Youth climate competition during the Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit Conference

05.03.2019

The theme of the Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit Conference on 12–13 November 2019 is climate change and the future generations. We are happy to announce that the conference will be arranged in cooperation with ICCAY – International Climate Challenge for the Arctic Youth.

The ICCAY is an initiative by a group of active young
people in Rovaniemi who are worried about the future of our planet.

– We want young people to pay more attention to climate change as we are
the future of this planet. We must make changes before our planet is destroyed and
so that our children and their children will have snowy winters as we have had
throughout our short lives. We want to be part of the deciding process and make a
difference, says Sara Hedemäki, who is a member of the
ICCAY organizing team.

In order to make a difference the
team came up with the idea of a competition where young people share their ideas to
promote ecologically sustainable development and prevent climate change. The
competition is for young people between 13–19 years of age in the Arctic region:
Finland, Sweden, Norway, Russia, Iceland, Canada, Alaska and Greenland. The
invitations will be sent in April and the ideas must be submitted to the ICCAY
before 1 August. The three-day finale will be organized in Rovaniemi on 11–13
November 2019 alongside the Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit Conference.

ICCAY youth will also take part in the Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit Conference.

– We are happy to promote the dialogue of young people,
decision makers and climate experts. This is exactly what we expect from the
Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit 2019, says Conference Director Markku
Heikkilä of the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland.

The Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland in cooperation
with the City of Rovaniemi organizes the Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit Conference.