Education – Equal access for equal chances

The nomadic school project “Arctic Children – Preschool Education and Smooth Transition to School” investigates how educational practices can be brought in line with traditional ways of life of indigenous peoples. It aims at providing children of nomads with the knowledge and skills necessary for a life in their own community and in mainstream society.

The “Teacher Education for Diversity and Equality in the Arctic” project on the other hand supports networking of teacher education institutions, enabling them to share good practices and develop long-term collaborations. The project sees the potential of teachers to become creators of a sustainable future in the Arctic. Thus, the teacher education project can be seen to have paved the way for a high quality and culturally relevant teacher education for the North.

The University of the Arctic (UArctic) has been an important cooperation partner in these educational projects. In the declaration of the second UArctic Congress (link), the delegates state that education is not only essential in building a sustainable future for northerners, but also strengthens their “ability to determine their own futures, and develop new knowledge that benefits both the North and the world.”

Finland also hosted an Arctic Youth Summit in conjunction with the Arctic Biodiversity Congress in Rovaniemi in October 2018. The summit encouraged young people to engage and take leadership in public outreach and education about the Arctic and empowered them to promote Arctic biodiversity and conservation issues in their own communities.