Thematic Network on Arctic Safety and Security

The overall goal of the UArctic Thematic Network is to provide knowledge that may mitigate the risk of accidents and major threats to life, environment values and communities. The network will emphasize the responsibility of the various actors in the Arctic, and raise safety awareness among both commercial players, local communities and governments. Secondly, we will contribute to emergency preparedness competence to increase emergency response capacities. Thirdly, the network has as a goal to contribute to international cooperation among the Arctic countries on these issues. The network will relate to international organizations and forums as well as representatives of the indigenous organizations of the Arctic.

The Thematic Network will:

• Facilitate research on commercial and other activity in the Arctic region and issues related to safety and security threats.
• Stimulate collaborative, cross-disciplinary research on safety, security and emergency management and preparedness.
• Facilitate integration of the research network into national and international research programs.
• Develop cooperation on the development and implementation of educational programs both for practitioners and academics, as well as training and exercise schemes aimed at safety and soft security.
• Create meeting places for knowledge sharing and innovations between the industry, the academia and the professionals within the preparedness system of the Arctic region.
• Stimulate cooperation on search and rescue, and protection of people, environment and society.
• Engage with international forums such as the Arctic Council’s Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response (EPPR) working group and the Arctic Coast Guard Forum.
• Provide opportunities for student exchange, practitioner mobility as well as faculty mobility among network partners, in order to strengthen knowledge exchange and research collaboration.

Education

• Nord University Business School has been developing the new experienced-based master degree program in Preparedness and Emergency Management
• Nord University in Bodo, Norway has created NORDLAB- an emergency preparedness and crisis management laboratorium for training, exercises, testing and research.
• The Multidimensional Tourism Institute (sub theme Tourism safety) launched the Arctic Guide online course, which is designed for new workforce coming to Lapland to work as guides. The course focuses on strengthening the cooperation between tourism enterprises and public authorities in crisis situations as well as situational management
• At University of Copenhagen Uffe Jakobsen has developed a master level course for the spring semester 2017 on security risk management of the increasing maritime activity in the Arctic
• Kick off the ARCSAR project

Participation

• Arctic Council PAME, Helsinki Finland
• MARPART Conference, Nuuk, Greenland
• Arctic Frontier, Tromsø, Norway
• EPPR workshop on risk assessment and metadata, Ålesund, Norway
• Arctic Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) Meeting, Turku, Finland
• International On-Scene Coordinator (OSC) course, Turku, Finland
• Arctic Council’s Working Group on Emergency, Prevention, Preparedness and Response (EPPR), Malmö, Sweden
• Nordic-Russian workshop “Societal security – a discipline in the making”, Saint-Petersburg, Russia
• Organization of the ‘Arctic. Territory of Dialogue’ International Arctic Forum, Arkhangelsk, Russia

• Establishing joint master program within  crisis management, emergency prevention, preparedness and response.
• Develop an integrated Arctic Safety and Security simulator network

Odd Jarl Borch, former Lead of the UArctic Thematic Network on Arctic Safety and Security