Search Events

The Migration in Harmony Research Coordination Network announces their next webinar entitled Indigenous Peoples’ Decision-Making Institutions in the Arctic and Globally.

In this livestream, learn from Alexey Tsykarev on how Indigenous People's decision-making in the Arctic and globally impact language revitalization and education policies and human rights.

Aleksei Tsykarev serves as chair of the Center for Support of Indigenous Peoples and Civic Diplomacy "Young Karelia", an NGO recognized with special consultative status by United Nations Economic and Social Council. A lifetime activist for the rights of indigenous peoples in Russia, Tsykarev previously led the International Youth Association of Finno-Ugric Peoples, and has served as an independent expert in several United Nations capacities.

Tsykarev is a former Member and Chairperson-Rapporteur of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a subsidiary body of the UN Human Rights Council. He served on the Steering Committee for the UN’s 2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages, led by UNESCO. Tsykarev holds a Master of Linguistics from Petrozavodsk State University, in Russia, and his academic publications focus on indigenous peoples’ rights, particularly in the areas of language and culture. In Spring 2019, he was a Visiting Scholar at the University of Colorado in the United States. Most recently, Tsykarev was appointed by the UN Economic and Social Council to serve as Member of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues for a three-year term starting on 1 January, 2020.

Tsykarev advises global institutions, including the World Bank, as well as think tanks and scientific organizations, regarding indigenous peoples’ rights. He has been active in a range of indigenous organizations, and has participated in regional and international forums, including the World Conference on Indigenous Issues, World Conference on Youth, the World Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples, and the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus. Tsykarev has coordinated a number of international projects in the sphere of human rights, culture, and civic diplomacy, and serves on advisory councils to government ministries and offices. Tsykarev lectures on indigenous peoples and human rights at universities around the world, as well as in various bodies of the United Nations.

This livestream presentation is part of the Arctic Winter College, a program run in partnership with the Migration in Harmony Research Coordination Network.

UPDATE: The event originally scheduled for January 11 has been postponed. The registration form will reopen when a new date and time are confirmed. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Climate change is transforming the Arctic. Warmer temperatures on land and in the ocean, retreating sea ice and glaciers, thawing permafrost, range expansion of novel species and stress in native species, changing ocean chemistry, and altered seasons are all contributing to rapid and significant alteration of the region. At the same time, globalization and increasing international interest in the region add new pressures for access, land use change, and geopolitical positioning in the Arctic.

Most U.S. government responses to the dramatic changes in the Arctic are modest and incremental. Developing a process to identify feasible and sustainable adaptation options, evaluate them, and build consensus among the essential stakeholders and relevant decision-makers is difficult. But that is exactly what is needed given the scale of the decisions required for effective responses.

Join the Wilson Center’s Polar Institute, in collaboration with the Environmental Change & Security Program and the Harvard Kennedy School’s Arctic Initiative, for a discussion about how to create new modes to evaluate, engage and manage the changes taking place in the Arctic and around the world.

Please complete the form to register for Polar Night Week 2021.

The Polar Night Week 2021 programme is available here.

The Woodwell Climate Research Center is pleased to invite you to a very special event. Two Woodwell Climate scientists, Sue Natali and Bill Moomaw, will participate in a panel along with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and climate activist Greta Thunberg in a special free livestream event from the Mind & Life Institute. The intergenerational discussion will explore what can be done to slow, halt, or even reverse the threat of climate feedback loops before it’s too late.

As we all know, fossil fuel emissions from human activity are driving up the Earth's temperature. This warming is thawing permafrost, melting sea ice, damaging forests, and, in so doing, setting in motion feedback loops which are raising temperatures even higher. Since our founding, Woodwell Climate Research Center has pioneered the science of feedback loops triggered by emissions from natural sources.

Moderated by Diana Chapman Walsh, “The Dalai Lama with Greta Thunberg and Leading Scientists: A Conversation on the Crisis of Climate Feedback Loops” will be grounded in a new series of educational films, “Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops,” narrated by Richard Gere. These films originated from a conversation between the producers and then Woodwell Board Chair, now Distinguished Visiting Scientist, Dr. William Moomaw. They feature several Woodwell Climate scientists, including founder Dr. George Woodwell, Arctic Program Director Dr. Sue Natali, and President Dr. Philip Duffy.

Please follow the link above for more information.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks has announced the opening of applications for its 2021 Arctic Innovator Program. The application deadline is January 8, 2021. To learn more or apply, visit the link above.

The Arctic Innovator program provides early career innovators and entrepreneurs the opportunity to spend up to two years developing their technology at a U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratory and University of Alaska Fairbanks pursuing commercialization.

