29 March 2026 | 10:00 - 11:30 CET
Open Session - HYBRID
Room: Aulaen
Organiser: Polar Educators International: Maria Pia Casarini, Julia Dooley, Deniz Vural, Ramcharan Vijayaraghavan, Sophie Weeks, Marta Espírito Santo and Jill Diedrich
Session Description:
Join participants of the Global Conversation Connecting Arctic Research, Education and Indigenous Knowledge at this discussion reflecting on the iterative, on-going, open-ended dialogues and progression since 2021.
As an invited participant in the 3rd Arctic Science Ministerial Meeting (ASM3) co-hosted by Iceland and Japan. 8-9 May 2021 Tokyo, Polar Educators International (PEI) contributed to the development of Theme 4: Strengthen: Capacity building; Education; Networking; Resilience – prepare the next generation.
Members from PEI Council, early career polar researchers and Arctic Indigenous community members co-ordinated extending intercultural dialogues centred on polar education in and about the Arctic. Moderated by Julia Dooley (PEI Vice President and former President), iterations have been held in Iceland as part PEIs 5th Biennial International Conference and Workshop for polar educators (2022), and at Arctic Science Summit Weeks in Vienna (2023), Edinburgh (2024) and Boulder (2025).
Through world-cafe style events, the Polar Educators International community has acted to recognize the urgent need and identify gaps in capacity building, education and networking, both in Arctic and in global communities, highlighted by ASM3.
The discussions between PEI and partners, each a unique outcome in and of the process, sought to provide pathways of mutual support through open-ended conversations about learning informed by science and Indigenous knowledge.
In recognition of challenges triggered by warming in the Arctic demanding new learning skills and resources focused on resilience and adaptation, co-convenors worked with the local organisers to provide a safe, calm space for dialogue, taking the long view that change will be lasting and will impact culture and society for generations.
Participants recognised the responsibility of the current generation to pass on the knowledge needed to meet the challenges of the changing Arctic and also recognised the widening impacts of change in earth's polar regions. Educators, ECRs from diverse communities around the globe reconsidered the Arctic as linked to their work and lives, rather than a remote and irrelevant place.
This meeting invites reflections on the Global Conversation as a network for interchange and asks whether creative, open-ended, cross-cultural conversation can be a useful forum to consider what education infrastructure might be required for supporting the life and work of future generations in order to build resilience.
Topics have varied; 'What kind of skills and capabilities are needed by the young scientists and knowledge holders who will become the next generation of leaders?', 'How can life-wide learning, honouring the indigenous calendar and embedding community-driven observation empower local children?' and 'Who should initiate local research, Why?'
We reflect on this journey from the Arctic School, Yakutsk, Ikarvik and Smart Ice (2022) via discussion with members of youth groups and reindeer communities (2023 Semen Gabishev and Alexandre Lavrillier) Arctic Hub, Greenland, and the Unangax̂ Ocean, introduced to us by a member of Qigiiĝun Tribe, Akutan, Alaska and ask how to widen and share the conversation in through PEI's emerging Strategic Plan.