STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
Resilience Study Groups:
Advancing the Arctic Resilience Framework in Collaboration with the Sustainable Development Working Group
Joel Clement speaks with Anders Oskal, Director of the International Centre for Reindeer Husbandry and Professor Svein Mathiesen, UArctic EALÁT Institute, about challenges indigenious communities face when it comes to financing resilience during the Spring 2020 Study Group.
The Arctic Initiative has been working
for SDWG to help strengthen resilience
This effort is part of a larger collabo-
with the Sustainable Development
within these priority areas. In Fall
ration between the Arctic Initiative
Working Group (SDWG) of the
2020 the third study group in the series
and SDWG around resilience, the Fall
Arctic Council to build out the Arctic
will be focused on Arctic Knowledge
2020 ten-week virtual Arctic Resilience
Resilience Action Framework, an effort
Systems.
Forum co-hosted by the Icelandic
to advance a coordinated, regional
Chairmanship of the Arctic Council.
approach to building resilience and
These study groups not only give
adapting to rapid change in the Arctic.
students opportunities to go deep
For more on the Study Groups,
on issues related to resilience, learn
visit belfercenter.org/publication/
In the Fall 0f 2019, Senior Fellow Joel
from Arctic experts, and develop their
arctic-initiative-spring-study-group-
Clement led a study group focused
network; it also lets them to hone their
financing-climate-resilience
on governance and identifying laws
communications skills in the course of
and policies that are barriers to or
writing reports targeted towards busy
accelerators of resilience. Then in the
policy makers. Papers from all study
Spring of 2020, he co-hosted a second
groups will be handed off to the SDWG
study group on Financing Arctic
at the conclusion of the series to aid in
Resilience with Graham Sinclair, an
their efforts to grow the community of
expert in sustainable finance.
practice around resilience.
These study group sessions brought
Jennifer Spence, Executive Secretary of
together students with Arctic leaders,
the Sustainable Development Working
policy experts, and people from industry
Group said of this effort, “It’s fantastic
to better understand the realities on the
to have so much student energy behind
ground in the Arctic, from governance
promoting resilience, and addressing
challenges to what it takes to get financ-
some of the priority issue areas high-
ing for a community driven project.
lighted in the Arctic Resilience Action
Students then worked collaboratively to
Framework”.
develop a report on recommendations ARCTIC INITIATIVE 2020
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Belfer Center for Science And International Affairs
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December 2020
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