Discovering the Arctic is the name of a web learning facility developed and recently launched by the Royal Geographical Society. It is aimed at the secondary school level (14-16 year olds) in the United Kingdom. According to the Royal Geographical Society, it is intended to be a resource to be dipped into depending on specific curriculum needs and priorities.
The Discovering the Arctic website seems biased toward what, according to a widespread view, constitutes the quintessential Arctic, viz. the high North of Greenland and Canada, and thus gives preference to the Inuit whereas peoples and places of Arctic Russian Federation get comparatively less coverage.

While tending to over-expose the Inuit, at the same time the information rendered about Inuit is rather superficial and sometimes incorrect. For instance, the website makes no attempt to correct the common misunderstanding that Inuit is a noun in the singular that becomes Inuits in the plural, whereas Inuit is in fact plural of the singular Inuk. 

Bearing in mind that the main target group is non-Arctic secondary school children and that, consequently, the knowledge presented should not be too specialised or complex, even so, or even more so, the Royal Geographical Society's learning facility should correct rather than reproduce common misrepresentations of this sort. Hopefully, it will do so in its future versions. Otherwise, this resource appears well conceived pedagogically and deserves the chance to evolve, perhaps by incorporating in its updated versions mechanisms that allow interactive feedback from advancing pupils or from expert circumpolar youth. Such feedback could help the website improve itself and eventually become truly state of the Arctic.

The Riddu Riddu Festival presents an Indigenous performance in the lavvu (traditional Saami tent) that has been set up on the North Atlantic Quay starring Inger Biret Gaup and Kristian Mølgaard.

Experience a magnificent performance combining Joik, the traditional chanting song of the Sami people, and mask dancing from Greenland. The performance exposes two genuine indigenous expressions and is a unique meeting between two indigenous people of the North.

Inger Biret Gaup and Kristian Mølgaard will perform on:

MONDAY 14th of december at 4 pm

TUESDAY 15th of december at 4 pm

WEDNESDAY 16th of december at 12:15 pm

By Patricia Cochran and Taito Nakalevu Three years ago, when a tsunami washed away the lives and livelihoods of people in South-east Asia, the rest of the world acted with commendable compassion. Tents, blankets and food were sent, reconstruction teams poured in, and people around the world sent millions of dollars to help. Now another devastating wave is threatening the lives and livelihoods of people globally - from the fringes of the Arctic to the Caribbean and the scattered islands of the South Pacific. This wave of global warming also brings devastation in its path, but it is moving so slowly that some people fail to recognize its destructive power. Arctic regions and small islands around the world are being hit hardest. No other region of the world is warming as fast or as much as the Arctic. Earlier this year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change noted that Arctic ecosystems and habitats are vulnerable due to the speed and extent of change. The peoples of the Arctic who rely on the natural environment are vulnerable also. The IPCC says

Traditional ways of life are being threatened and substantial investments are needed to adapt or re-locate physical structures and communities.

Melting of previously frozen ground is causing havoc in some Arctic communities as roads, buildings, and pipelines sag and warp with the sudden thaw. New insect pests and diminishing ice are affecting entire populations of wildlife on which Arctic peoples rely. Seasoned hunters traveling traditional routes have been lost due to changes in ice and water that the hunters can no longer predict. The small islands of the world are also particularly vulnerable to the effects of change, as their finite land mass severely restricts their adaptation options. Projected changes in rainfall can bring extremes of drought and flood. The recent IPCC reports say extreme weather events are likely to become more frequent and severe as a result of climate change, causing damage and destruction to islands. Increasing sea surface temperatures will result in coral bleaching, destroying the reefs that now provide protection for many islands, and breeding places for the fish that feed many islanders. The most low-lying of the islands also have to deal with the threat of rising sea levels, projected to rise by about a metre this century. The island state of Tuvalu has already appealed to both Australia and New Zealand to take in its citizens. Given the similar levels of impact, peoples of the Arctic are working together with people in the small islands of the South Pacific, Caribbean and elsewhere to cooperate on ensuring that the moral imperative of taking action on climate change is heard. At the present meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on climate change, this coalition – called Many Strong Voices – is asking for three things. First, we are asking countries to aim for a global agreement that keeps temperature increases as far below two degrees Celsius as possible. This will mean large reductions in the emission of greenhouse gases. The IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report clearly indicates that even if temperatures are kept below this level, vulnerable regions and countries, including the Arctic and Small Island Developing States will be severely affected by the inevitable impacts of climate change caused by past emissions. Second, we ask countries to be open to learning from the experiences of indigenous peoples and islanders on adaptation and to assist these communities in building upon their traditional knowledge in this area. Countries involved in the negotiations also need to appreciate that there are limitations to our capacity to adapt in the context of runaway climate change. Third, we are asking the world’s richest countries to help the vulnerable countries to adapt to change by providing an adequate financial and technical assistance. For the Small Island Developing States and other particularly vulnerable developing countries, this means living up to existing commitments and properly funding adaptation to the impacts of climate change. Arctic peoples need a commitment from their own countries to fund local adaptation efforts in the Arctic regions. Our peoples are not asking for your tents, your blankets, your reconstruction teams – but if the influential countries of the world do not avert disaster now, we may well need all of those things later. What we ask for is your help to deal with this entirely avoidable disaster. At this next meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom have the power to prevent this wave of devastation. We call on you to use that power. Patricia Cochran is the International Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council. Taito Nakalevu is the Climate Change Adaptation Officer for the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme.

Indigenous Peoples' Secretariat in collaboration with Elonmerkki and the Saami Council are proud to announce that the documentary "Last Yoik in Saami Forests?" now is available on DVD and for download. The DVDs will be distributed to interested Universities in the Arctic Region and/or with a special interest in Arctic Indigenous Issues. To get a copy for use at your University, contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , and specify the format (NTSC for North America, PAL for Europe/Russia). For individual requests for a copy of the DVD we ask you to contact the producer at www.elonmerkki.net. If you just want to see it online, and maybe download a compressed copy of it for your iPod, continue reading... [googlevideo]89418168905535551[/googlevideo] Download as mp4 (iPod Format). Download A3 Poster.

by Clive Tesar An influential audience of Arctic diplomats, Indigenous Leaders, and NGOs was treated to a viewing of the new Saami film “Last Yoik in Saami Forests?”. The film was screened at a meeting of the Arctic Council in Narvik, Norway, in Saami traditional territory. It chronicles clashes between Saami reindeer herders, determined to preserve their traditional economy and culture, and the forestry company that threatens them. The activities of the Finnish state forestry company in the Inari region of Finland have reached the point where centuries-old Saami reindeer herding activities are at the point of collapse. The logging company operating in the region, supported by the Finnish government, has been cutting down old growth forests that provide critical habitat and forage for reindeer. This is despite an ongoing process to settle Saami land rights in the region. Local Saami have become so concerned with the situation that they set up a camp, together with some NGOs, to try to put an end to the unsustainable logging. This has resulted in threats and harassment of reindeer herders by forestry company employees, and some other people in the area. Some of this harassment is shown in the film. Negotiations between the reindeer herders and the forestry company have failed, Pauliina Feodoroff, President of the Saami Council says it is time for the Finnish government to step in.

“Saami Council appeals to the new Government of Finland to redeem its promises to the Saami People, and to the international community, to take responsibility and solve the forestry conflicts. Saami Council demands that the logging must be immediately terminated and that ceased negotiations are restarted.”