Senior politicians and eminent academics from world-renowned institutes and non-government organisations will meet at the University of Aberdeen next week (June 24-27) for The Sixth Circumpolar Universities Association (CUA) Conference.
The conference, Northern Development and Sustainable Livelihoods: Towards a Critical Circumpolar Agenda, will explore the development of the Northern regions in relation to the twin challenges of protecting cultures while maintaining the livelihoods of the peoples living there.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the foundation of the CUA, which had its first conference at Lakehead University in Canada attended by more than 150 delegates from many of the world’s northern institutions.
Aberdeen University Principal, Professor C Duncan Rice, is Chairman of the CUA Steering Committee. He said that within its first decade, the CUA has seen huge political changes in the Northern Circumpolar region, opening up more possibilities for global co-operation than ever before.
“This is a considerable and exciting challenge for all of us. It is also an excellent opportunity to redefine the framework within which we operate as teaching and research institutions, to provide the education and the research that the Northern Circumpolar region requires to improve the quality of life of the people who inhabit it.
“We are proud to have been asked to host this major conference, and proud to show our delegates what the University, the City and the region have to offer to scientists and guests.”
Conference workshops will cover a wide range of circumpolar research topics including the economy, policy-making, health, wealth and lifestyles, education, the environment, language and culture, which will give academics and experts of every discipline the opportunity to discuss these and many other related issues.
Keynote speakers will be Henriette Rasmussen, Chief Technical Advisor of the Geneva International Labour Office’s Project on Indigenous and Tribal People, and Dr Peter Adams MP, member of the Canadian Parliament and distinguished academic.
The delegates will be officially welcomed to Aberdeen at a civic reception hosted by the Lord Provost at the Town House on Friday, June 25.
The CUA was established in 1989 to foster co-operation between universities and research institutes in the circumpolar region. The present membership includes institutions from Canada, Denmark, Greenland, Sweden, Norway, Japan, Iceland, Russia, China, the US and the UK. The University of Aberdeen is a recent member.
The Association is an agenda setting body that is currently involved in promoting several ventures including the University of the Arctic project, a virtual university project that will bring together main Northern institutions and focus on the educational needs of indigenous peoples of the north, their cultures and identities. It has also been closely involved via the University of Lapland with Finland’s ‘northern dimension initiative’. This will be one of Finland’s major themes when it takes over the EU Presidency on July 1, 1999. The last CUA conference was held at the University of Luleä in Northern Sweden.
Further information:
Conference organiser Frances Loughrey on (01224) 272078, or f.loughrey@admin.abdn.ac.uk
For a full conference programme, check the conference website on www.abdn.ac.uk/cua