Session 1: Arctic Security

 

The Arctic was for decades a region of low activity and a matter which could bring together Russia and the West for a dialogue despite of rising tensions on a more general level. However, as the region has regained renewed focus lately you can ask yourself whether it has rather become the battleground of a new cold war?

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Russia has spent billions on reopening military bases around the region. China has introduced themselves as a “near-arctic-state” being a legitimate actor and influencer in the region. And the US has responded by increasing their military and politically focus on the area. As US Secretary Mike Pompeo responded on a question on the Arctic in July, US was “late to the party” but they’ve “been late to parties before and had a great time”. At this panel we discuss: Are the Nordics caught in the center of a new cold war? Have we realized the seriousness of the situation? What is our role to play?

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Moderator: Jonas Bredal Juul
Panelists:
* Dr. Rasmus Gjedssø Bertelsen (Professor of Northern Studies, Barents Chair in Politics, University of the Arctic, Norway)
* Dr Lassi Heininen (Professor of Arctic Politics at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lapland, Finland)
* Dr. Barbora Padrtova (Assistant professor, Masaryk University, Faculty of Social Studies Department of International Relations and European Studies, Czechia)
* Dr Christer Pursiainen (Professor of Societal Safety and Environment at the Department of Engineering and Safety, Faculty of Science and Technology, Arctic University of Norway (UiT), Norway)
* Dr. Andreas Østhagen (Senior Research Fellow, Fridtjof Nansens Institute, Norway & Senior Fellow, The Arctic Institute, USA)

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Session 2: The Future of the EU - Nordic perspective

 

Three days after Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the EU speech at the European Parliament, three young Nordic experts took the stage to discuss the future outlooks for the European Union from a Nordic perspective.

 

Iiris Asunmaa (Finland), president of Eurooppanuoret (JEF Finland), Hanna Waerland-Fager (Sweden), official EU Youth Representative of Sweden, and Jakob Kjeldsen Wind (Denmark), Vice President of European Youth Copenhagen, explored key take-aways both from von der Leyen’s State of the EU speech as well as from the broad youth base they both represent from their respective countries. What is the future of the EU from the perspective of Nordic youth? The discussion was moderated by Sakke Teerikoski (Finland), former president of the Swedish Association of International Affairs and member of the think tank Global Utmaning (Global Challenge).

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Session 3: Keynote

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This year’s conference keynote was delivered by Nicholas Kujala (Finland), president of the Nordic Youth Council, addressing all Nordic youth who are interested in foreign affairs and international politics.

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Session 4: Nordic-Baltic Youth in Climate Politics

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Previous year’s much appreciated climate panel made a return at the convention. In 2020, we put more emphasis on the role of youth in climate politics. We also broadened the perspective to not only include the Nordics, but the Baltics as well! The panell highlighted the role of Nordic and Baltic youth in climate politics, both on a local and global scene, from grassroot youth activism to international climate conferences. We were honoured to be joined by Sofie Winge-Petersen from the Danish Climate Youth Council (Ungeklimarådet), Kristiāna Plāte - Latvian UN Youth Representative to the COP25 climate conference in Madrid, Fredrika Andersson - Swedish UN Youth Representative to the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow and Lotta Närhi, former program manager of the Go Fossil Free! campaign at the University of Helsinki. The panel was moderated by Liudas Mikal, Climate Reality Leader at the Climate Reality Leadership Corps and member of Global Shapers Stockholm.