Dear West Nordic friends,
Thank you for the invitation to this conference on Green Growth, and dialogue on the subject. It is an exciting and essential theme requiring increased focus, especially because of climate change, and the effect on the environment and living conditions in the West Nordic Region. I am very pleased to participate here today and hear more about this exciting theme.
West Nordic Council was founded 30 years ago, recognizing that our countries had a common interest in maintaining and managing the living and non-living resources using the principle of sustainability. Visionary parliamentarians from the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Iceland saw, that these resources were vital for the economy of the countries, culture and future development. Also strengthening the cultural, commercial and traffic cooperation was important, and that countries would be able to give their contribution to promoting understanding of peaceful coexistence in the world. It was well foresighted by these people, for it has never been as relevant as now, to forge even closer ties with each other. Globalization, climate change, and increased pressure and demand for the living and non-living resources requires a stronger West Nordic Region.
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Fróðskaparsetur Føroya, University of Faroe Islands along with four other universities in the region, for the creation of the West Nordic Studies. The process has taken its time, but in the West Nordic Council’s case, it was also in recognition of the need for closer collaboration and knowledge sharing that led to, that we now have the opportunity to take a master in West Nordic Studies in all four countries. Congratulations!
I would argue with, that the process was helped into the world by the West Nordic Council in 2000, by taking the initiative and recommended a project with a group of historians from Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Their task was to research the West Nordic countries common history, and held their first meeting in 2002 in Ilulissat, Greenland. When the project was at an end after many years of work and meetings, the researchers suggested the creation of a “Center for the West Nordic History and Society”. The goal of the Center was, to deal with research, teaching in higher education and the dissemination of research in issues relating to the region. In 2010, the West Nordic Council called on Faroe Islands, Greenland and Iceland governments to allocate funds from their respective budgets, in order to establish the center. The Faroese Lagting had already allocated 200,000 Danish Krona at the time, but the recommendation was rejected in its form in the Icelandic and Greenlandic parliament and was therefore not adopted. But moral support was enough from all parliamentarians in the region. That happens often in the political reality. The priorities are tough.
The researchers’ work was not in vain, because in 2012, the fruit of their work was summarized in the book: “The neighbours in the North Atlantic – Main characteristics of the West Nordic history over 1000 years” released here by the University of the Faroe Islands.
Besides a common history, there are many common interests that connect us together in the West Nordic and coastal Norway. Look at the globe from the Atlantic Ocean, we lie geographically well located, and geostrategic really good even. Here in Torshavn, we sit in “the Navel of the world”, as our renowned author, Willian Heinesen, called it. But if you are in Asia and looks at the globe from their standpoint, then you will probably describe our region as being at the end of the world. Despite the long distance from there, countries come from far away to participate in the development of the Arctic. If we are to prepare to the increasing activity, it is important to be ready to meet the globalized world, openly, but also on our own premises. To do this, it is therefore even more important that we know each other, and those who come from abroad.
Therefore, in the West Nordic Council, we welcome that students both from the region and the rest of the world can target their studies, so it can address issues relating to the West Nordic Region.
With the growing interest in the Arctic, there will be more opportunities to unleash the economic potential, but also the release of knowledge. The West Nordic Studies can help to disseminate new knowledge, both in the region and externally, targeting the big world. The potentials are enormous as the Arctic is said to contain 20 percent of the world’s resources and covers 15 percent of Earth’s surface, but only 0.04 percent of the world population. So big and yet so small a region, depending on how you perceive it. For while the world’s countries look to the Arctic, and in particular our resources, then it is necessary that we learn more about each other, and ensure that the exploitation of resources is done sustainably.
In the West Nordic Council, we currently work on the formulation of a common West Nordic strategy for the Arctic. We do this in the recognition, that together we are stronger against the challenges lurking behind the corner. The day Northwest Passage and the Northeast Passage is navigable, must we even be proactive and having established the shipping hub, which redistributes the goods to be transported around the world. Some would argue that we are competitors, which we are partly, but we will see that our micro-states are too small to cover all the issues that arise in our administrations, in our laws, in negotiations with multinational corporations willing to invest in our businesses, in health care, in education systems and in the management of our living and non – living resources. This is where the West Nordic Studies come into the picture, which has an overall focus on governance and sustainability. We are dealing with two autonomous countries in the region, and two independent countries in the NORA region, and each country is at different stages in the development of society, and with their own national laws. But if we think win-win solutions, we can be stronger in a globalized world. It requires first that we know each other’s systems, cultures and identities, and this is where education and exchange is important.
We politicians can support a development and collaboration with universities, creating a new and important knowledge and skills. We do this by ensuring that funds and resources are focused on sustainable development. And there is no doubt that there are jobs for those who will graduate as masters in West Nordic Studies. I can almost say with certainty, that all the graduates have opportunities to work with the complex issues in our region, and with sustainability as a fundamental issue. In this context, I am thinking, for example, on environmental and social impact assessments in connection with the extraction of minerals, research into the marine environment and fish stocks, and social science issues as nation-building processes, and more.
