HERE - SDWG

April 2015
Inside this issue
• Road to the
Ministerial
• Update on
Important
Meetings
• 2015-2017
SDWG Work
Plan
• Updated SDWG
Project Proposal
Template
• Executive
Secretary:
Request for
Proposals
• Arctic
Indigenous
Languages
Symposium
• Circumpolar
Mental Wellness
Symposium
• EALLIN –
Executive
Summary
Launch
• Living in a
Changing
Arctic – Arctic
Council
Outreach Event
Sustainable Development
Working Group
Message from the Chair
The SDWG has had a busy
agenda since the publication of
our last Newsletter, including
holding three SDWG meetings,
participating in numerous
international conferences and
hosting two symposia – one on
the vitality of Indigenous
languages and the other on
mental wellness. At the end of
March, we convened in
beautiful Whitehorse, Canada
for our last SDWG General
Meeting under the Canadian
Chairmanship to wrap-up
projects, approve deliverables
at the working group level and
develop the SDWG Work Plan
(Work Plan details are featured
on page 3).
It has been a privilege to work
with the SDWG on the human
dimension of the Arctic, with
work continuing on the
improvement of economic and
living conditions under the U.S.
Chairmanship. With eight SDWG
deliverables being brought
forward at the Ministerial
Meeting in Iqaluit on April 24-25,
2015, we can be proud of what
we have accomplished during
the 2013-2015 Canadian
Chairmanship. While I will miss
the SDWG greatly, I am
confident that the good work
will continue under the
leadership of the United States.
I would like to thank all SDWG
members for their commitment
and contributions, especially
Doug Klassen, Executive
Secretary, whose term is also
coming to a close.
Jutta Wark
International Chair, SDWG
Photo: Arctic Council Secretariat /
Linnea Nordström
Thank you and best wishes for
the future.
- Jutta Wark
Upcoming Meetings
Date
Name
Location
Sept. 28-30,
2015
Arctic Energy Summit
Fairbanks, AK
Oct. 1-2, 2015
SDWG Meeting
Chena (Fairbanks), AK
SAO Meeting
Anchorage, AK
SDWG Meeting
Barrow, AK
SAO Meeting
Fairbanks, AK
SDWG Meeting
Unalaska, AK
Oct. 20-22,
2015
Mar. 11-12,
2016
Mar. 15-17,
2016
Sept. 29-30,
2016
• Expert Group
Updates
Oct. 4-6, 2016
SAO Meeting
Portland, ME
Feb. 7-8, 2017
SDWG Meeting
Kotzebue, AK
… and much more!
March 7-9,
2017
SAO Meeting
Juneau, AK
Page 2 of 6
April 2015 – SDWG Newsletter
Road to the Ministerial
Under the theme of human development, the SDWG finalized eight deliverables that will be presented at the Iqaluit
Ministerial Meeting.
Sharing Hope: Circumpolar
Perspectives on Promising
Practices for Promoting Mental
Wellness and Resilience
A circumpolar study that identifies
best practices that lead to positive
mental health outcomes,
including promising intervention
methods that reflect Indigenous
practices.
Integrating Traditional and Local
Knowledge
Recommendations for the
consistent and practical
integration of traditional and local
knowledge into the work of the
Arctic Council.
Circumpolar-Wide Inuit Response
to the Arctic Marine Shipping
Assessment
Expands the findings of the 2009
Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment
(AMSA) to provide a pan-Inuit
perspective on sea ice use and
shipping.
Gender Equality in the Arctic Current Realities and Future
Challenges
A report on the outcomes from a
conference that brought together
representatives from communities,
government, academia and
business to examine gender issues
in the Arctic.
Arctic Adaptation Exchange Facilitating Adaptation to Climate
Change
An online portal
(arcticadaptationexchange.com)
that promotes community
exchange and dissemination of
information to support innovative
approaches to climate change
adaptation.
Assessing, Monitoring and
Promoting Arctic Indigenous
Languages
A summary of activities from the
Arctic Indigenous Languages
initiative, which included the
development of a website
(arcticlanguages.com) and an
Indigenous Language Symposium.
