It was a pleasure to attend the 2018 UArctic Congress last week, co-hosted by the University of Oulu and the University of Helsinki in Finland. The conference was UArctic’s second large-scale meeting of scholars and other professionals dedicated to Arctic studies. I heard many interesting presentations, especially in the area of Arctic education, one of …
Author: Anthony Speca
Norwich Model Arctic Council 3
The third annual Norwich Model Arctic Council (NORMAC) convened over the weekend of 23rd to 25th February at Norwich School in the UK. A larger event that NORMAC 2017, this year’s conference involved 46 pupils from 8 secondary schools in the UK and Spain. Two of the schools involved were UK international schools, and participating …
Model Arctic Council Bilbao
Just over a week ago, 28 pupils from seven secondary schools in Italy, the Netherlands, Saudia Arabia, Spain and the United Kingdom gathered at Colegio Ayalde in Bilbao, Spain, for the inaugural Model Arctic Council Bilbao (MAC Bilbao). Over the course of three days, from 25th to 28th January, they played the roles of …
Presentation at UN Association Norwich
Last week I had the privilege of addressing a meeting of the United Nations Association Norwich, a branch of the UN Association of the UK, about the Arctic as a homeland. Rejecting the typical perception of the Arctic as either a pristine wilderness to be cordoned off, or a treasure chest of resources to be …
Panel discussion at 9th International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences
Last weekend, I visited Umeå University in northern Sweden, where I had the honour of co-chairing a panel discussion about a pair of recent Model Arctic Council conferences at the Ninth International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences. My co-chair, Mr Jeff Kormos of the University of Northern British Columbia, and three other panellists first considered …
Norwich Model Arctic Council 2
Over the weekend of 21st to 23rd April, 35 pupils from six secondary schools gathered at Norwich School in the UK for the second annual Norwich Model Arctic Council (NORMAC). So far as I know, NORMAC is the only secondary-school level Model Arctic Council in the world today. Like the better-known Model United Nations, NORMAC …
Launching the Norwich Model Arctic Council
In July 2016, a group of secondary-school pupils convened in Norwich, UK, for the inaugural Norwich Model Arctic Council (NORMAC). An educational initiative of Polar Aspect, in collaboration with and hosted by Norwich School, NORMAC is intended to raise awareness of the Arctic; to inspire pupils to learn more about the region, its peoples and its challenges; and …
Presentation at 1st UArctic Congress
Last week, I had the privilege to attend the 2016 UArctic Congress, hosted by St Petersburg University in the strikingly handsome city of St Petersburg, Russia. UArctic is a consortium of universities conducting research on the circumpolar North, and the conference involved delegates from many countries. It was the first such conference organised by UArctic—and …
Norwich Model Arctic Council
Earlier this month, a group of secondary-school pupils from Norwich School gathered together for the first Norwich Model Arctic Council (NORMAC), an educational initiative I’ve recently developed to raise awareness and understanding of the Arctic amongst youth. Whilst there have been a number of Model Arctic Councils at postgraduate level, NORMAC is so far as …
Presentation at Durham University
Yesterday, Saturday the 14th May, I was at St Mary’s College at Durham University to participate in a workshop for postgraduate students and early-career scholars researching the Arctic. Our purpose was to reflect on the challenges, ethics and responsibilities involved in conducting Arctic fieldwork. Organised by two doctoral students in Durham’s Department of Geography, Johanne …