The Calotte Academy 2012 will be organized in May 28 – June 4, 2012 in Inari and Rovaniemi, Finland; in Kiruna and Abisko, Sweden, and in Tromsø and Kirkenes, Norway (the exact route will be defined later).

The focus and theme of the 2012 Calotte Academy is ‘Water’,  inspired by the fact that (fresh) water is the most important resource for human beings and non-human beings alike, and a precondition for life, and health and well-being. It is also inspired by how water is in a changing state from solid (ice or snow) to liquid (water) which exposes a range of issues for Arctic futures, for resilience, adaptation, transformation – in all, human and environmental security. Furthermore, although water is a renewable natural resource, there is a scarcity of fresh water in many, if not even most, parts of the globe due to population pressures, environmental degradation and climate change(s). Finally, as a consequence of all this, water is a strategic resource causing competition and conflicts, and seen as an attractive product for commercialization by private companies.

During the 2012 Calotte Academy ‘Water’ will be discussed on one hand from global and local context in the European North, and on the other hand, holistically from many angles and disciplinary approaches.

For more information on the theme and content of the 2012 Calotte Academy please, contact with Docent Lassi Heininen, Faculty of Social Sciences at University of Lapland
e-mail: lassi.heininen@ulapland.fi
tel. +358-40-4844 215; or

Ass. Prof. Gunhild Hoogensen-Gjörv, Department of Sociology, Political Science and Community Planning at University of Tromsö
e-mail: gunhild.hoogensen.gjorv@uit.no
tel. +47-7764 4000;

or Senior Research Fellow Annika E. Nilsson, Stockholm Environmental Institute
e-mail: annika.nilsson@sei-international.org
tel. +46-8-674 73 31