EALLIN - Reindeer Herding and
Youth
Highlights the challenges and
opportunities that affect the
viability of reindeer herding as a
sustainable livelihood for future
generations.
Review of Cancer Among
Circumpolar Indigenous Peoples
A review of the patterns and
trends of cancer among Arctic
Indigenous Peoples.
Full SDWG reports will be available after April 24, 2015.
To download, please visit www.sdwg.org.
SDWG Newsletter – April 2015
Page 3 of 6
Update on Important Meetings
The SDWG had a busy
meeting schedule as work
advanced to finalize projects
and deliverables before the
end of the Canadian
Chairmanship, while also
preparing for new initiatives to
be pursued under the U.S.
Chairmanship. A debrief of
SDWG and other Arctic
Council meetings since the
previous Newsletter is provided
below.
SDWG Intersessional Call
(February 9, 2015)
The SDWG hosted an
Intersessional Call on February
9, 2014 in order to facilitate
endorsement and
acceptance of SDWG project
deliverables and proposals in
advance of the SAO Executive
and Plenary Meetings (March
2-5, 2015).
The recommendations of the
Integrating Traditional and
Local Knowledge project
received SDWG endorsement
to be forwarded to SAOs for
acceptance. The deliverables
of four SDWG projects were
also accepted by the Working
Group to be forwarded to
SAOs for decision, including
the portal of Arctic
Adaptation Exchange:
Facilitating Adaptation to
Climate Change, the final
report of Circumpolar-Wide
Inuit Response to the Arctic
Marine Shipping Assessment,
the final report and executive
summary of EALLIN – Reindeer
Herding and Youth, and the
synthesis report of Review of
Cancer Among Circumpolar
Indigenous Peoples.
SDWG General Meeting in
Whitehorse, Yukon (February
28-March 1, 2015)
The SDWG hosted a General
Meeting in Whitehorse, Yukon
on February 28-March 1, 2015
to facilitate the acceptance
of outstanding project
deliverables for consideration
by SAOs at the SAO Executive
Meeting (April 8-9) and
continue preparations for the
Chairmanship transition to the
U.S.
At the meeting, the remaining
three SDWG deliverables were
accepted at the Working
Group level to be forwarded
to SAOs for decision: the final
report of The Evidence Base
for Promoting Mental Wellness
and Resilience to Address
Suicide in Circumpolar
Communities, the project
status report of Assessing,
Monitoring and Promoting
Arctic Indigenous Languages,
and the final conference
report on Gender Equality in
the Arctic: Current Realities
and Future Challenges.
Planning continued for work
under the U.S. Chairmanship,
with the SDWG endorsing its
2015-2017 Work Plan as well as
the EALLU – Indigenous Youth,
Climate Change and Food
Culture and Arctic Energy
Summit project proposals.
SDWG CDN5 General Meeting
Whitehorse, Canada
Photo:
Arctic Council Secretariat / Linnea
Nordström
endorsed or accepted by the
SDWG on the Intersessional Call
held in early February 2015
were all successfully accepted
by the SAOs at their Plenary
Meetings held March 4-5 in
Whitehorse, Yukon.
SAO Executive and Plenary
Meetings in Whitehorse, Yukon
(March 2-5, 2015)
The SDWG project
deliverables that were
SAO Executive Meeting in
Ottawa, Ontario (April 8-9,
2015)
The SAOs held an Executive
Meeting in Ottawa, Canada on
April 8-9, where they accepted
all of the SDWG’s remaining
project deliverables that had
been brought forward at the
final SDWG General Meeting
held February 28-March 1, 2015.
Arctic Indigenous languages,
and will undertake seven new
projects in areas such as
energy security, water
resources, socio-economic
data and food security.
The details of the proposed
projects are listed in the
SDWG 2015-2017 Work Plan,
available on our website at
http://sdwg.org/aboutus/mandate-and-work-plan/.
2015-2017 SDWG Work Plan
The theme of Improving
Economic and Living
Conditions will guide SDWG
projects under the U.S.
Chairmanship.
