The Alaska Forum was attended by over 200 participants from the US, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Singapore, and other countries. and included business and political leaders, experts, and representatives of indigenous communities. Among the speakers were President of Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson; Governor of Alaska Bill Walker; Admiral Robert J Papp, Secretary of State John Kerry's Special Representative for the Arctic; Scott Minerd, Global Chief Investment Officer of Guggenheim Partners; Fran Ulmer, Chair of the United States Arctic Research Commission; Felix Tschudi, Chairman of Tschudi Group; and Senator Lisa Murkowski. The Forum, which was titled "The Alaskan Arctic, a Summit on Shipping and Ports" was organized by Alice Rogoff, Founder of Alaska Dispatch News.

The goal of the Forum was to articulate plans and facilitate partnerships for developing safe, secure and reliable shipping through the Arctic, with a focus on the Bering Sea and other northern sea routes. At this stage of Arctic development, public- and private-sector cooperation is essential to good outcomes. Similar partnerships in the past helped create the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Panama and Suez Canals.