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Editorial

Shared Voices 2020 Editorial

By Outi Snellman, Vice-President Organization, UArctic

When we were deciding on the theme of this magazine in late 2019, the choice of climate action seemed obvious.

The whole world was uniting behind a 15-year-old school girl from Sweden, and the message from the youth through the school strikes on Fridays was very clear. “There is no planet B – let’s act now.” “Let’s listen to the science – and act now.” The call for action was like a massive wave. Amidst the despair there was also light: perhaps there is hope for the world after all, if we all unite in action, right now.

We sent the call for submissions to UArctic’s entire membership, asking them to propose articles of their own around the theme. Their response was overwhelming both in amount and variety. Each piece speaks of climate action but there is diversity in their perspectives, ranging from member institutions’ internal actions to those of education and research programs and projects, without forgetting how each of us as individuals can make a difference.

In spring 2020 the world was taken by surprise by another very immediate challenge, COVID-19. While we are desperately fighting the pandemic, I hope that we are also able to learn from the ways in which we coped during the crisis. Issues like digital mobility and online collaborative classrooms got an unprecedented push; some call it a giant digital leap. We need to keep building on those opportunities, so that we can make international collaboration less harmful to the environment and also possible in times of such crises. Just like the world united under the slogan “Stronger Together” to combat the pandemic, we can, through collaboration, tackle one of the biggest challenges the globe has faced: climate change. In that, strong international collaboration on all levels of society is a prerequisite.

Table of Contents

  1. Letter from the President

    By Lars Kullerud

  2. Letter from Monaco

    By HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco

  3. Climate Action – A Need for Policy

    By Pekka Haavisto

  4. Russia’s Ten Priorities in the Arctic

    By Alexander V. Krutikov

  5. Learning from the Crisis: Issues in Strengthening Online Learning for the Future

    By Diane Hirshberg and Paul Wasko

  6. Step Up and Take Climate Leadership

    By Eirik Sivertsen

  7. Multidisciplinary Research as Climate Action

    By Annika Granebeck and Nina Kirchner

  8. It Takes a Village: University of New Hampshire Students Spur Climate Change Research to Action

    By Colleen Flaherty, Rebecca Irelan and Cameron Wake

  9. Exploring Arctic Policy from an Inuit Perspective

    By Nadine C. Fabbi, Michelle Koutnik, Ellen Ahlness and Elizabeth Wessells

  10. Stories from the Ice: A History of Arctic Climate and Environmental Change Told in Ice Cores

    By Karl Kreutz, Cameron Wake, Erich Osterberg and Alison Criscitiello

  11. Student story: Anna-Katri Kulmala

  12. UArctic Annual Report 2019

  13. Building Relationships with Land: Bushkids Initiative

    By Chloe Dragon Smith

  14. Understanding Climate Change Through Storytelling, Culture, and Art

    By Aaluk Edwardson, Maleah Wenzel, Sabena Allen, Shelbi Fitzpatrick and Melody Brown Burkins

  15. Many a Little Makes a Mickle: Coastal Studies Students and Staff Take Action Against Marine Litter

    By Catherine Chambers and Astrid Fehling

  16. Our Plastic Ocean, Our Clean Ocean: Art as a Catalyst to Build Understanding

    By Herminia Din

  17. Worlds in Motion – The National Museums of World Culture, Sustainability and the Future

    By Sofie Öberg Magnusson and Martin Schultz

  18. Voluntourism in the Faroe Islands: A Sustainable Nordic Tourism Model

    By Jonathan Wood

  19. Northern Nursing Students Raising Awareness and Spreading Knowledge on Climate Actions

    By Kathie Pender, Donald Leidl and Bente Norbye

  20. Smart Societies and Arctic Sustainability: Opportunities and Challenges

    By Nadezda Nazarova, Evgenii Aleksandrov and Anatoli Bourmistrov

  21. Shortening the Time from Observing to Decision-making in the Arctic

    By Olivia Lee and Finn Danielsen

  22. “Breath of the North”: A Literary Portrait of Jean Malaurie

    By Jan Borm

  23. Climate Change – Key Challenge of Arctic Herders’ Livelihoods and Cultures

    By Alena Gerasimova, Svetlana Avelova, Mikhail Pogodaev, Anatoly Zhozhikov, Anders Oskal and Svein D. Mathiesen

  24. Alumni Testimonials from the Model Arctic Council

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