The SDWG will continue to
advance work in the areas of
mental wellness, traditional
and local knowledge,
adaptation to climate
change, reindeer herding and
Updated SDWG Project
Proposal Template
The Integrating Traditional
and Local Knowledge
initiative resulted in seven
practical recommendations
for more consistent integration
of Traditional and Local
Knowledge (TLK) into the work
of the Arctic Council. The third
recommendation encourages
Working Groups to
“incorporate traditional and
local knowledge
considerations into Working
Group proposal templates
and/or work plans so that
every project proposal or
outline describes how it will use
TLK in the project, if
applicable.”
As the lead on this Arctic
Council-wide initiative, the
SDWG developed an updated
project proposal template that
integrates TLK considerations.
All projects proposed under the
U.S. Chairmanship will use this
updated template as a pilot,
with feedback to be sought at
the next SDWG General
Meeting.
Executive Secretary:
Request for Proposals
Doug Klassen’s term as Executive Secretary of the SDWG will end in
July 2015. The Request for Proposals (RFP) to secure the next
Executive Secretary has been posted on the Government of
Canada’s website. This RFP will be open until May 19, 2015 at 15:00
Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).
The RFP and other information, including mandatory requirements
and basis of selection, can be found here:
https://buyandsell.gc.ca/procurement-data/tender-notice/PW-1500679220
Page 4 of 6
April 2015 – SDWG Newsletter
Arctic Indigenous Languages Symposium
The Inuit Circumpolar Council
(ICC), in collaboration with
other Arctic Council
Permanent Participant
organizations, hosted the
Arctic Indigenous Languages
Assessment Symposium from
February 10-12, 2015 in
Ottawa, Canada. Building on
the SDWG’s Assessing,
Monitoring and Promoting
Arctic Indigenous Languages
initiative, the symposium
brought together over 90
participants including Arctic
Indigenous language experts,
practitioners, and policymakers for an engaging,
youth focused, collaborative
learning event.
The symposium provided a
forum for discussions on
languages assessment,
languages policies and
languages acquisition. In line
with the project’s overall
focus on the role of youth in
promoting language vitality,
the symposium included an
Indigenous youth forum
established exclusively for 1830 year old Indigenous
participants with a strong
interest in language vitality.
Finally, the symposium also
provided an important
opportunity for the group to
consider future steps based
on project results, and identify
gaps and changing priorities
for this initiative as it continues
during the U.S. Chairmanship.
Many thanks to ICC for their
leadership on this important
initiative. For more information
on the symposium, please visit
www.arcticlanguages.com.
Circumpolar Mental Wellness Symposium
As part of the The EvidenceBase for Promoting Mental
Wellness and Resilience to
Address Suicide in
Circumpolar Communities,
the SDWG hosted the Mental
Wellness Symposium on March
25-27 in Iqaluit, Nunavut,
Canada.
Duane Smith, President of ICC
Canada, delivers remarks at the
Circumpolar Mental Wellness
Symposium.
Photo: DFATD
The objective of the
symposium was to facilitate
knowledge transfer and
enable the sharing of
promising practices on mental
health promotion gathered
by teams of researchers and
communities, with a particular
emphasis on Indigenous
youth. The event brought
together researchers,
policymakers, Indigenous
communities, representatives
of Permanent Participant
organizations and Arctic
Council Member States, and
helped foster a better
understanding of mental
health methods that reflect
Indigenous practices across
the Arctic.
The engagement and
participation of youth was an
important focus of the
symposium. Over the course
of the three-day event, there
was a youth panel discussion
on community engagement,
cultural values, and the
importance of selfdetermination. In addition,
Aviaq Johnston, a young
Iqaluit writer who received the
Governor General’s History
Award in 2014, provided a
testimonial about the
challenges faced by Inuit
youth. The symposium
empowered youth to shape
solutions that value traditional
knowledge.
Many thanks to the
symposium organizers the
Government of Nunavut, the
Government of Canada and
the Inuit Circumpolar Council
for their dedication to the
project and for ensuring the
event was a huge success.
