UAF students participate in virtual Model Arctic Council
March 30, 2020
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.