NORTHERN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FORUM
Yakutsk, Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russia
September 24-28, 2019
INFORMATION LETTER # 1
Sustainable development is a major challenge of our age. In 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, the concept of global development named “sustainable development”, derived from the Brundtland Report, was officially acknowledged; it can be classified as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations”. In 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals and which implementation should involve not only governments but also transnational companies, charity foundations, community, NGOs and academia worldwide. Essentially, sustainable development implies equilibrium between the economic, environmental and social fields of human activity.
In 1991, the Governor of the State of Alaska Walter J. Hickel initiated the establishment of the international non-government organization of Northern regions’ governors “The Northern Forum”, whose mission is to improve the quality of life and support sustainable development in the cold-climate regions. Until now, the Northern Forum has been the only international organization of the North and the Arctic aimed to maintain interregional cooperation throughout the circumpolar Arctic and establish the “North-South” dialogue, primarily with the countries of the Asia-Pacific.
Over its history of almost 30 years, the Northern Forum has implemented numerous projects working for the socio-economic development of the regions and organized hundreds of events. The organization’s General Assembly is held biannually, where the general issues of the regions and business partners’ collaboration are addressed in addition to the organizational ones. Lately, the practice of holding the Northern Forum Governors’ Summit to identify the priority areas of cooperation for the short-term has been introduced. 10 working groups have been set up to launch project activities in the areas of cooperation.
The Northern Forum is a pro-active participant of the large-scale international platforms established in Iceland, Norway, Finland, and the Russian North-West, where the full range of the Arctic development issues is addressed. At the same time, the regional concerns of the northern territories adjacent to the Arctic zone and having all the markings of cold regions are under-covered. The discussion of the Arctic’s North-East sustainable development issues is also quite shallow, which makes it impossible to properly assess the significance and contribution of such a vast territory to the sustainable development of the North in the global context, taking into account that most of the permafrost is located here and all climate changes occurring in this micro-region have global impact.
At this end, as well as taking into account the need for joining efforts in achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the autonomous non-profit organization “The University of the Arctic in Russia” and the Northern Forum’s Working Group on Regional Adaptation to Climate Change have initiated the establishment of The Northern Sustainable Development Forum – a permanent international expert platform in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) under the auspices of the Northern Forum.
In the future, this Forum will become annual and seeks to become one of the world’s leading platforms for discussing the issues and prospects of sustainable development of the Arctic and the North and implementing relevant projects on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development throughout the circumpolar Arctic.
The format of the Forum
- plenary session,
- themed sessions, round tables,
- activities of the Northern Forum working groups,
- activities of international and other organizations,
- В2Вof the experts with the industrial and other companies as well as the representatives of regional administrations.
- Lectures, foresight sessions, master classes, field works are possible.
Sightseeing will be offered to the participants.
Proposals to the Forum’s agenda
If you wish to arrange an event frameworked by the Forum (a session, a panel discussion, a round table, a lecture, your organization’s event), apply at www.nsdf.ru
Application deadline: April 30, 2019
The event’s initiator (FORUM’S PARTNER) determines its format, conditions of participation, moderators and shapes its agenda and list of participants.
Registration
To attend the Forum, register at www.nsdf.ru
The registration fee is USD 100 and is paid via the Forum’s website at registration.
For early bird registration (before July 1, 2019), the registration fee is USD 75.
After this date, the full registration fee is paid.
The registration fee for students and post-graduate students is USD 15.
ATTENTION OF THE FORUM’S PARTNERS: Please contact the Forum’s Secretariat to discuss the partnership conditions and participants registration.
When registering, remember to select the events and format of participation (moderator, participant – with a presentation, without presentation). It is also required to attach a 4×5 cm color photo in high resolution (white background, JPEG) for a badge.
Registration deadline for foreign citizens: August 1, 2019
Registration deadline for Russian citizens: September 1, 2019
Issuing invitations for foreign participants
Participants from the countries with which the Russian Federation has a visa regime should attach the scans of their passports at registration to get the official invitations from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
Working languages, translation and interpreting
The Forum’s working languages are English and Russian. Depending on the number of the simultaneous events and availability of the equipment, simultaneous and consecutive translation is provided.
On the Forum’s website, you can order your paper’s or presentation’s translation from Russian into English and from English into Russian.
ATTENTION– The service is chargeable! The charge can be asked for at the Forum’s Translating and Interpreting Service.