More information on the
symposium can be found at
http://cihrirsc.gc.ca/e/49018.html
EALLIN Executive Summary Launch
The EALLIN Executive
Summary was officially
launched on January 19, 2015
at a special event organized
HSR Prince Albert II of Monaco
with young reindeer herders at
the EALLIN Executive Summary
launch in Tromsø, Norway.
Photo: ICR / WRH, O. Shavrina,
2015
by the Association of World
Reindeer Herders (WRH) and
the International Centre for
Reindeer Husbandry (ICR),
together with the University of
the Arctic (UArctic), on the
margins of the Arctic Frontiers
conference in Tromsø,
Norway. His Serene Highness
Prince Albert II of Monaco,
who has been a strong
supporter and follower of the
EALLIN project since its
inception, provided remarks
and participated in a Q&A
session with circumpolar
reindeer herding youth. Many
of the youth who took the
lead on the community
consultations and report
writing for the project were
present to answer questions
and participate in discussions
on the challenges and
opportunities that affect the
viability of reindeer herding as
a sustainable livelihood.
Invited speakers included the
President of Saami Council Ms
Áile Jávo, Norwegian SAO
Else Berit Eikeland, and SDWG
Executive Secretary Doug
Klassen, with approximately 70
people in attendance.
More information on the
EALLIN Executive Summary
report and launch event can
be found at
http://reindeerherding.org/bl
og/eallin-release-event/
and at
http://reindeerherding.org/pr
ojects/eallin.
80th Anniversary of Canadian Reindeer Herding Event
In March, Canada marked its
80th anniversary of reindeer
herding with the crossing of
approximately 3,000 reindeer
along the ice road between
Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk, NWT.
Representatives from the
International Centre for
Reindeer Husbandry and
reindeer herders from Norway
and the Russian Federation
were in attendance, where
they shared their reindeer
herding experiences, food
cultures, and traditional
handicrafts. This 80th
anniversary celebration
coincided with the 58th
Annual Muskrat Jamboree
(Inuvik, March 27-April 10,
2015) which included dog
racing, skidoo races,
community feasts and other
activities.
SDWG Newsletter – April 2015
Page 5 of 6
Arctic Council Outreach Event: Living in a Changing Arctic
The Arctic Council and Yukon
College’s Northern Climate
ExChange held a public
event at Yukon College in
Whitehorse, Canada on
Tuesday March 3, entitled
“Living in a Changing Arctic”.
Opening remarks were given
by Vincent Rigby, Chair of the
Arctic Council’s Senior Arctic
Officials. Stephen Roddick of
the Climate Change
Secretariat, Government of
Yukon, Mike Young, U.S.
SDWG HoD and Alison Perrin,
Climate Change Information
Analyst , Northern Climate
ExChange gave a
presentation on the new
climate change adaptation
portal developed as a result
of the SDWG’s Arctic
Adaption Exchange:
Facilitating Adaptation to
Climate Change initiative. It
was a well attended and
engaging evening for both
Arctic Council members and
the local community.
Understanding and Measuring Human
Development in the Arctic
The Nordic Council of Ministers
has recently released two
reports focused on
understanding and measuring
human well-being and
development in the Arctic.
The Arctic Human
Development Report:
Regional Processes and
Global Linkages (AHDR-II),
provides a 10-year update on
the first Arctic Human
Development Report (2004) in
terms of assessing the state of
Arctic human development;
highlighting the major trends
and changes unfolding in the
Arctic; and identifying policy
relevant conclusions.
The Arctic Social Indicators:
ASI II: Implementation (ASI-II),
builds on the first ASI initiative
(2010), which developed a
small set of Arctic specific
social indicators that help
facilitate the tracking and
monitoring of change in
human development in the
Arctic. ASI-II takes this original
work a step further by
presenting and discussing the
ASI-I findings; conducting a
series of regional case studies
to illustrate and test the
strength and applicability of
these indicators; identifying
and describing data
challenges for the Arctic
region; and formulating policy
relevant conclusions for the
long term monitoring of Arctic
human development.
Both of these reports
contribute greatly to our
overall understanding of
human development in the
Arctic and help advance the
case for frequent collection
and reporting of key Arctic
relevant indicators.
