UN SDG’S AND THE ARCTIC: WHAT DOES SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT MEAN FOR THE NEXT ARCTIC GENERATION?

Panel Discussion

Day: Wed 15 Nov, 2017
Time: 17:00–18:00
Venue: Tieva, Lappia Hall, Rovaniemi

An arctic design workshop to continue discussions at the panel session will be organised on Thursday at 14:30–15:45, venue Saivo. The workshop will demonstrate how solutions to sustainable development challenges can be searched through a design process. The design challenge to be tackled in the workshop will be identified together in this panel session.

Panelists

Daria Matveenkova - Press-Secretary and Project Coordinator, Nature and Youth, Murmansk, Russia
Mikkel Näkkäläjärvi - President of Social Democratic Youth of Finland
Sunna Kokkonen - Student, Former Chair of Barents Regional Youth Council
Lars-Otto Reiersen - Former Executive Secretary of the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP)

Chair

Teppo Säkkinen - Student, University of Lapland

Who are the panelists?

The discussion is led by Teppo Säkkinen, a Lapland University student and a former head of Centre party national youth organization. He is joined by a number of active young people from different backgrounds and countries. Also Lars Otto Reiersen, the AMAP veteran, has been invited to challenge and be challenged

Why this theme?

In most seminars and conferences, ours included, those who have been around for years and who have created some name mostly discuss the Arctic. But the consequences of having or not having sustainable development will be faced by those who still have everything ahead. This panel gives floor to emerging young generation in the Arctic.

What can we expect?

The panelists will pick their favorite UN Sustainable Development Goal and tell how it should be promoted in the Arctic. They will also be asked to reflect to the high level speeches given earlier during the Conference day: did they hear only lip service or was there a real commitment to make the Arctic future a better one?