Another area that I personally know about is that public administrations exchange employees between countries in order to become better acquainted with each other’s systems, and not least to create a professional network across national borders. It’s happening right now between Iceland and the Faroe administrations. Learning through best practices in micro-society like ours, has already delivered good experience. We need to have more of those, also in public sector. I expect the students at West Nordic Studies will experience the same thing that we hear about in our administration. That it was a learning experience.
In the West Nordic Council, we have in many years worked within issues such as sustainability, culture, education, and increased cooperation in many fields. As mentioned before, we are working on a common strategy, and now the focus is on four areas that we believe can develop cooperation between the countries to a greater extent. It is within fisheries, infrastructure and transport, energy and an economic zone, with the four freedoms; the free movement of goods and services, labour and capital. There will be a need to recruit people with educational backgrounds in business, economics, law and management of living and non-living resources, and therefore the research in environment and natural resources in the High North, Governance and sustainable management, small states and societies and in polar law, is very important issues to create a greater cohesiveness between the West Nordic Region in an Arctic perspective. Research and development of new perspectives are already in demand.
In the West Nordic Council, we can already see a need for more updated analyzes and studies describing the status, and looking at development opportunities in the region. We also need to position ourselves further when it comes to research in the Arctic and in the North. With our partner, the Nordic Council, we stand together to create a focus on Green Growth in energy, technology and in the public sector, to name a few areas. This is an important strategic move by the Nordic Council, because many look up to the Nordic countries’ activities and that region is a role models when it comes to the development of green energy alternatives, and thinking. In the North, they are skilled to think in ‘added value’ for the Nordic cooperation to optimize their regions relative to the outside world. In this region, we are very pleased with the cooperation we have developed over decades with universities in the Nordic countries.
The West Nordic countries have many resources to offer. Characteristic of these countries is that they are primarily suppliers of raw materials to the world. Green growth concept, sustainability and bio-economy obliges countries to also look at how resources are increasingly processed and included in a biotechnology newly developing production, and that you look at the countries’ raw materials in a different way, than it has traditionally been done. Here is research and education also important. Iceland has with the MATIS Institute, developed a platform and institutional research, development and education, which solved tasks for – and with – public and private companies. Faroe Islands have established a bio tech institute, and is thus well on the way to look at, and use raw materials in new ways.
Iceland and the Faroe Islands have for a long time had science education at the university level, and when Greenland, which has plans to do so, have established their science education, there will be more opportunities for cooperation in this area too.
Especially in the commonwealth between the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Denmark, the two islands had the opportunity to send students in higher education for free. After West Nordic Council’s view, there is also a need for diversity in education. If all goes more or less around the same paradigm, one can also risk bypassing other paradigms and thus development. In Iceland, they have been excellent to open up educational opportunities both to USA, Europe and Scandinavia. And I can imagine, when the students returns, the diversity helps to move some existing paradigms and thus develop the systems so the system adapts to the need. Greenland has difficulty adapting its administration to a micro-community such as the Greenlandic, and as many either take an education in Greenland and Denmark alone, it can help to maintain an inappropriate system.
Personally, I have a hope that West Nordic Studies can help to adjust the systems, and especially the public administration, in order to cover the actual needs, and without compromising the quality of the education.
This development will not be initiated, if the students exclusively have backgrounds in the region. The strength of the program lies in, that it is taught in English. It will attract international students interested in the region and the Arctic, all of which will be beneficial to the program. It creates a critical mass and diversity for the benefit of the quality of the education. The fact that the program is in English, will also provide the students with linguistic skills and tools after graduation. It will be interesting to follow the development of the study, and see the evaluation when time comes.
The Arctic is a geographically large area, and the West Nordic Countries is covering a considerable part together with Norway, and Scotland in the periphery. The other countries such as Russia, Canada, USA and Scandinavia, covers the rest of the area. We are despite of a consensus on a peaceful coexistence and dependence on each other when it comes to this area, also embarked on a race. For each area wishes to be ready to take advantage of the many opportunities that arise in the aftermath of climate change, which unfortunately – we must recognize – will mean even more melting of ice caps and glaciers, rising sea water and higher temperatures following. It is a worrying development we see today, and we can only hope, that the recommendations to cut down on CO2 emissions by 2050 at the UN climate summit in Paris in the autumn will end with an agreement. However, it appears to be far off. Meanwhile, we in the West Nordic Arctic have to take our share of responsibility and take the lead, by focusing on green growth through sustainable development, and disseminate peaceful coexistence. Communicate democracy internally and externally – also through education. This is done by, that we set clear goals and that we work together.
Let’s change tomorrow by being a game changer, by changing the way something is accomplished, thought or done, and make the region stronger in order to meet future needs in a globalized world.
