Navigating the combined challenges of climate change, globalization, and a shifting geopolitical landscape requires leadership at all levels and in all sectors of society. The rapidly changing Arctic illustrates the complexity of the task, with issues ranging from safeguarding human security in the Arctic and globally to managing a transition to a post-petroleum future. Central to the challenge are the close links between Arctic change and global processes. Navigating them will require insights about these connections, along with leadership skills and networks for working together across national and cultural contexts.
The aim of this workshop is to increase the capacity of individuals who may become the next generation global leaders to understand and act on the new security and governance challenges that are developing in the context of global environmental change. It will bring together a small group of young professionals with leadership aspirations with the specific task of using Arctic change as a starting point for defining what global security and governance might entail in the next 20-30 years and to explore their own roles in addressing them.
The workshop will be hosted by University of Lapland’s Arctic Centre, Rovaniemi, Finland. It is supported by the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research (Mistra), the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMFUS), the University of Lapland’s Arctic Center, and the project Arctic Governance and the Question of Fit in a Globalized World funded by the Swedish Research Council Formas. Convener is Dr. Annika E. Nilsson, Mistra-Arctic Fellow at GMFUS and Senior Research Fellow at Stockholm Environment Institute.
We invite young professionals (age 20-35) with aspirations for leadership roles in relation to politics, community development, or research to apply to the workshop. The workshop is free of charge and local costs are covered by the organizers. Some funding is available for travel support, but we also encourage participants to look for other ways to cover travel costs. If you need support for travel costs, please provide motivation and a budget. We aim for a final selection of participants that will reflect a diversity of experiences and perspectives from within and outside the Arctic.
The application should include cover letter with:
- Short presentation of yourself
- Motivation: How you and others would benefit from your participation
- Some words about how you see global-local interactions in your area of interest
- Some words about where you see yourself as a leader in five to ten years from now
- Optional: Request for travel support with budget
- CV
Application deadline: 20 April 2017
For further information, please contact: annika.nilsson [at] sei-international.org