Headed by the Lapland University Consortium, this year’s meeting is hosted by the Lapland University Consortium in cooperation with the Sami Education Institute. The Council meeting begins in Tornio and then continues in Rovaniemi, with UArctic’s management group (Ofelas) meeting separately in Inari after the meeting. The meeting brings together over a hundred representatives of universities, colleges, and other organizations that are committed to higher education and research in the North.

By circling back to Rovaniemi, UArctic acknowledges the role that this northern city has played in the development of circumpolar cooperation. Just as the Arctic Council emerged from the ‘Rovaniemi Process’ that began in 1991 with the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy, the University of the Arctic also owes its existence to this still-evolving story. As we celebrate ten years of UArctic, we also mark twenty years of the Rovaniemi Process.

Among the items on the meeting’s agenda are the welcoming of additional institutions and organizations as Council members, a proposal to create ‘UArctic Honorary Chairs’ and the addition of new Thematic Networks. The meeting’s showcase will be the anniversary seminar on the theme of ‘Green Growth’, and the gala 10-year celebration dinner.

The Green Growth seminar takes place June 8th 2011 in Rovaniemi, Finland at the University of Lapland. The discussions will engage the question of whether a ‘Green Growth’ opportunity exists for the Arctic, or whether the destiny of the North is to remain an area of resource extraction. Speakers in the seminar include: Anita Lehikoinen (Director, Department for Education and Science Policy, Ministry of Education, Finland), Hannele Pokka (Permanent Secretary, Ministry of the Environment), Professor Rasmus Ole Rasmussen (Senior Research Fellow, Nordregio), Mikhail A. Pogodaev (Chair of the Board, Association of World Reindeer), and Gustaf Lind (Chair of Senior Arctic Officials of the Arctic Council, Sweden).

University of the Arctic
The University of the Arctic is a cooperative network of over 140 universities, colleges, and other organizations committed to higher education and research in the North. The UArctic members share resources, facilities, and expertise to build post-secondary education programs that are relevant and accessible to northern students. The overall goal is to create a strong, sustainable circumpolar region by empowering northerners and northern communities through education and shared knowledge.

The University of the Arctic promotes education that is circumpolar, interdisciplinary, and diverse in nature, and draw on our combined strengths to address the unique challenges of the region. It recognizes the integral role of indigenous peoples in northern education, and seeks to engage their perspectives in all of its activities.

For further information, please contact:
Outi Snellman
Director of International Relations / University of Lapland
Vice President Administration / University of the Arctic
outi.snellman(at)uarctic.org
Tel. +358 40 501 0209

Tiina Kaksonen
Communication coordinator / Lapland University Consortium
tiina.kaksonen(at)ramk.fi
Tel. +358 20 798 5784

Scott Forrest
Information Manger / University of the Arctic
scott.forrest(at)uarctic.org
Tel. +358 40 849 9315

www.uarctic.org