International conference on gender equality in the Arctic

An international conference on Gender Equality in the Arctic will be held in Akureyri, Iceland 30-31 October 2014. The conference will broadly focus on the living condition of women and men throughout the Circumpolar North, addressing key issues such as access to and control over resources, representation in decision-making positions, political participation, regional development, human security, and material and cultural well-being. The purpose is to promote extensive, policy-relevant dialogue on gender equality issues in terms of current realities and future challenges and in the context of climatic and environmental changes and economic and social development.

Government representatives, policy makers, academics and a wide range of other stakeholders such as from the business community, resource managers and users, community leaders and NGO representatives will come together and discuss current realities and future challenges.

Together with a comprehensive follow-up report, the conference will lay the foundation for a cooperation network of the various stakeholders researching, teaching and discussing and promoting gender equality in the Arctic.

Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson, Foreign Minister of Iceland and Tarja Halonen, former President of Finland will address the conference, along with number of experts on gender issues and the Arctic, business leaders, NGOs representatives and policy makers.

The conference is a part of Iceland's policy to raise awareness about gender equality.  The main organizers of the conference are the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Icelandic Centre for Gender Equality, the Stefansson Arctic Institute and the Icelandic Arctic Cooperation Network, with the support of the Nordic Council of Ministers, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Faroe Islands and the Arctic Council.

The conference will take place at Hof Cultural and Conference Center in the heart of Akureyri, Iceland, 30 and 31 October 2014. Further information about the conference, programme and speakers along with abstracts can be found on the conference website: www.arcticiceland.is/genderequality, contact person is Ms. Embla Eir Oddsdottir, Director of the Icelandic Arctic Cooperation Network, email: embla@arcticiceland.is, mobile: +354 864 5979.