Arctic youth© Arctic Council Stepping up youth engagement in the Arctic Council 4 December 2019Народы АрктикиМеждународное сотрудничествоКлиматРабочая группа по сохранению арктической флоры и фауныРабочая группа по устойчивому развитию в Арктике Arctic youth is not just the future but also the present. A slogan that Indigenous youth leaders coined when they got together for the first Arctic Leaders’ Youth Summit in Rovaniemi, Finland, in November 2019. Arctic youth is not just the future but also the present - the slogan that Indigenous youth leaders coined when they got together for the first Arctic Leaders’ Youth Summit in Rovaniemi, Finland, in November 2019. They called for a more active involvement in the issues that affect them – now and in future – and in doing so they joined a global movement of young people that are speaking up for their rights as they see their future imperiled by climate change. Over the years, the Arctic Council has stepped up its efforts to engage youth. Working Groups such as the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) and the Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG) have been forerunners in not just looking at how youth is affected by a changing Arctic but in actively involving them in their projects. And now the Arctic Council is taking its effort to involve youth to the next level. At the most recent Senior Arctic Officials’ plenary meeting in Hveragerði, Iceland, the Chair of the Senior Arctic Officials, Ambassador Einar Gunnarsson, invited the Chairs of CAFF and SDWG as well as a representative of the Arctic Youth Network (AYN) to share their ongoing efforts to engage young people and comment on how meaningful youth involvement could be ensured in future.