Our Story
Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit has been organized in Rovaniemi every two years since 2013 and is the only regular international Arctic conference in Finland. The conference is organized by the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland and the City of Rovaniemi.
About Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit and the Rovaniemi process
The first conferences went under the name “In the Spirit of the Rovaniemi Process” to honor the visions that in the late 80’s and early 90’s started the official Arctic cooperation between Arctic states. The current name “Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit” underlines that these conferences are not looking to the past but they are building for the future while remembering the original Arctic spirit of Rovaniemi.
The biennial Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit conference series gathers policymakers, representatives of academia and other stakeholders for Arctic discussions in Rovaniemi, the birthplace of official Arctic cooperation.
The “Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit” conference, initiated by the city of Rovaniemi and the University of Lapland, reminds that Rovaniemi has a strong tradition in hosting major Arctic initiatives and events. The strength of Rovaniemi lies in the geographical location of the city at the Arctic Circle coupled with a well-functioning academic Arctic infrastructure.
During the years, the Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit conferences series has developed into Finland’s foremost Arctic event. The ambition has been to grow in quality and relevance, not in size, to offer meaningful Arctic discussions and meetings and thus spread the real Arctic Spirit of Rovaniemi.
Previous Conferences
This was the first time the Conference took place in May. With the theme “Elements of Arctic Security”, the conference offered a broad perspective on resilience, preparedness, and cooperation in the region. High-level discussions explored Arctic transportation, infrastructure, and regional security from both civil and military viewpoints. Sessions also focused on climate and environmental change and Arctic Council updates from outgoing and incoming chairs Norway and the Kingdom of Denmark.
Theme of the conference was “Towards New Horizons”. The changes in Arctic and Barents cooperation, due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, were high on the agenda especially on the first day of the Conference. Topics such as hybrid security and community engagement were explored while also addressing the changed security landscape in the European Arctic. The Finnish presidency in the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (2021-2023) was a key partner of the Conference.
The theme of the 2019 Conference was “Climate Change and the Future Generations”. In particular, the theme was examined from the perspective of young people and future generations living in the Arctic. The organizers were particularly pleased with the large number of young participants. The conference also celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland.
The Conference got a new name: Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit. The theme of the 2017 Conference was “The UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Arctic” by bringing to discussion how to implement the goals to the context of Arctic science, policy and economy. The Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit was the first large scale public Arctic event during the Finnish chairmanship of the Arctic Council (2017–2019) and the Conference was the official event of Finland 100 centenary program.
The theme of the second Conference was “Local and Global Arctic”. With the theme, the Conference addressed the interaction of the global, regional and local levels in the Arctic, such as the impacts of global processes on local communities in the Arctic. The Conference gathered scientist from different disciplines and the topics varied from geopolitics to natural resources and design.
The Conference was organized for the first time in 2013. The name of the Conference was “In the Spirit of the Rovaniemi Process” with an idea to continue the tradition of Rovaniemi as a host to Arctic conferences and cooperation. The theme was “Arctic Cities, Global Processes and Local Realities” and the program was science-oriented. Main organizers of the conference from the beginning have been the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland and the City of Rovaniemi.