Inaugural Arctic Youth Conference: A new space for the young Arctic leaders of today

The Arctic Youth Conference (AYC) hosted by the Norwegian Chairship of the Arctic Council (2023-2025) is coming to a close in Tromsø, Norway. The three-day conference has gathered almost 300 young people from across the Arctic and beyond, as well as Arctic Council delegates from Arctic States, Permanent Participants and Working Groups.

It was the first conference of its kind and an important deliverable of the Norwegian Chairship, which includes youth as a cross-cutting priority throughout its Chairship program. Norway’s ambition was to create a space for meaningful and honest conversations, sharing stories, mutual learning from peers, and to celebrate the diversity of voices, cultures and experiences.

“We are truly impressed by the Arctic Youth Conference. When we put the ambition of hosting the first conference of this kind in our Chairship program, we knew we were aiming high. But looking back at the past three days, I can say that the conference the youth have delivered has truly exceeded all of our expectations,” says Solveig Rossebø, Norway’s Senior Arctic Official.

A conference by youth for youth

From beginning to end, the conference was planned and organized by youth for youth. Young people have planned, hosted and engaged in more than 30 plenaries, side events and workshops that focused on the five conference priorities: Youth Leadership in the Arctic, Preservation of Indigenous Culture and Identity, Young Researchers and Knowledge Holders in Arctic Science: Co-development of Knowledge, Preparedness and Resilience, and Mental Wellbeing.

To ensure that the conference remained a youth-driven initiative at its core, Norway established a Chairship Youth Committee, which over the past eight months has strategically overseen the planning and execution of the conference. The nine young people comprising the committee represented the two incoming Chairships, the Kingdom of Denmark and Sweden, the Saami Council and Council’s Indigenous Permanent Participant’s Youth Network, the Arctic Youth Network, the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS), the University of the Arctic, Nordland County Youth Council, Troms County Youth Council, and the World Reindeer Herders.

This collaborative effort has created a unique conference, as Julius Mihkal Eriksen Lindi, Project Advisor Arctic and Environmental Unit at the Saami Council and member of the Chairship Youth Committee shares: “My highlight was the panels that showed the characteristics of the youth spirit, where we were laughing on the panel, could put our shoulders down and relax, and just talk about the specific things that matter to our hearts.”

A milestone for the Arctic Council’s youth engagement

From the main stage to social spaces around town, the AYC emerged as a place that engaged young people in honest and thought-provoking discussions that promise to have lasting impacts. As Solveig Rossebø stated in her closing remarks: “Many of you have shared pieces of personal stories, stories that touch us and make us understand the uniqueness of the Arctic, the diversity of the region and the many challenges we face. While we all come from a local community, a place we feel at home, it is important to recognize that everything is interconnected. We need to work together, across regions and borders, to make our homes thriving places for the young generation and the generations that follow.”

The AYC is an important milestone in the Arctic Council’s youth engagement ambitions and as shared by Camilla Aviaja Olsen, Head of Section at Ministry of Statehood and Foreign Affairs, Greenland, representing the incoming Chairship of the Kingdom of Denmark at the closing ceremony: In shaping the priorities for their two-year term, Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Denmark, are exploring the possibilities to hosting a similar event.

A diverse program shaped by many partners

In addition to the thematic sessions and workshops, the conference featured the Nomad Indigenous Foodlab in the world’s biggest lavvo, which served both as a space for sessions and hosted a tasting of the rich culinary traditions of Indigenous communities around the world. The conference venue also hosted the art exhibition “Stories from the Arctic Contact Zone” provided by UiT – The Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø, and the photo exhibition “Cool People doing cool stuff” by APECS.

Moreover, two highlights took place on the side lines of the conference: The Arctic Council’s Sustainable Development Working Group’s Project CREATeS arranged a three-day creative digital storytelling workshop focused on the environment and mental well-being; and the Kristin Harila x AMAP Arctic Youth Expedition 2025 brought 9 youth on a skiing expedition in Finnmark/Finnmárku.

The conference was financially supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers and SpareBank Nord-Norge. In addition, BarentsUng, Global Affairs Canada, UArctic, the Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nordic Council of Ministers, and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided youth mobility funding for conference participants.