Arctic Youth and Sustainable Futures: Case Studies and Focus Groups from across the Arctic

Organized by Stefansson Arctic Institute and the University of Akureyri 14. September 2017


The Arctic Youth and Sustainable Futures project (2016-2018) is a circumpolar project that seeks to fill a gap in knowledge identified in the work of the Arctic Human Development Report: Regional Processes and Global Linkages (2015). It seeks to fill a gap in knowledge on the needs and aspirations of young people in the Arctic, with a primary focus on youth, ages 18-24.

Saturday, October 14, 16:00 - 17:30

The premise of the research is that the future of the Arctic will be determined to a great extent by today’s youth, as they make choices around the opportunities and challenges they face, their priorities in terms of culture and identities, where to study and where to live, and what occupations and lifestyles to pursue, as well as on factors affecting their social and physical environment, such as the impacts and responses to climate change and economic and cultural globalization. Preliminary results from case study work and focus group interviews will be presented. The presentations will present highlights from discussions with youth.
A general focus is on questions of the two to three most pressing issues facing young people living in the Arctic regions today, the aspirations and needs of young people in the Arctic, and discussions with youth to better understand how young people define the most important issues that affect their lives in the Arctic today, as well as their hopes and aspirations for the future. The focus group research has enabled the project to capture a variety of views, experiences and circumstances among young people in the North. The session will present results from case studies and a first round of focus group interviews with young people from different parts of the Arctic, including Northern Iceland; Nuuk, Greenland; Bodø, Norway; Umeå, Sweden; Northern Finland; Murmansk, Russia; and Alaska.

Speakers:

  • Joan Nymand Larsen, Professor of Economics and Arctic Studies, University of Akureyri; Senior Scientist, Stefansson Arctic Institute, Akureyri, Iceland
  • Diane Hirshberg, Professor of Education Policy, and Director, Center for Alaska Education Policy Research Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage, USA
  • Andrey Petrov, Associate Professor of Geography and Geospatial Technology, University of Northern Iowa, USA
  • Jón Haukur Ingimundarson, Senior Scientist, Stefansson Arctic Institute, and Associate Professor of Anthropology and Arctic Studies, University of Akureyri
  • Marta Einarsdóttir, Researcher, University of Akureyri Research Centre, Iceland
  • Leneisja Jungsberg, Research Fellow, Nordregio, Sweden
  • Anna Karlsdóttir, Senior Research Fellow, Nordregio, Sweden
  • Timothy Heleniak, Senior Research Fellow, Nordregio, Sweden
  • Joan Nymand Larsen, Professor of Economics and Arctic Studies, University of Akureyri; Senior Scientist, Stefansson Arctic Institute
  • Jón Haukur Ingimundarson, Senior Scientist, Stefansson Arctic Institute; Associate Professor of Anthropology and Arctic Studies, University of Akureyri, Iceland.

Chairs:

  • Joan Nymand Larsen, Senior Scientist and Research Director, Stefansson Arctic Institute & Professor, University of Akureyri
  • Jón Haukur Ingimundarson, Senior Scientist, Stefansson Arctic Institute; Associate Professor, University of Akureyri, Iceland