The Workshop coincided with the inauguration of the academic year 2010-2011 at the University of Lapland. It was organized by the University of Lapland and the joint UArctic-NRF Thematic Network (TN) on Geopolitics and Security together with Dartmouth College and the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. The University of Lapland hosted the workshop, and the TN was in charge of (the planning of) the content.
The main theme of the conference was “Climate Change and Human Security.” Among the integrated sub-themes were:
- Climate change and human security from the viewpoint of Indigenous peoples
- Climate change, oil / gas drilling and transportation, and environmental security
- Climate change and alternative energy
- Climate change in northern / arctic strategies and policies of the Arctic states
- Climate change, state sovereignty and national security
- Climate change and international law
The University of the Arctic Institute for Applied Circumpolar Policy was established in 2008 by Dartmouth College and the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. Two earlier conferences held in the United State by the UArctic Institute were “The Arctic Climate Change and Security Policy” in Hanover, New Hampshire, at Dartmouth College, and “Considering a Roadmap Forward: The Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment” in Fairbanks, Alaska, at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks in October 2009.
The Thematic Network on Geopolitics and Security is a joint TN between the University of the Arctic (UArctic) and the Northern Research Forum (NRF), established in 2009. The two focus areas of the TN are studies on northern Geopolitics, and studies on security and security dimensions in the North. Consequently, the main aim is to combine these two areas and draw up a holistic picture on northern geopolitics and security.