Organisers aim to make a difference

The entire world is waiting in suspense to see the outcome of Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit 2017, an international conference destined to be the first major event held under Finland’s chairmanship of the Arctic Council.

“We expect the conference to represent a large number of countries, both Arctic and non-Arctic. The list is still developing, but we already have about 20 countries on the list,” said Markku Heikkilä, Head of Science Communications at the Arctic Centre during an interview with the Daily Finland.

The conference scheduled to take place on November 14-16 in Lappia Hall is organised jointly by the City of Rovaniemi and the University of Lapland and its Arctic Centre.

According to the organisers, they expect about 400 people from across the globe to take part in the event.

The main focus of this year’s Arctic Spirit is on combining the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the key Arctic issues, said Heikkilä, adding that the majority of the sessions, therefore, are designed to centre on the current status of Arctic cooperation and its trends. “We have chosen this theme in close consultation with the Arctic Council Chairmanship team at the foreign ministry.”

The Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit conference – organised two times earlier with the name “In the Spirit of the Rovaniemi Process” - builds on the heritage of the “Rovaniemi process” which almost 20 years ago started the cooperation between the Arctic states, said the Arctic Centre executive.

Integrated with the 10th Polar Law Symposium scheduled for November 13-14, the Relate North 2017 art and design show on November 9-13, a workshop on Finland-Canada Arctic research cooperation on November 14, the Finnish Arctic Expo that opens on the same day, and the Thrills of Nature concert to be offered by Lapland Chamber Orchestra on November 16, the Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit 2017 will certainly be the main Arctic moment of the country’s independence centenary celebrations, said the responsible leader of the conference.

Heikkilä emphasised that “Overall, we are having an exceptionally good momentum for a meaningful Arctic conference in Rovaniemi.”

He said the topics of the first day’s sessions relate directly to the main theme – high-level speeches and panel discussions on the role of economic development and what needs to be done in the field of Arctic science. A panel of young Arctic activists wraps the day up.

“On the second day, we focus on the people in the Arctic and discuss themes such as Arctic identity, indigenous peoples, the media, role of Arctic cities, land use, bioeconomy, culturally sustainable education and wellbeing of the young.

Heikkilä is expecting to organise an Arctic forum that really makes a difference and assured the Daily Finland of having all the ingredients ready for that.

He, however, said the Arctic Spirit team is not measuring its success by the volume and number of participants and emphasised that the organisers are trying their best to ensure as much relevance as possible.

Asked about the state of preparations, he said organising an event of this scale is a puzzle, which is always changing its size and form. A moment later he confirmed that “Now we have all elements in place, thanks to many very committed people working for this.”