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Launch of Website on Co-creative Arctic Research

The Dávgi research project from the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) aimed to create a basis for knowledge exchange through collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous partners. Conceptualized by the research collaborative CO-CREATE Arctic, Dávgi offered a unique opportunity to reflect on and create resources to support co-creative research relations. This work recently culminated in the launch of the website co-create-arctic.org.
“GU Gymnasium”, June 2013, Sisimiut Kalaallit Nunaat

Notions of Solidarity, Care, and Responsibility in the Storytelling of Greenlandic Youth

Young Kalaallit (Greenlandic Inuit) have written stories about their community as part of a research project focussing on memories and visions of the future in the Arctic. In an article for the specialist journal "Études Inuit Studies", project lead Anne Chahine from the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) describes the themes that emerged in these narratives and follow-up interviews with the authors. The practice of storytelling, she concludes, can be understood as a social activity that can be used to mediate conflicts, overcome rifts in society, and develop ideas for future coexistence in Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland).
In-person speakers at the Arctic Circle Forum Berlin. From left to right: Evie Morin, Aslak Holmberg, Naja Dyrendom Graugaard, Jan-Erik Henriksen, Anne S. Chahine, Nina N. Döring.

15.07.2024

Sharing and Caring: Arctic Indigenous Knowledges and Co-Creation

Facilitating Spaces that Center Indigenous Perspectives and Participation in International Arctic Conferences
To ensure that the rights of Arctic Indigenous Peoples are respected and to enhance the quality of research for all, Arctic research needs to be Indigenized.

Towards Arctic Research Upholding Indigenous Peoples’ Rights

Contemporary Arctic research frequently perpetuates colonial injustices against local Indigenous communities. A team of researchers, including scientists from the Research Institute for Sustainability – Helmholtz Centre Potsdam, have published a policy brief with recommendations aimed at upholding the rights of Indigenous Peoples and fostering the parity and complementarity of Traditional Knowledge, Indigenous Knowledge, and academic scientific knowledge. The policy brief is a contribution to the International Arctic Science Committee’s multi-year planning process for the Fourth International Conference on Arctic Research Planning.
Swaantje Güntzel, Eisbär, 2024, Photo Tobias Hübel

How Normal Is Our Reality?

Perceptions of the Arctic take centre-stage in the recent work of Hamburg-based conceptual artist Swaantje Güntzel, created during her tenure as the resident Art Fellow at the Research Institute for Sustainability - Helmholtz Centre Potsdam. Now several galleries across Germany are showcasing Güntzel’s art, including works from previous years.
NORD / Eiswürfel I, 2023

Giving the Arctic Back Its Ice

Even if the global community were to double down in its efforts to protect the climate, it would not be able to give the Arctic Ocean back its ice. But, in a symbolic act, Hamburg-based conceptual artist Swaantje Güntzel has done just that: on 18 November, at Båtsfjord in the far north of Norway, she produced ice cubes from meltwater taken from the North Pole and let them slip into the sea. This artistic intervention is part of Güntzel's year-long fellowship at the Research Institute for Sustainability - Helmholtz Centre Potsdam (RIFS).
Kalottireitti

Roadmap to Decolonial Arctic Research

More inclusive, equal and just ways in which Arctic research is conducted and research programs and funding processes are conceived, these are some of the main goals of the Roadmap to Decolonial Arctic Research. On 19 June 2023, a group of non-Indigenous and Indigenous rights holders and engaged scholars, from RIFS and several other organisations across Europe and the Arctic, presented the Roadmap to Decolonial Arctic Research to the public. The publication addresses the greatest challenges, needs and potentials of Decolonial Arctic Research over the next ten years.
reflection

13.04.2023

Building a network for sustainable research relationships

At the end of February 2023, the research project DÁVGI: Co-creation for biocultural diversity in the Arctic held the second in a series of workshops aimed at further establishing and strengthening CO-CREATE, a collective of like-minded Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers.
A wind farm in the Far North

27.01.2023

Grabbing the Land or Benefitting Communities? Renewable Hydrogen in the Norwegian Arctic

Green hydrogen (H2) is often portrayed as a key component for the green energy transition, since it is produced with renewable energy through electrolysis – the splitting up of freshwater into hydrogen and oxygen – and does not emit carbon dioxide when combusted. Not only does green hydrogen harbour huge potential for the decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors (e.g. steelmaking and production of fertilizers) as well as maritime shipping and aviation, its use as an energy storage solution makes it particularly promising for remote and sparsely populated areas with an abundance of renewable energy resources.