Translation submission deadline: September 1, 2019
Presentations
Applications for presentations at the plenary and its sessions are selected by the Forum’s Program Committee.
The presentations for the events frameworked by the Forum are selected by their moderators.
If you have applied for making a presentation at the Forum, please make sure to submit the text and the presentation to Forum’s Translating and Interpreting Service.
Deadline for submission of texts and presentations to the Forum’s Translating and Interpreting Service: September 1, 2019
Organizing events within the framework of the Forum
If you have applied for organizing the event, make sure to submit the following information to the Forum’s Secretariat:
- Goals and objectives of the event
- Agenda
- Number and list of participants
- Handouts
- Venue requirements
- Funding sources
Moderators are responsible for organizing the event and coordinate all their activities with the Forum’s Secretariat. Shall the event be canceled, the Secretariat must be notified on August 1, 2019, at the latest.
Mass media accreditation
To work at the Forum, all mass media must obtain accreditation.
Foreign mass media must have accreditation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
The Rules of Accreditation and Stay of Correspondents of Foreign Mass Media on the Territory of the Russian Federation are available at:
Initiators of the Forum
- The autonomous non-profit organization “The University of the Arctic in Russia”
- The Northern Forum’s Working Group on Regional Adaptation to Climate Change
Co-organizers
- The government of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia);
- Northern Forum Secretariat;
- K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University:
- Department of International Studies, Institute of Modern Languages and Regional Studies;
- International UNESCO Chair “Social and Human Adaptation of the Arctic Regions to Climate Change”;
- Department of International Relations
- Northern Forum Working Group on Environment and Conservation of Biodiversity;
- Northern Forum Working Group on Assessment of Quality of Life in the Arctic Regions;
Key contacts
Secretariat: secretariat@nsdf.ru
Registration and Accreditation Service: accreditation@nsdf.ru
Translating and Interpreting Service: translation@nsdf.ru
Web: http://nsdf.ru
https://www.facebook.com/nsdf.ru
Draft-27.02.2019
NORTHERN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FORUM
Yakutsk, Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russia
September 24-28, 2019
AGENDA
September23, Monday
Arrival, accommodation, registration
September 24, Tuesday
Opening of the Forum
Plenary session:
Session 1 Environmental issues and climate change in the Arctic
Session 2 Population in the Arctic: social and cultural dimension
Session 3 Socio-economic development of the Northern and Arctic regions
Session 4 Arctic and Asia: opportunities for international cooperation
September 25,Wednesday
- 8thMeeting of the Russia-China Cooperation in the Arctic Working Group (co-organized by the Ocean University of China (Qingdao) and Saint-Petersburg State University);
- Roundtable discussion “Safe investments in the Arctic” (co-organized by the Russian International Affairs Council, Moscow);
- Roundtable discussion “Scientific knowledge and technologies transfer in the history of natural resources development of the Arctic and the North: Russian and international experience” (co-organized by Surgut State Pedagogical University (Khanty-MansyiskАО);
- Conference “Indigenous peoples of the Russian Federation: problems, priorities and prospects of development in the transforming society” (dedicated to the 100thanniversary of Feodosy Donskoy (co-organized by the Institute of Humanities and Indigenous Peoples of the North SD RAS)
September 26, Thursday
- Roundtable discussion “North-East Siberia and Arctic Region: economy, politics, culture” (co-organized by Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (Seoul, South Korea);
- Roundtable discussion “Sustainable development of the Arctic regions and cities” (co-organized by the Arctic Development Project Office, Moscow);
- Roundtable discussion “Ecotourism and protected areas” (co-organized by the Linking Tourism & Conservation, Norway). See Agenda (updated September 18,2019): Tourism and PA, 18.9. Draft
- Roundtable discussion “Human adaptation in the Arctic” (co-organized by the Arctic Research Center (Yamal-NenetsАО).
- Conference “Arctic Vector” (co-organized by the Ministry for Arctic Development and Northern Peoples Affairs of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia)
September 27, Friday
Sessions of the Northern Forum Working Groups
- Regional Adaptation to Climate Change (Chair – Vladimir Vasiliev)
- Assessment of Quality of Life in the Arctic Regions (Chair – Valentina Kondratieva)
- Environment and Conservation of Biodiversity (Chair – Sakhamin Afanasiev).
NF Working Groups’ events (1 to 3 days).
September 28, Saturday
Cultural events and sightseeing
