Kick-off meeting of UArctic Regional Centre Continental Europe held in Versailles, France
(Left to Right) : Monika Kędra, Lelde Švinka, Jānis Karušs, Martha Cerny, Peter Cerny, Erik Tammiksaar, Lauri Laanisto, Sylvain Briens, Volker Rachold, Kees Bastleijer, Birgit Sattler, Barbora Halašková, Gunnar Stefánsson, Jan Borm
UArctic Regional Centre Continental Europe, operated by the Malaurie Institute of Arctic Research Monaco-UVSQ (MIARC), held its kick-off meeting in Versailles, at the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ).
UArctic’s Regional Centre Continental Europe, held its kick-off meeting in Versailles, at the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ), on September 24, 2026. 15 participants from 9 countries (Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland) representing 11 institutions and organizations convened.
UArctic leadership was represented online by its President Lars Kullerud, as well as Seceretary-General Outi Snellman, and, in person, by Prof. Gunnar Stefánsson, UArctic’s Vice-President Research. Several other institutions and organizations were represented online. The group met to discuss the functioning and scope of the regional center created by UArctic in cooperation with MIARC to solicit new UArctic members from continental Europe and to develop joint projects in education, research and outreach, creating stronger ties between academic and cultural institutions and organizations with an Arctic interest in continental Europe and their Arctic partners.
The group discussed questions of governance, joint project applications and the organization of an online conference cycle with a first online presentation scheduled for December 2026. The next in-person meeting will take place in Austria in September 2027.