Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit Conference- Towards new Horizons

The 2023 Conference programme is announced.

It is time for the Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit Conference again!

Last time the conference was organized in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and currently we are living in a time after Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. The invasion which has lasted over 500 days has re-shaped the security landscape, not only of the world, but also in the Arctic.

The implications this has had on the Arctic is an ongoing discussion, and one we will take part of. During the Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit Conference 2023 we will not only discuss hard security but also expand into other topics.

During Tuesday 14th of November our partners: the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats, and the Arctic Mayors Forum, will host sessions on security topics.

Finland’s recent NATO membership offers a wealth of topics to discuss, which will be tackled in the first session of the afternoon. The following session will expand on the topic out of the perspective of hybrid threats and global geopolitics. After this we will conclude the day with a discussion on community engagement. Community engagement as an aspect of security is gaining space in the discussion, and at this year’s conference we aim at having a broad discussion. Our partner, the Finnish Presidency of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, will also be sharing their results from the last two years at the end of the day.

The breadth of the discussion will be further increased during Wednesday 15th as we get to enjoy parallel sessions on topics such as climate security and food security. Some sessions are hosted by research groups at the Arctic Centre, which showcases some of our core competencies, and freshest research results.

We are headed towards new horizons in the Arctic, and invite you to join us for the discussion.
See you in Rovaniemi!

Conference Program

Additional information:
Project Coordinator, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland
Helen Honkasaari
helen.honkasaari(at)ulapland.fi
Tel. +358 40513 7026

Head of Science Communications, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland
Markku Heikkilä
markku.heikkila(at)ulapland.fi
Tel. +358 (0)40 484 4300