On Monday, I had the privilege of delivering a guest lecture to third- and fourth-year undergraduate students at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC). The students were all taking part in the UNBC Geography Department’s course ‘Changing Arctic: Human and Environmental Systems’, convened by Prof Gail Fondahl. My lecture was entitled ‘”Greenshit go home” …
Category: Speaking
Presentation at 2nd MUN Impact Global Summit
This past weekend, Polar Aspect had the privilege of giving a presentation to the second MUN Impact Global Youth Summit about the new Online Model Arctic Council (OMAC) programme that we’re about to launch. I say ‘Polar Aspect’ and ‘we’, because the presentation was actually given by my new OMAC Secretariat team—Joshua Gray, Olivia Silk …
Panel discussion at Centre of Gravity contemporary art exhibition
Yesterday I had the very enjoyable experience of participating in an ‘Arctic/Antarctic Symposium‘ connected with the Centre of Gravity (CoG) contemporary art exhibition. Originally planned as an in-person event in the old Soapworks in Bristol, which was turned over to the CoG artistic collective for a month of artistic and creative outreach, the symposium unfortunately …
Presentation at 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 …
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 …
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 …
Presentation at 2nd Model UN Advisers Conference
Yesterday, I had the privilege of giving a brief presentation about my Model Arctic Council (MAC) initiative to a conference of Model United Nations (MUN) Advisers—secondary-school teachers who encourage and support their pupils as they prepare for and participate in simulated UN diplomacy. MUN has existed almost as long as the United Nations itself, and …
Presentation at 4th Polar Educators International Workshop
This week I had the pleasure of attending the fourth Polar Educators International (PEI) Workshop, co-hosted by the Scott Polar Research Institute and Christ’s College, University of Cambridge. PEI was founded in 2012 as a legacy of the Fourth International Polar Year. It serves the vital purpose of fostering dialogue between educators and researchers in order …