The contact person for this press release is
Thorleifur Bjornsson, tolli [at] unak.is
Akureyri, November 30, 1999
PRESS RELEASE
Establishment of the Northern Research Forum
The Northern Research Forum was established in Reykjavik, Iceland, earlier
this month. Established in a joint effort by several institutions of the
circumpolar arctic, this new forum will serve as a foundation for dialogue
among people of the north.
As stated in a feasibility report prepared by
the University of the Arctic Circumpolar Co-ordination Office in Finland,
the forum is to
"provide a forum where research on northern and Arctic issues can be
shared and discussed in regular meetings of a wide variety of
scientist, other academics and representatives of other stakeholders."
The first meeting of the Northern Research Forum will be held 2nd to 4th of
November 2000 in Akureyri Iceland.
The idea of a Northern Research Forum was first proposed by Dr. Ólafur
Ragnar Grímsson, President of Iceland, in Rovaniemi, Finland, on the
occasion of his speech commemorating the official opening of the twentieth
academic year of the University of Lapland, in September, 1998. University
of Lapland has since then held the idea aloft under the guidance of Dr.
Lassi Heininen who is the current steering committee chair and the
principal author of the feasibility report.
The first theme of the Northern Research Forum is "North meets North."
Major sub-themes are as follows: Relevance of history to the present and
the future, Northern Economies in the global economy, Regionalism and
governance, Implementation of the northern dimension, Science and
technology application in the north. In addition to this, the steering
committee will commission papers for these sub-topics in order to set a
tone for the forum.
A small secretariat has been formed for the Northern Research Forum and it
will be in the hands of University of Akureyri and the Stefansson Arctic
Institute. It is the hope of the steering committee that financing of the
entire project will come from various sources, both national and
international. The Carnegie Corporation of New York has already generously
put forward funds for the Northern Research Forum.
The Northern Research Forum Steering Committee is made up of the following
individuals:
Andrei Golovnev
Professor at Institute of History and Archeology
Ural Branch of RAS
Russia
Thorsteinn Gunnarsson, Director
University of Akureyri
Lassi Heininen, Senior Scientist
Arctic Centre
University of Lapland
Oran Young, Professor/Director
Institute of Arctic Studies
Dartmouth College
Peter G. Johnson, Professor
Department of Geography
University of Ottawa
Further information can be obtained at University of Akureyri, Department
of International Programs and Research Affairs.
Contact: Thorleifur Bjornsson, tolli [at] unak.is.