The weather in lovely Bilbao, Spain, was beautiful this year for the sixth Model Arctic Council Bilbao (MAC Bilbao) at Colegio Ayalde this weekend.  Quite a contrast from the MAC Bilbao 5 conference last year, when it seemed to pour almost continually!

An auspicious start, then, to this year’s conference, which took place this past weekend, and which involved 31 pupils from eight secondary schools in Germany, Italy, Kuwait, Spain and the UK.  The delegates tackled the questions of Marine Protected Areas in the Arctic and food security for Arctic communities, and they managed to reach consensus on a ‘Bilbao Declaration’ on both of these complex issues.  Congratulations!

That isn’t to say it was easy for them.  Indeed, the delegates found their negotiations quite a struggle at times, especially around Marine Protected Areas in Arctic waters, which intersects with some politically difficult questions of maritime law, marine boundaries and jurisdictions, use of marine resources, and Indigenous rights.  At one point, negotiations even seemed on the verge of breaking down completely.

However, as with all of my MACs, delegates take time to participate in ‘debriefing sessions’ at the end of each day, during which I guide them to reflect on their experience.  There is also the opportunity for delegates to request impromptu debriefing sessions if they feel especially frustrated with progress, which this year’s delegates used to their advantage.  Indeed, all they needed was some encouragement about how to self-organise.  And as the photo below shows, they did so with great professionalism!

This is part of the magic of MAC — the way in which young people not only learn about the Arctic and its peoples, but also about themselves: how to speak confidently, how to work together despite disagreement, how to build consensus, how to lead.  And in that regard, I can say categorically that some of this year’s delegates were among the most impressive I’ve ever had the privilege to guide through one of my diplomatic simulations.

Some special testimonials from four of those delegates:

• I learned about the general state of the Arctic and why it is important to act now and help, instead of being ignorant and not care.  Consequently, I also learned about my interest in this subject and I discovered that in the future I will invest more time in getting informed about helping the Arctic.
• I loved learning about Indigenous values and needs. I also learned a lot about the effects of climate change on not only the Arctic but also the Indigenous people of the Arctic and what we can do to help.
• I also surprisingly learned a lot about myself. What my strengths and weaknesses are and that I love to do this. If this is what real diplomacy is, I would love to spend the rest of my life practicing this art.
• I improved my understanding of how to find consensus. Especially because I am from a debating team and always want my point to be the correct one. Thank you for that 🙂

Many thanks to Colegio Ayalde for hosting MAC Bilbao 6, and for inviting us back for MAC Bilbao 7 next year!  Many thanks, too, to long-standing Polar Aspect Associate Rosie Tregenza for serving so effectively as this year’s MAC Bilbao Deputy Director.