On March 18, The Northern Forum took part in the plenary meeting of the Arctic Council's Working Group on Prevention, Preparedness and Response to Emergencies (EPPR).
The Northern Forum participates in Arctic Council's EPPR Working Group meeting
On March 18, The Northern Forum took part in the plenary meeting of the Arctic Council's Working Group on Prevention, Preparedness and Response to Emergencies (EPPR).
The key agenda item was the presentation of projects aimed at strengthening safety, developing the competencies of indigenous communities, and improving international cooperation in the Arctic.
Among the initiatives presented:
- Arctic CPR Day (USA)– training indigenous youth and residents of remote settlements in basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation skills. The project will be synchronized with World Restart a Heart Day and implemented jointly with the Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG).
- Emerging Risks from a Community Perspective (Norway)– development of practical recommendations for small Arctic communities on responding to natural disasters, oil spills, and radiation threats.
- Mental Health and Psychosocial Support for Responders (Canada)– creation of guidelines for psychosocial support for first responders, including best practices and recommendations for decision-making.
- TUNDRA (Canada)– a linguistic project to develop Inuktitut terminology for nuclear safety, including small modular reactors and radiation protection.
Participants also heard reports from the MER, SAR, and RAD expert groups. Topics discussed included oil spill research, validation of the S-COSRVA tool, development of the "Arctic Arena of Lessons Learned" database (a Norwegian project), and initiatives from the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations (Arctic Rescue, ICAMS).
Special attention was given to the report on the "Indigenous Knowledge Exchange Session" project, presented by the Inuit Circumpolar Council, which aims to integrate indigenous traditional knowledge into emergency response systems.