15.08.2022

Gwich’in fur mitten making and the need for collaboration in research

As part of her two-week stay as visiting researcher at the IASS, Dr. Charleen Fisher (University of Alaska Fairbanks) held a workshop on traditional Gwich’in fur mitten making and bead working on Friday, July 15, 2022.
Yamal, Western Siberia: Climate change threatens the livelihoods of indigenous peoples in the region.

Preparing for Uncertain Futures in the Russian Arctic

The environment in the Arctic Circle and the Yamal region of Western Siberia is changing rapidly and the outlook for the region’s social, political, economic, and environmental future is clouded in uncertainty. A new IASS Discussion Paper presents the findings of the research project “Yamal 2040: Scenarios for the Russian Arctic”, in which researchers explored different future scenarios in cooperation with local stakeholders.
A town in western Greenland: Climate change is transforming this region.

Recommendations on Polar Research Submitted to the Federal Ministry of Education and Research

Over 100 experts on the Arctic Region, including researchers from the Institute of Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam, have prepared a concept paper on “Polar Regions in Transition” for the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The paper, which presents recommendations on key areas of focus for polar research in the coming years, was presented to the public at an online launch on 19 May 2021.
A reindeer sled in Novy Urengoy, the second largest city in the Yamal region. As in other Arctic regions, the permafrost is thawing.

11.11.2019

Climate Change in the Arctic: Partnerships and Better Data Needed

Climate change in the Arctic is unfolding twice as rapidly as in other parts of the world. This poses various challenges for the sustainable development of Northern communities and companies. The European research project Blue-Action evaluates the impact of climate change in the Arctic and develops new techniques to improve forecast accuracy. As part of a case study of the Yamal region in Russia, researchers are exploring the roles, perceptions and interests of various stakeholder groups in the sustainable development of the Arctic. Elena Nikitina, head of the Center for Global Economy at IMEMO, recently visited the IASS and provided insights into the formation of adaptive governance in the Arctic.
The Arctic is particularly hard hit by the effects of climate change.

reIMAGINE Arctic Research: Relations, Ethics, and Methods

Jocelyn Joe-Strack visited Potsdam at the invitation of the Embassy of Canada in Berlin, the Alfred Wegener Institute and the IASS.

A Duty of Care: How Indigenous Knowledge Can Help the Arctic

Retreating ice, more shipping, fewer reindeer – climate change is already leaving its mark in the Arctic. How are people on the ground coping with these changes? At a recent event in Potsdam, indigenous scientist and entrepreneur Jocelyn Joe-Strack explained why numbers don’t tell the whole story and how her people in the Canadian Arctic are rebuilding their holistic relationship with nature.
Climate change is altering the Arctic faster than any other global region.

Understanding the Arctic: New Textbook on Arctic Politics

The new textbook “Internationale Politik und Governance in der Arktis” offers a vivid and detailed overview of the actors, events, and processes that have shaped the governance of the Arctic Region. The textbook was written by IASS researcher Kathrin Stephen, Sebastian Knecht from Freie Universität Berlin and Golo M. Bartsch from the European External Action Service (Brussels).

06.09.2017

Stop the blame game: Russia is waking up to climate change

During my last visit to Russia I was watching Russian TV – an awful source of propaganda and misinformation, according to many. To my surprise, one of the federal (i.e. government-controlled) channels was reporting about climate change in a primetime slot. To my further surprise, the program didn’t rehash the usual conspiracy theories about what a fraud global warming is, invented by western politicians with the goal of harming Russia. No, it was a rather good report, which explained the correlation between climate change and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events.

05.11.2015

The Arctic Circle - A Report from Reykjavik

Last week I had the opportunity to travel to Reykjavik to attend Arctic Circle 2015, a large gathering bringing together scientists, policy makers, civil society, intergovernmental organisations and industry representatives (the accompanying short film provides a snapshot of the event).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDkhMU78niQ

The gathering is the brainchild of the Icelandic president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson and aims to serve as a platform to increase participation in Arctic dialogue and strengthen the in

03.09.2015

German Involvement in the Arctic: Policy Issues and Scientific Research

When the German Foreign Office asked me in March whether I would like to become a member of the Working Group on Sustainable Arctic Development in the German Observer Delegation of the Arctic Council, of course I did not hesitate. What a splendid opportunity for an Arctic scholar to experience Arctic governance first-hand!
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