Moving the Congress to the spring of 2021 allows us to organize the Assembly (the annual general meeting of UArctic members) during Congress, with the 2022 Assembly meeting taking place in Portland, Maine, USA (dates to be confirmed).

The program content of Congress is focussed on the Icelandic chairmanship priorities of the Arctic Council, and will also examine the new realities of circumpolar higher education and research in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Session organizers who were already accepted will be contacted shortly to confirm their sessions for the new dates in May. In addition to the Assembly meeting, keynotes and parallel program sessions, there will be a Rectors meeting organized for the heads of UArctic member institutions, in partnership with the Icelandic chairmanship.

The Congress will start with pre-meetings and side-events on the morning of May 15, with the Assembly meeting from the afternoon of May 15 and concluding the following day. Keynotes, parallel sessions and the program for UArctic rectors will take place May 17-18. In an effort to make the Congress program more accessible to those unable to participate in person, we will be announcing plans for how sessions can be accessed online.

While 2020 has seen considerable disruptions to many of our plans and working life, we look forward to reconnecting with you all in 2021. We are pleased that to continue our strong relationship with the Arctic Council gives us the possibility of creating an event with broad synergies for circumpolar cooperation.

Please follow the UArctic Congress portal for further updates.