Arctic Circle Forum Berlin 2024

The Arctic Circle Berlin Forum brought together governments, organizations, corporations, universities, think tanks, environmental associations, other interested parties, and Indigenous representatives to discuss the role of science, climate, policies, and Europe in the Arctic. CO-CREATE Collaborative contributors and project partners consider it important that Arctic Indigenous voices are (more) prominently centred and respected in international conferences and forums, reflecting their profound connections to the land, sea, and icescapes of the Circumpolar North. They took the opportunity to present Sharing and Caring: Arctic Indigenous Knowledges and Co-Creation at this forum.

As the Arctic faces accelerated climate change, co-equal collaborations respecting Indigenous rights are crucial for addressing scientific, policy, and decision-making challenges. Moderated by Sámi Elder and professor of social work Jan-Erik Henricksen, this session brought together Indigenous and non-Indigenous speakers from Sápmi, Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland), Nunavut, and Germany to touch upon perspectives from across the Circumpolar North and Europe: autoethnographic experiences by Kalaallit researchers working within dominant academic institutions marked by extractive research practices; a case-study on bridging academic and Indigenous knowledges that provides concrete recommendations to researchers and funders in the German research landscape; reflections on embodied learning as decolonial practice from a team of Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars from Sápmi and Germany; and the introduction of the “Mitten Model” by speakers from Nunavut that uses the process of sewing mittens as a metaphor for how Inuit guidance improves ethical and equitable research processes and the quality of research outcomes. The presentations were linked with the aim of creating more awareness in Arctic research and decision-making about different ways of knowing and being in the world.