northern Forum: Magadan Region, Khabarovsk Krai, Jewish Autonomous Region retirned to the Northern Forum.

New business partners: JSCB Almazergienbank JSC, Nord Power LLC - Urdel active recreation park and Teplorium LLC.

In accordance with the Northern Forum Development Strategy 2030, the Institute of Northern Forum Goodwill Ambassadors has been established since 2021. This status, based on a decision of the Board of Governors or the Regional Coordinators Committee, is granted to state and public figures, prominent figures in science, education, culture, arts and sports who support the Northern Forum mission and international interregional cooperation to achieve sustainable development.

Goodwill Ambassadors contribute to the dissemination of knowledge about the mission and activities of the Northern Forum, the development and promotion of joint projects of various directions and levels, and the organization of various events to unite the efforts of regions, municipalities, and communities aimed at achieving sustainable development and peaceful creative cooperation. 

Board of Governors Regional Coordinators Committee Business Partners

MIKA RIIPI 

Chair, The Northern Forum 

County Governor of Lapland, Finland

Dear friends, 

In 2021, the Northern Forum celebrated its 30th Anniversary. Lapland was elected to fulfill the responsibilities of the Chairmanship from April 2021 until April 2023 in the Northern Forum XIV General Assembly held in Naryan-Mar, Nenets Autonomous Okrug in April 2021. It is a great honor for me to follow in the footsteps of Hannele Pokka, latest Lappish chairman of the Northern Forum 2001-2005. 

The Northern Forum has been a very important part of the Arctic and Northern regional cooperation all 30 years of its existence. The Northern Forum mission of improving the quality of life and supporting regional sustainable development and the principles of public diplomacy, independence and equality, among the others, are in high priority also for Lapland. 

The year 2021 was a second year defined by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which – beyond its health threat – significantly limited the possibilities for cooperation, traveling or meeting each other. However, the Northern Forum had moved into “crisis mode” already in 2020 and managed to develop new solutions to organize events and continue working and interacting with each other online. During this hard period, the Northern Forum member regions have demonstrated a high level of engagement to the cooperation. 

During the past 2021 year, the Northern Forum has successfully implemented and organized a large number of events and actions. 

The biggest impact was the III Northern Sustainable Development Forum, which took place in Yakutsk September 27-30. The Forum was held in a hybrid format, altogether 76 events in four days. The events were plenary sessions, panel discussions, roundtables, webinars, scientific conferences, workshops, project presentations, exhibitions, tours, cultural events, and side-events. I express my deepest gratitude to the Secretariat of the Northern Forum for making this possible. 

The Northern Forum Development Strategy 2030 provides for the creation of the Institute of Northern Forum Goodwill Ambassadors. The first seven Goodwill Ambassadors were nominated during the III Northern Sustainable Development Forum. Congratulations to all the Goodwill Ambassadors! We look forward to close cooperation. 

Project activity is one of the most in-demand activities, which can bring a tangible effect for the participating regions and business partners. There are four projects, the work on which has been carried out during 2021. 

Financing of the Northern Forum is based solely on membership dues, which constantly creates some instability. There is a need to create sustainable financial instruments for supporting the most important activities like projects. In the end of 2021 a foundation will be registered in Iceland in order to collect extra funds for northern cooperation. 

The Northern Forum has a status of Observer in the Arctic Council and it is the only nongovernmental organization for interregional cooperation in that role. Under the Chairmanship of the Russian Federation in the Arctic Council, The Northern Forum has been invited as an organizer and partner of a number of MIKA RIIPI Chair, The Northern Forum County Governor of Lapland, Finland 5 major international events. These initiatives will increase the role of interregional cooperation and will give a possibility to increase also the role of regions in the Arctic Council. 

It is impossible to predict the future – how the pandemic will develop and how it may affect next years’ work. Nevertheless, already this year has shown that the common background for collaboration is strong and we´ve achieved a lot despite the restrictions and difficulties on traveling. 

I´M VERY CONFIDENT THAT WITH THIS SAME SPIRIT WE WILL BE SUCCESSFUL ALSO IN THE FUTURE!  

Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko praised the chances of Khanty-Mansiysk to spend in 2020 Biathlon World Championships.

"Competition in the world biathlon world terms is very high. We strongly support the Khanty-Mansiysk. This city was behind the promotion and development of biathlon in the country. It is necessary to remember and appreciate. I believe that all the chances to take the World Cup biathlon there, but you have to fight for it, "- said Mutko during a press conference in Khanty-Mansiysk.

Note that the Khanty-Mansiysk is preparing to file an application for the Biathlon World Championships in 2020.