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Tag: Arkhangelsk

Winter school to take place at N(A)FU

Northern (Arctic) Federal University announces Winter School “Model Arctic Council” (MAC) to take place February, 25 – 28, 2014 in Arkhangelsk, Russia.

Northern (Arctic) Federal University invites proactive and creative Master and PhD students to increase their knowledge on the Arctic issues, meet like-minded participants from the other countries and develop their leadership skills. Winter school participant will be given 5 ECTS after the course completion.

Overall idea of the MAC is to promote scientific Arctic research and strengthen international scientific and educational cooperation between UArctic universities.

School includes lectures, workshops given by the experts in the field of Arctic policy, and a role-play game which is designed to give a chance to the students to model the work of the Arctic Council, to discuss various problems of the Arctic region and to express their own understanding of the situation.

Winter school participants will be given 5 ECTS after completion. The deadline for registration is November, 30, 2013.

More information available here.

Contact email: mac@narfu.ru

November 13, 2013
Putin speaks at the Arctic Forum

President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, held a speech at the third international Arctic Forum, in Salekhard. The first such forum was held in Moscow in September 2010, the second – in Arkhangelsk in 2011.

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The main theme of the current forum is environmental security. The forum participants will discuss possible scenarios of climate change in the Arctic, the current level of pollution, the impact of its industrial development on indigenous peoples and a number of other issues.

Taking part in the third international Arctic forum will also be President of Finland Sauli Niinist, President of Iceland Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and many others.

“Today more than ever, the Arctic needs particular care and attention. Russia, where the Far North regions make up almost a third of the country’s territory, is conscious of its responsibility for preserving the Arctic’s environmental stability,” Putin said in his speech.

“Many of you here today know that we have adopted the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy. We are using it as the base for drafting our State Programme for the Russian Arctic’s Social and Economic Development until 2020.”

President Putin also underlined Russis intentions to clean up the Arctic, and said that the federal budget allocated 45 million US dollars to the cleanup.

“I also note that we plan to extend considerably the network of nature conservation areas in the Arctic region. These specially protected natural areas currently make up around 6% of the Russian Arctic, nearly 322,000 square kilometres. Our plan is to increase this area several-fold.”

Putin also stressed that coperation is high on the Russian agenda: “I want to reaffirm today Russia’s commitment to this declaration’s principles, and also to our desire to do everything possible to make the Arctic in practice a territory of partnership, cooperation and dialogue between countries and between the public at the broadest level.”

Read Presidents Putin speech here.

September 26, 2013
UArctic Forum took place in Arkhangelsk

26-30 June the 7^th UArctic Rectors’ Forum took place in the Northern (Arctic) Federal University, Russia; Arkhangelsk hosted this Forum for the first time. Heads of universities, remarkable experts and students from eight countries discussed the development of the Arctic Region.

The University of Arctic is a network of Arctic universities from different countries, not only northern ones. For example, there are Arctic universities in Japan and China. This proves the highest international interest to the Arctic and its resource potential.

The Forum stressed such issues as logistics, development of infrastructure and transport system in high latitudes. The main task of the Forum was to discuss how the universities from different countries meet the “Arctic challenges”.

The Forum was attended by 30 educational institutions involved in consortium of the University of Arctic. Representatives of foreign scientific foundations (such as NordForsk, program Fulbright etc.) contributed in the discussion about scientific cooperation and Arctic research.

The participants shared views on international cooperation in the Arctic. They noted that northern territories have become an example of successful international cooperation for less stable regions. Russia gradually develops bilateral relations with traditional partners: Norway, Canada, and Finland. There are prospects for project development together with the USA, Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden. These prospects are connected to such issues as development of continental shelf, hydrography, and societal security.

An important part of the Forum was devoted to environmental problems and climate change in the Arctic. For example, the effects of global warming make special requirements for certain types of work on the Arctic shelf and for hydro – meteorological support of navigation along the Northern Sea Route.

Climate change will have both negative and positive impacts on the environment, economics and population of the Arctic region. Negative consequences of human activity change the environment, affect health and traditional way of life of local population. Positive effects of climate change also exist: heating costs reduce, and opportunities for agriculture, forestry navigation on the Northern Sea Route and extraction of mineral resources increase.

There was a clear consensus among participants that universities should become regional research centers and formulate an Arctic agenda: initiate research and infrastructure projects in collaboration with business and government, train professional personnel for work in the Arctic. Joint research projects are also important since they give an opportunity to unite efforts of all UArctic member institutions.

Source

University of the Arctic

July 4, 2013
Russia to explore Barents Sea Shelf

Russia’s Natural Resources Minister Yury Trutnev confirmed this morning in Arkhangelsk at the second international forum The Arctic: Territory of Dialogue that Russia will begin geological exploration of the promising Barents Sea shelf located on the border with Norway in 2012.

The exploration will begin at the Fedynsky Arch deposit, in the southern part of the Barents Sea. High hopes remain for the region where an estimated 10-12 billion metric tons of fuel equivalent are thought to be found.

It was last year that Russia and Norway finally settled in the matter. “Forty-year-long talks have finished, we can now start working jointly. Norway has already begun seismic surveys in its part of the shelf. Russia plans to begin work in 2012. They will be funded from the federal budget,” Trutnev said this morning.

September 22, 2011
UArctic reaches further north

The University of the Arctic has opened a research center in Russian city Arkhangelsk.

The Northern Arctic Federal University (NArFU) is seen as a critical step in creating a collective capacity for UArctic members to coordinate northern research, says UArctic president Lars Kullerud.

The office will strengthen both the University and Russia. Kullerud notes that many UArctic members in the North are perceived as smaller actors, and risk being marginalized by larger institutions from outside the region when it comes to high level research projects.

The new office will help to promote the collective capacity of these members and strengthen the role of northern institutions in Arctic research.

The Research Office will be officially opened during the Arctic Forum in Arkhangelsk organized by the Russian Geographical Society The Research Office will first host a small seminar the previous day with UArctic and key external partners to discuss
potential opportunities.

UArctic

August 31, 2011