The UArctic network brings together over 200 higher education institutions, research centres, Indigenous peoples’ and other organizations to collaborate on Arctic education and research. The International Secretariat is the network’s central coordination and communication hub, and it supports the governance and management bodies of UArctic and the organization's information and communication services.
The UArctic International Secretariat has been hosted by the University of Lapland since the network’s establishment in 2001. The two organizations had strong ties already in the years leading up to the launch: the initial feasibility study for the University of the Arctic was conducted by the Circumpolar Universities Association from 1997, whose Secretariat was then hosted by the University of Lapland.
The new cooperation agreement acknowledges the University of Lapland as host of the UArctic International Secretariat, both nationally and internationally, as a major contribution of Finland to international cooperation in Arctic research and education, and as a Finnish national structure supporting higher education co-operation in the Arctic. This follows the 2021 declaration of the Arctic Council, in which the eight Arctic countries recognized UArctic’s valuable contribution to knowledge and science on Arctic affairs, noted the role of the Arctic Council in establishing the activities of the University of the Arctic in 2001, and welcomed the organizational strengthening of UArctic by its formal registration in Finland in 2020. The agreement between ULapland and UArctic further reinforces UArctic’s organizational capacities and ensures successful implementation for years to come.
More information:
Antti Syväjärvi
Rector, University of Lapland
antti.syvajarvi(at)ulapland.fi
+358 400 606 244
Lars Kullerud
UArctic President
Lars.Kullerud@uarctic.org
www.uarctic.org