As a doctoral student focusing on knowledge-to-policy processes in the Arctic, attending ICARP IV was a unique, historical opportunity since the whole conference is itself a process of actively trying to leverage science diplomacy and state-of-the-art knowledge for the future of the Arctic.

My work in International Relations at the University of Iceland focuses on the evolution of the knowledge-to-policy processes within all 6 of the the Arctic Council‘s Working Groups specifically, and when I obtained a panel presentation I knew this would allow me to receive feedback from international experts of my field gathered in this one place. But beyond that, observing the ICARP process itself, which is another, community-led, knowledge-to-policy process, was really interesting for me to get a broader understanding of the Arctic expertise community overall, and what the current discourses around knowledge-to-policy and science diplomacy were. In that regard, the Town Hall format in particular was really interesting to witness in person, especially for me in Research Priority 4: “Arctic Research Cooperation and Diplomacy„. Moreover, many involved in the ICARP process have been/are involved in Arctic Council‘s activities as well, which allowed me to establish some fruitful connections.

Moreover, while the conference panels were interesting in themselves for me to discover fresh research and perspectives on both topics I was familiar with (within my own RPT) and things that were completely new to me, I gained the most value from the conversations on the side.

I was lucky enough to have many a challenging discussion with interesting and passionate people: from political science discussion about theoretical framework to methodological discussions with Indigenous experts; from engineers discussing practical realities of the terrain to fellow students sharing my worries; from long established professionals encouraging me to think critically to fellow Arctic residents simply complaining about the heat of Colorado. Each of these face to face interactions was an invaluable step forward, either as a professional academic, or simply as an Arctic dweller establishing circumpolar friendships. Without this UArctic grant, I could not have attended in person and would have missed out on this wealth of learning experiences.

Another benefit was that as a someone who had never attended any Arctic related event in Northern America, it was a precious to discover yet another side of Arctic expertise. I discovered new names, new databases, new research and social networks, new ideas. It was also an opportunity for me to bring something to them as well: for example, by putting forward existing European research networks which would be more than happy to broaden their view, or mentioning existing research projects or relevant researchers. In a way, this was my personal contribution to the international bridging effort which was the purpose of ICARP.

Lastly, the conference had a strong emphasis on Indigenous People and their role to play in Arctic expertise and science diplomacy, of course, but also a celebration of their varied cultures and art. I was lucky to attend several panels with impromptu performances or artists explaining the meanings behind the exposed pieces, which definitely elevated the experience of the conference. An Indigenous Pavillion was set up in the courtyard: this big space and especially the fire next to it quickly became the most welcoming space of the conference for me, with a constant flow of people quietly enjoying each others‘ presence.

Part of the YoungArctic project, financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway. YoungArctic is a collaboration between High North Center (at Nord University), UArctic, and the International Arctic Social Sciences Association (IASSA).Follow the project on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/youngarcticproject/