Welcome back to school! We hope you enjoyed a lovely summer. With the new academic year now underway, we’re excited to announce our 2024-25 Polar Aspect Model Arctic Council (MAC) conferences for schools. Registration is now open for: Wycombe Model Arctic Council 4 — 17-18 January 2025 Model Arctic Council Bilbao 7 — 30 January – 2 …
Author: Anthony Speca
Appointment to Scottish Association for Marine Science
I’m very pleased and honoured to announce my appointment as Honorary Fellow of the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), one of the 12 colleges and research institutions making up the University of the Highlands and Islands. My election as Fellow follows previous collaboration with SAMS faculty, including the first Scotland Model Arctic Council (SCOTMAC), …
6th Online Mini Model Arctic Council for Trent University
Today, I concluded my sixth online ‘mini’ Model Arctic Council (MAC) for students at Trent University, as well as students from other universities and countries studying online with Trent through the UArctic Circumpolar Studies programme. Like my previous mini-MACs, which students seem to have found enjoyable and educational, the online simulation was the capstone project …
Panel discussion at Arctic Congress Bodø 2024
Yesterday, I participated in a panel discussion on ‘Circumpolar Education for Environmental Change and Resilience’, moderated by Maeva Gauthier of the University of Victoria. The discussion was the first step in a project, led by Jeff Birchall of the University of Alberta, to design a locally-centered and student-focused education programme on environmental change and resilience. …
Climate-change outreach at Bramfield, Brampton and Ringsfield Primary Schools
A couple of months ago, I enjoyed visiting the Reception class at Ringsfield Church of England Primary School in full Arctic gear, and speaking to an excited class of very young pupils about the Arctic. This month, I was pleased to be able to return not only to Ringsfield, but also to sister schools Bramfield …
Norwich Model Arctic Council for Schools 8
Now in its eighth year, the Norwich Model Arctic Council for Schools (NORMAC Schools) remains the flagship MAC in our annual series, with three and a half days of diplomatic negotiations, official ceremony, social events and dinners — and of course a huge amount of enjoyable learning. Over 50 pupils took part in NORMAC 8 …
Second lecture at Scottish Association for Marine Science
It was a real privilege last year to give a guest lecture about Arctic political geography to students on the ‘Polar Seas’ module at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS). So I was enormously pleased to be asked back this year to teach the new cohort of students taking the module. Though the Arctic …
Model Arctic Council London
This past weekend saw the launch of the newest Polar Aspect Model Arctic Council programme: Model Arctic Council London (MAC London) at Alleyn’s School! It was exciting to welcome 17 pupils from 8 schools in France and the UK to the first-ever MAC London. The conference took place alongside Alleyn’s School’s first International Model United …
Model Arctic Council Bilbao 6
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 …
Wycombe Model Arctic Council 4
Always a pleasure to start our annual series of Polar Aspect MACs by returning to Wycombe Abbey for the Wycombe Model Arctic Council (WYCOMAC) — with this past weekend’s conference our fourth WYCOMAC since launching the programme in 2020. As with the WYCOMAC 3 conference last year, WYCOMAC 4 was an intimate simulation set in …