Nuuk Prepares to Welcome Ministers 3 May 2011The Kingdom of Denmark The 7th Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting is fast approaching. The meeting takes place in Katuaq, the Nuuk Cultural Center, on 12 May 2011. On the Ministerial agenda are items such as "Challenges and opportunities for the Arctic Council in a changing Arctic" and signing of two important documents; the Nuuk Declaration and the Search and Rescue (SAR) agreement. The Nuuk Declaration is the Ministers' common statement on the work of the Arctic Council, which outlines the direction for the incoming Swedish chairmanship. The SAR agreement, which will be the first ever legally binding agreement among the Arctic states negotiated under the auspices of the Arctic Council, will strengthen the cooperation on search and rescue between the Arctic States. The Ministers will also welcome various new reports from the Arctic Council Working Groups, including a major report on Snow, Water, Ice and Permafrost in the Arctic, that emphasizes the need for increasing Arctic resilience. Other reports deal with mercury and short lived climate forcers (soot). A photo exhibit,'Views from Greenland', will be presented at the meeting venue. The exhibition shows the results of a photo competition that ran from 8 till 29 April 2011. In the competition, the people of Greenland were encouraged to send photos representing their views on climate, health and living conditions in Arctic. More than 200 pictures were received from photographers from all over Greenland who wanted to make sure the Arctic Council became aware of their opinion.