The Arctic Innovator program is open to early career professionals:

• Who currently have or will have a graduate degree in a science, technology, engineering and mathematics related field before the program start date;
• With a technology or area of research that they are interested in developing toward real-world adoption; and
• Whose technology or area of research addresses Arctic-based challenges and aligns with U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office Strategic Goals (energy.gov/eere/amo/about-us).

This program, formally titled the Arctic Advanced Manufacturing Innovator Program, provides selected Innovators with the resources and guidance to maximize their likelihood of success. Innovators receive: a competitive personal stipend, a travel and training allowance, health insurance, a mentor at University of Alaska Fairbanks and a U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratory, and space and collaborative support at each organization. Innovators also have the adventure of living in Alaska while working on Arctic-related challenges.

Nathan Prisco, a 2020 Arctic Innovator, is representative of the passion and skill that the Arctic Advanced Manufacturing Innovator Program is seeking in candidates. Prisco is working on ammonia-based technologies for improving energy production. He explained that the program offers him “a great way to get science out of the laboratory and into the world at large.” Prisco says he was attracted to the significant research and commercialization support while also being “intrigued by Alaska, both in its pristine wilderness and the feeling that there is an incredible opportunity in the last frontier.” Read more about Prisco’s experience.

This program is sponsored by the Department of Energy Advanced Manufacturing Office and is a collaboration with the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

The Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System Knowledge Centre (SIOS-KC) and the Remote Sensing Working Group (RSWG) invite input in their survey on assessing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Svalbard science community. This survey will be used to develop a strategy for the upcoming (2021) field season in Svalbard.

Organizers encourage all those associated with the Svalbard science community, including researchers/scientists, research management staff, logistics operators, academics including students (PhD/Masters/Bachelors), and research station/facility/infrastructure staff, to respond to this survey

It will take approximately 15 minutes to complete this survey.

The responses from this survey will be analyzed by SIOS-KC, RSWG, and those from the Svalbard science community. The analysis will help shape a dedicated workshop at the Polar Night Week (11-15 January 2021) and develop new and existing services at SIOS-KC.

Survey deadline: Thursday, 7 January 2021.

International Glaciological Society Global Seminar:

Speaking: Jay Zwally, ESSIC University of Maryland, "Mass Balance of Antarctic Ice Sheet: Observations 1992 to 2019 and Related Long-Term History".

Please register in advance for the seminars. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the seminar.

The seminar will also be available afterwards on the Friends of the International Glaciological Society Facebook page so that you can watch it there if technology fails or you can't make it.

The IASC Medal is awarded in recognition of exceptional and sustained contributions to the understanding of the Arctic. A maximum of one award is made each year, assuming that there is a nominee of appropriate quality.

The whole IASC community, from all countries and career stages, is encouraged to submit a nomination to the IASC Executive Secretary, demonstrating the nominee’s excellence (see evaluation criteria) and sustained contribution to the understanding of the Arctic.

Nominations for the 2021 IASC Medal, which is expected to be awarded at ASSW 2021 in Lisbon (Portugal) / online, can be submitted to the IASC Secretariat until 31 December 2020.

IASC seeks a diverse slate of nominees for the IASC medal; a list of previous IASC Medal recipients is available on the IASC website.

The tools and techniques for making monthly and season scale climate forecasts are rapidly changing, with the potential to provide useful forecasts at the month and longer range. We will review recent climate conditions around Alaska, review some forecast tools and finish up the Climate Prediction Center’s forecast for January (2021) and the remaining winter season. Join the gathering online to learn more about Alaska climate and weather.

Please follow the link above to register.

For the past two years, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy’s Center for Arctic Study & Policy (CASP) has worked to record the “sea stories” of previous icebreaker sailors and captains. The result is a 27-minute documentary showcasing original sea stories, high-quality photography, and a unique narrative of the challenges faced on ice-covered oceans from the 1950s to the 1970s. Not only will this documentary provide context to the U.S. Coast Guard’s newest members as they embark on their first icebreaker tours, but also communicate to the public the critical importance of the polar regions and the sailors who patrol their waters.

On December 18th, please join the Wilson Center’s Polar Institute and CASP for the first public screening of the documentary, “Polar Guardians: Coast Guard Icebreaking in the High Latitudes.” The film will be introduced by the Admiral Karl L. Schultz, the 26th Commandant of the Coast Guard, who will address both the legacy and the future of Coast Guard missions in the polar regions. An expert panel to follow the documentary's release will feature Fran Ulmer, former chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, and Admiral Thad Allen, 23rd Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Moderator:

Michael Sfraga
Director, Polar Institute & Director, Global Risk and Resilience Program

Introductory Remarks:

Admiral Karl Schultz
Commandant of the Coast Guard

Distinguished Panelists:

Fran Ulmer
Former Lt. Governor, State of Alaska; Former Chair, United States Arctic Research Commission

Admiral Thad Allen
Former Commandant of the Coast Guard