Calotte Academy 2021

New and Emerging Trends of Arctic Governance, Geopolitics, Geoeconomics & Science

in Enontekiö, Inari, Kautokeino, Kirkenes, Neiden and Rovaniemi

15–21 November 2021

In spite, or because, of turbulent times of a global crisis, the related decline of international contacts, and uncertainties (in over-ride) due to the COVID-19 Pandemic in-person meetings are warmly welcome. Following from this, and due to an existential importance of in-person contacts, we aim to organize the Calotte Academy 2021 – with a spirit of open dialogue, that of participatory approach, and to apply the interplay between science, politics and business, and that between scientific knowledge and Indigenous one – to discuss and analyze relevant Northern and Arctic issues.

The 2021 Academy  – as a travelling symposium and with the title New and Emerging Trends of Arctic Governance, Geopolitics, Geoeconomics and Science – will to take place in 15-21 November 2021 in the European Arctic, including sessions and excursions in Rovaniemi, Enontekiö, Kautokeino, Kirkenes, Neiden and Inari (in this cronological order) in Finland, Norway and Sapmi.

The Calotte Academy is first of all to educate and supervise early-career scientists (PhD candidates, post-docs and advanced Master’s students) in interdisciplinary circumpolar Arctic studies, as well as to implement transdisciplinary diague between different stakeholders. The special mission of the 2021 Academy, funded by UArctic Networking Activities on Arctic Research and Education Project, and Barents Region Norwegian Secretariat, is to establish and develop the Academy as an international, interdisciplinary ‘School of Dialogue’ for PhD candidates, post-Docs and advanced Master’s students.

This is an invitation for early-career scientists and established researchers with different academic backgrounds to participate (based on applications), present their work and actively attend discussions in the 2021 Academy.

Due to the exceptional circumstances of the COVID-19 Pandemic we will put health security as the first priority, and follow strict (mostly national) regulations and have sessions only in Finland and Norway, with a high rate of vaccination by November. Therefore, we will secure that each participant is fully vaccinated and not infected.

Calotte Academy 2021

The theme of the 2021 Academy is inspired on the one hand, by the substantial, multidimensional and multi-theoretical discussions on perceptions, images, visions of, and discourses on, the Arctic, as well as Arctic governance and geopolitics (e.g. the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy, AEPS signed in 1991). On the other hand, by new and emerging trends of Arctic governance and geopolitics based on the IIASA analysis Arctic Policies & Strategies – Analysis, Synthesis and Trends of existing policies of the Arctic States, Indigenous peoples organizations’, Arctic Council Observer States, and AC Chairmanship programs & Ministerial declarations.

Correspondingly, there will be different sub-themes for sessions in each location like for example, the sub-theme of Inari sessions will be “Tourism & Testing” broadly understood, and that is Kautokeino will be “Saami Films & Film-making”.

All in all, the 2021 Academy will continue this discussion by testing, analyzing and debating these trends and the synthesis, as well as their interrelations and impacts to Arctic governance (e.g. environmental protection & resilience vis-a-vis economic activities), Arctic geopolitics (e.g. state sovereignty vis-à-vis internationalization), geoeconomics in the Arctic (e.g. tourism  and testing vis-a-vis reindeer hefrding), as well as Arctic research (e.g. climate research vis-a-vis traditional knowledge). A special focus will be on the related issues of the environment, climate change, bio & cultural diversity, and governance, as well as politics of them, based on AEPS, Arctic Council’s commitment to environmental protection, IPCC’s and WMO’s reports, as well as new national Arctic policies / strategies (e.g. the new Norwegian White Paper on the Arctic, the revised Arctic strategy of Finland).

Finally, all paper presenters and contributors are asked to take into consideration the COVID-19 pandemic and its exit strategies, and the post-pandemic geopolitics, as the overall international & political context.

About Calotte Academy

The Calotte Academy (CA) is an annual, international travelling symposium & interdisciplinary doctoral school, with high expertise, policy-orientation and dialogue, to discuss and analyze Northern & Arctic issues, as well as to educate and supervise early-career scientists in local, regional, pan-Arctic and global contexts in the Europan Arctic (for more information, see https://calotte-academy.com).

The Academy applies interdisciplinary methods, theoretically and holistically covering several disciplines and knowledge angles, for to analyze issues holistically, and to supervise and train early-career scientists in research and dialogue-building. It is also a forerunner of the interplay between science and politics in Arctic affairs by having policy-orientation approach from the beginning. The latest stage is to develop the Academy an international, interdisciplinary ‘School of Dialogue’ for PhD candidates, post-Docs and advanced Master’s students with a strong component of ‘transdisciplinarity’, implementing the douple interplay between science, politics and business, and that between Indigenous / traditional knowledge and scientific one.

Being organized first time in May 1991 in Inari, the Calotte Academy is one of the oldest still running international academic institutions on circumpolar northern issues, and the only with sessions located in the Arctic region (see, Summary of History of Calotte Academy). Though small, it is been successfully acting a platform / sub-forum for international research projects & conferences (e.g. GlobalArctic Project), running an interactive dialogue between stakeholders (e.g. Northern Research Forum & Open Assemblies), and being a springboard for international networks & journals and their brainstorming meetings (e.g. TN on Geopolitics and Security, Arctic Yearbook). As an open, independent and autonomous entity, the Academy is implementing synergy between different expertises and stakeholders, as well as between existing organizations and networks. As an outcome of this there is been born an ’Ecosystem’ around the Calotte Academy.

As born in Inari and acted as Inari’s special higher education component, the Academy is a perfect example of a local and regional innovation raised and developed in Lapland to implement a ‘Global-Local’ interference in the globalized Arctic. As well as, it is a workshop for early-career scientists to analyze trends and policies, and adopt the interplay between science, politics and business.

Applications & appendice

As an international network the Academy is been based on ad-hoc funding from local sponsors, international organizations (e.g. NCMs, IASC, University of the Arctic), as well as in-kind support by the co-organizers. Despite this, the Academy has been able and uses to allocate small travelling grants, based on applications, for early-career researchers (PhD candidates, post-docs and advanced Master’s students) covering travelling (within the route), accommodation and lunches during the Academy, as well as the conference material.

Registration is recommended to do by 30 September 2021 online at https://calotte-academy.com.

If interested to participate in the 2021 Calotte Academy, please send an application ASAP, including your personal information and abstract of your paper (250-350 words), to Academy’s co-coordinators (see below).

Co-organizers & contacts

In 2021 the Calotte Academy is co-organized by Saami Education Institute (SAKK), Municipality of Inari, Municipality of Enontekiö, Arctic Centre and Faculty of Social Sciences at University of Lapland, and Institute for Atmospheric and Earth Research (INAR) at University of Helsinki (in Finland); Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education (HSL), and Barents Institute at UiT The Arctic University of Norway in Kirkenes, and International Center for Reindeer Herding Husbandry (EALAT) in Kautokeino (in Norway); Luzin Institute for Economic Studies of RAS at Kola Science Center in Apatity (in Russia), in cooperation with UArctic’s international Thematic Network (TN) on Geopolitics and Security.

The 2021 Academy is funded by UArctic Networking Activities on Arctic Research and Education Project, and Barents Region Norwegian Secretariat.

For more information, please contact with Academy’s co-coordinators, PhD Candidate Gerald Zojer (e-mail: gerald.zojer@ulapland.fi), PhD Candidate Salla Kalliojärvi (e-mail: salla.kalliojarvi@ulapland.fi).