In January 2016, a group of Arctic health scholars, health professionals, youth, elders and healers met in Dartmouth College in Hanover to attend an event titled Consensus Seminar on Community Health and Wellness. The focus of the seminar was to discuss frameworks and partnerships. The seminar was a great success and initiated an inspired dialogue about the health and wellbeing determinants in the Arctic. It was an important first step to create a solid basis for future collaboration on important social issues and inclusion of Indigenous methodologies into Arctic research.

In the coming months, the output from the seminar will be used in a research project undertaken by a group of Arctic Scholars. The research project is focused on investigating Arctic health indicators and health models both in academic publications and in grey literature to develop a new dynamic health model. A draft health model is expected to be ready by October 2016.

The aim with this application is to build on the dialogue that was started with the seminar in Dartmouth and to gather the same or a similar diverse group of people (Indigenous Peoples, senior scientists, representatives of international organisations, practitioners and media) for a second event to present the results from the research project. The objective is to discuss and develop the model together. Another focus of the workshop will be to identify potential collaboration projects that would include the people of the Arctic, highlight the Northern values and benefit the Arctic communities.

To address some of the key challenges in relation to health, infrastructure and community wellbeing in the Arctic, a working group associated with the Fulbright Arctic Initiative staged a full-day workshop on the issue in Nuuk, Greenland. Read more in the workshop report.

Applicant: The Danish Centre for Environmental Assessment

Countries: Greenland, Sweden, Canada, The United States

Project start 2016, expected to be finalized in 2017.

Copyright pictures: Yadid Levy/norden.org