UAF students participate in virtual Model Arctic Council

March 30, 2020

University Relations

Three UAF students participated in a Model Arctic Council, March 20-26, conducted entirely through the Zoom platform. Joseph Ransdell-Green, an Arctic and Northern Studies major; Emma Ashlock, a political science major; and Julia Hnilicka, an M.A. student in rural development, joined 22 other students from universities across the circumpolar north and beyond to simulate the roles of Arctic Council delegates.

The program was meant to take place in Akureyri, 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 Working Group – one of six Working Groups of the Arctic Council – and the Senior Arctic Officials, or SAOs. Ransdell-Green played the Kingdom of Denmark’s SAO; Ashlock played two roles — Russia’s delegate to PAME and the U.S. SAO; and Hnilicka played Canada’s SAO.

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.

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.

The Model Arctic Council is a thematic network of the UArctic, led by UAF professors Brandon Boylan and Mary Ehrlander. To date, the UArctic MAC program has taken place at UAF (spring 2016); Dartmouth College (summer 2017); the University of Lapland (Finland) (fall 2018); and online (spring 2020).

Please contact Brandon Boylan, bmboylan@alaska.edu, for further details.