In the Arctic, where concerns about mental health and suicide have been long standing challenges, there is a particular need to reflect on the consequences. Fostering mental well-being must be an important component of a holistic approach to address the longer term effects of the coronavirus outbreak.
The Arctic Council’s Sustainable Development Working Group project Local2Global is one of these efforts.
Local2Global: Circumpolar collaboration for suicide prevention is a project under the Arctic Council’s Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG) and an initiative under the Icelandic Chairmanship (2019-2021) that is set to continue through the Russian Chairmanship (2021-2023). The project is co-led by the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC), Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden. It builds on circumpolar prevention activities completed under the SDWG for over a decade, including most recently “Project CREATeS – Circumpolar Resilience, Engagement, and Action through Story” under the Finnish Chairmanship (2017-2019) of the Council.