Today I ran a second online Model Arctic Council (MAC) for students at Trent University where I’m appointed as an adjunct professor, as well as from other universities around the world participating in the University of the Arctic Circumpolar Studies programme. This ‘mini-MAC’ follows a similar one last year, though slightly expanded and more deeply …
Author: Anthony Speca
Presentation to MUN Impact Global Summit
I was delighted to give a presentation today on ‘Model Arctic Council for Sustainable Development’ to teachers and students attending the first ever Global Summit hosted by MUN Impact. MUN Impact is an exciting young organisation dedicated to using Model United Nations simulations to inspire secondary-school pupils to learn about sustainable development, and to take …
Lecture to AGATU International Summer School
It was a pleasure to give a lecture today on ‘The Moral Geography of the Arctic’ to faculty and students attending the International Summer School hosted by the Arctic State Agrotechnological University (AGATU, in Russian Arkticheskiy Gosudarstvyennuy Agrotekhnologicheskiy Universitet) in Yakutsk, Sakha Republic, Russia. Due to Covid-19, the summer school was held online. This was perhaps …
Norwich Model Arctic Council 2020
Last week, the fifth annual Norwich Model Arctic Council (NORMAC) convened at Norwich School in the UK. Like last year’s conference, NORMAC 2020 spanned three days, from the afternoon of Thursday 5th March to the afternoon of Sunday 8th March. It was the largest NORMAC conference yet, involving 49 pupils visiting from seven secondary schools …
Model Arctic Council Bilbao 2020
Last week, 24 pupils from 12 secondary schools gathered at Colegio Ayalde in Bilbao, Spain, for the second annual Model Arctic Council Bilbao (MAC Bilbao). They came from schools in France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK, and I was especially pleased to see one pupil attending MAC Bilbao for a third consecutive year! As at MAC Bilbao 2019, …
Wycombe Model Arctic Council 2020
This past weekend, I was extremely pleased to launch my third Model Arctic Council conference for secondary schools, after the Norwich Model Arctic Council (NORMAC, launched 2016) and Model Arctic Council Bilbao (MAC Bilbao, launched 2018). The first annual Wycombe Model Arctic Council (WYCOMAC) saw 25 pupils from 8 schools gather at Wycombe Abbey in …
Presentation at UK-Russia Arctic Marine Science Workshop
Today I had the privilege of visiting Northumbria University in Newcastle to participate in a UK-Russia Arctic Marine Science Workshop. The workshop focused on collaboration with Lomonosov Moscow State University (LMSU), especially their White Sea Biological Station (WSBS). I was particularly pleased to be able to showcase my Model Arctic Council (MAC) programmes, such as …
Model Arctic Council at Secondary School
Growing interest in the Arctic Council amongst scholars and educators has recently stimulated a number of Model Arctic Councils (MACs). MACs are pedagogical simulations in which participants play the role of delegate to a cycle of Arctic Council meetings. MACs are normally aimed at university students, particularly postgraduates and advanced undergraduates, but since 2016 I …
Lecture to Royal Geographical Society East of England
The geography of the Arctic has long been a geography of fantasies—fantasies of manly heroism, of colonial exploitation, and especially today of climate disaster and redemption. But the real Arctic has even longer been a home to indigenous peoples and other northerners. Who pays the price when our Arctic fantasies meet reality? This talk will uncover the …
Presentation at 6th UK Arctic Science Conference
Last week I attended the 2019 UK Arctic Science Conference, the sixth in a series of biannual conferences sponsored by the UK Arctic Office and hosted this year by Loughborough University. It was a pleasure to see some familiar faces there—not only from the UK but also from Russia—to make many new acquaintances, and to …