Virtual Arctic Resilience Forum launches in October

Each session touches on a specific aspect of Arctic resilience, ranging from food security and Indigenous youth leadership, to gender, energy and connectivity. The forum seeks to actively engage participants in conversations about how to build resilience of Arctic communities and ecosystems. It offers the opportunity to discuss concrete best practices and experiences from the Council and the broader community of circumpolar experts and knowledge holders. The Arctic Resilience Forum aims to continue to strengthen cooperation on resilience work.

The Arctic Resilience Forum 2020 is hosted by the Icelandic Chairmanship of the Arctic Council and co-organized by the Council’s Sustainable Development Working Group and the Arctic Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center. It is the second forum organized since the Council’s Arctic Resilience Action Framework (ARAF) was endorsed at the 10th Arctic Council Ministerial meeting in Fairbanks, USA in May 2017.

The ARAF provides the Council with a common frame for building and supporting resilience in the Arctic region and for coordinating regional resilience actions. The biennial fora are a means to take stock of Arctic resilience and to foster implementation and investments that enhance resilience and climate adaptation actions in the region.

The first Arctic Resilience Forum, hosted by the Finnish Chairmanship and supported by the Arctic Council Secretariat, was held in Rovaniemi, Finland in September of 2018. Convening over 100 Arctic leaders, the it helped build a broader understanding of the importance of resilience, particularly for northern communities, and how to implement and gain financial support for resilience actions in the region.

The coronavirus pandemic reinforces the importance of understanding and supporting resilience in the Arctic. The longer-term impacts of the pandemic for the Arctic and the globe remain uncertain; however, the experiences of Arctic communities over the last several months highlight the Arctic’s unique circumstances. Furthermore, the pandemic demonstrates the unique strengths and vulnerabilities and reinforces the case for a holistic approach to understanding and building resilience.