Arctic Council and Whitehorse community
members gather for a presentation featuring the
climate change adaptation portal at Yukon
College.
Photo:
Arctic Council Secretariat / Linnea Nordström
Cover shots of AHDR II and ASI II
Photo:
Rudy Riedlsperger / Rasmus Ole
Rasmussen
The full reports, as well as additional
background information, can be
found at:
http://sdwg.org/understanding-andmeasuring-human-development-inthe-arctic/
Arctic Human Health Expert Group
The Arctic Human Health
Expert Group (AHHEG) held a
General Meeting on March
24, 2015 in Iqaluit, Canada on
the margins of the
Circumpolar Mental Wellness
Symposium. At this meeting,
AHHEG members discussed
work planning for projects
under the U.S. Chairmanship
and facilitated the Chair’s
transition. Captain Thomas
Hennessy (U.S.) will succeed
Kue Young (Canada) as a
Member State Co-Chair. The
Permanent Participant CoChair to take over for Dianne
Kinnon (ICC-Canada) has yet
to be identified.
AHHEG meets for their General
Meeting in Iqaluit, March 24, 2015.
Photo:
Jyoti Bhargava / SDWG
Social, Economic and Cultural Expert Group
The Social, Economic and
Cultural Expert Group (SECEG)
has been focusing on CoChair transition under the U.S.
Chairmanship. Anna Kerttula
(U.S.) and Liza Mack (AIA) will
take over as Co-Chairs from
Gail Fondahl (Canada) and
Grant Sullivan (GCI).
SECEG has been requested to
assist with the Arctic Ocean
Acidification project being
led by the Arctic Monitoring
and Assessment Programme
(AMAP). Specifically, SECEG is
facilitating access to experts
who have knowledge of local
communities and local use of
marine resources in order to
explore the economic and
social consequences of Arctic
Ocean acidification on
marine harvesting.
Page 6 of 6
April 2015 – SDWG Newsletter
Farewell from the Executive Secretary
Dear colleagues and friends,
Jutta Wark
International Chair
Sustainable Development
Working Group
Arctic Council
[email protected]
@SDWG_Chair
Doug Klassen
Executive Secretary
Sustainable Development
Working Group
Arctic Council
[email protected]
As I complete my term as the Executive Secretary of the
SDWG, I would like to express my appreciation for all of
the support and friendship that I have received. It has
been a pleasure to serve this Working Group and help
support our important work that improves the well-being
of circumpolar residents and Arctic communities.
I am particularly grateful to Jutta Wark, International
Chair, for her guidance and leadership that successfully
Doug Klassen
Executive Secretary, SDWG
led the SDWG along the road to the Iqaluit Ministerial
Photo: Arctic Council Secretariat /
Meeting. I would similarly like to express thanks to the
Linnea Nordström
Arctic State and Permanent Participant Heads of
Delegation for their diligence and commitment to the diverse work of the SDWG. I must also
thank and recognize the committed and enthusiastic staff of the Arctic Council Secretariat
who provided much support to the SDWG and were tireless in their efforts to assist the work of
all Arctic Council Working Groups.
I complete my stint here with many fond memories and look forward to supporting the
transition to the next Executive Secretary.
Sincerely yours,
Doug Klassen
Visit the SDWG at:
www.sdwg.org
About the SDWG
The goal of the Arctic
Council’s
Sustainable
Development
Working
Group (SDWG) is to propose
and adopt steps to be taken
by Arctic States to advance
sustainable development in
the Arctic. This includes
opportunities to protect and
enhance the environment
and the economies, culture
and health of Indigenous
Peoples
and
Arctic
communities. The guiding
tenet running throughout the
work of the SDWG is to
pursue initiatives that provide
practical knowledge and
contribute to building the
capacity
of
Indigenous
Peoples
and
Arctic
communities to respond to
the challenges and benefits
from the opportunities in the
Arctic region.
SDWG Family Photo
SDWG General Meeting
Whitehorse, Canada
Photo: Arctic Council Secretariat / Linnea Nordström