This week was one of the most busy, but important weeks I have had in a long time. I spent four days in Bodø, the second largest city in the Norwegian Arctic at the Arctic Congress. The Arctic Congress is a combination of three different events; the International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences, the University Arctic Congress, and the High North Dialogue. Thousands of people attended the Congress, and the programme was absolutely insane. There were often over 12 different talks/panels/workshops happening at different times. 

I am so glad that I got to attend the Arctic Congress, because it really helped me widen my understanding of the challenges facing the communities I am working with as part of my LiA. For example, I got to meet people working in emergency response, which helped me understand the increased risks and impacts of flash flooding and wildfires in the Arctic. I attended a talk on disabilities in the Arctic, which gave me a much more profound understanding of the access to care that people with disabilities in the Arctic have. I went to a talk on Inuit healthcare, and learned about work being done in Nunavik to provide healthcare within the Inuit paradigm of what health is. I heard talks about the deteriorating climate all over the Arctic. I spoke to people from cities that have had to migrate their entire city centers to accommodate mining. It was just a fabulous learning experience. 

I also attended a series of talks on Arctic Tourism, which is the theme of this year's Arctic Policy Hackathon. These talks were really important for me, as it helped me understand the issues and solutions from a ton of different perspectives. I am developing programming for this event, and getting ready to evaluate applications for this program, so it was awesome to get some in depth perspectives on the topic. I also got to meet some of the most relevant people working in Arctic tourism research, and connect with them to speak about the Hackathon, which was really cool.

While I was at the Arctic Congress, I was helping coordinate the Arctic Mayors’ Forum program which included meetings, panel sessions, and plenaries. I managed the social media accounts for the Forum during the event. I also got to spend a lot of time with the youth attending the High North Dialogue Academy, which is a week-long program that facilitates learning for young people interested in social development in the Arctic. This years’ participants were staying on a boat in the Bodø harbor, and one of them was the son of my supervisor at the Arctic Mayors’ Forum, who is also a good friend of mine from high school. He introduced me to a ton of the young people participating in the program, which was awesome because I got to meet a ton of young people who were passionate about and had a lot of ideas about development in the Arctic. 

The final evening of the conference included a conference dinner, where hundreds of participants gathered in a lavvu, which is a Sàmi dwelling that is similar to a tipi, to eat, sing, and dance. This was a really special cultural experience, as many conference attendees sang songs from their homes. It was super fun.

My entire third week at AMF was spent preparing for and then doing the Arctic Congress, which was exhausting but also really rewarding. To get back to Harstad from Bodø, we flew on a little tiny plane that only had four passengers, which I feel like is a classic Arctic experience.