Model Arctic Council, Online (2020)

March 22 – March 27, 2020 

 

Model Arctic Council, Online 2020

Twenty-five students from universities across the circumpolar north and beyond simulated the roles of Arctic Council delegates in a Model Arctic Council program conducted entirely through the Zoom platform from March 20 to 26, 2020.

The program was meant to take place at the University of Akureyri in Iceland, but owing to the coronavirus pandemic, organizers quickly moved the program to an online format.

 

In Zoom meetings, students simulated the work of the Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME) Working Group – one of six Working Groups of the Arctic Council – and the Senior Arctic Officials, or SAOs.

 

The students discussed and developed plans to address Arctic maritime problems, specifically plastic pollution and endangerment to protected marine areas. The students learned about challenges in the Arctic, the functioning of the Arctic Council, and diplomacy throughout the program.

 

The key findings from the week’s work were presented at the Arctic Science Summit Week on Friday, March 27, 2020.

 

The Model Arctic Council was organized jointly by the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the University of Akureyri: Brandon Boylan, Associate Professor of Political Science and Co-Director of Arctic and Northern Studies at UAF; Mary Ehrlander, Professor of History and Co-Director of Arctic and Northern Studies at UAF; Mike Letzring, an Interdisciplinary Studies Ph.D. candidate in Arctic and Northern Studies at UAF; Rachael Johnstone, Professor of Law at the University of Akureyri; and Gunnar Gunnarson, International Coordinator at the University of Akureyri.