Experts in Arctic communities meet in Barcelona

The UAB's CER ARCTIC Research and Studies Centre, in collaboration with the centres Stefansson Arctic Institute of Akureyri, Iceland, the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland, Finland, and the Sustainable Development Advisory Board of Catalonia (CADS), organised the international conference “Indigenous Peoples in Cold Climates”. The event took place at the Melcior Colet Museum and Centre for Sports Studies in Barcelona (Carrer de Buenos Aires 56).

The conference focused on experiences in social realities, marine and land rights, the "commons" and the relationships with nature among indigenous communities and other communities living in the Arctic. According to the organisers, "there are still many aspects about the Arctic which remain unknown in Western societies, and it is an honour to give visibility to those who during centuries have lived in these cold climates, and who often do not have a say in climate change and the global impacts affecting their land". The conference concluded the First Artic Research Week of the UAB's ARCTIC Research Centre.

Among others, guest speakers included renowned experts such as Isabel Pont, member of the Sustainable Development Advisory Board of Catalonia (CADS), Government of Catalonia; Tanja Joona, researcher at the University of Lapland, Finland; Alfredo Prieto and Jorge Gibbons of the University of Magallanes, Chile; and Níels Einarsson, Director of the Stefansson Arctic Institute, Iceland.
 

CER-ARCTIC
The UAB's new CER ARCTIC Research and Studies Centre generates cutting edge research and provides scientific assessment as a way of contributing to the quality of life of Arctic populations, as well as to the sustainability of their environment. Based on a multidisciplinary approach, the research centre studies issues related to rights and social justice in relation to the use of resources, and will conduct comparative studies of the Arctic and other regions, such as the Mediterranean, as well as promote sustainability and governance to foster well-being and human development in the region. The centre is pioneering this area of study in Spain and in innovation in responsible research for and with local Arctic communities and is directed by UAB lecturer Françoise Breton.