Two leading organizations have come together to address the greatest challenge facing the Arctic region: Global Warming.

Arctic Circle is the largest network of international dialogue and cooperation on the future of the Arctic.

University of the Arctic (UArctic) is a network of more than 200 universities, colleges, research institutes and other organizations concerned with education and research in and about the Arctic.

Through this unique collaboration, a new forum and incentive for scientific action program has been created.

Solutions for tackling climatic change will not come from hope alone. They will also not be found solely in future technological or current regulatory innovations. We must work together to solve the underlying causes of the ongoing transformation of our Arctic systems. We must harness all resources at our disposal.

So far, many actions relating to the changing climate have centered on measurement, information gathering and analysis. Today, however, there is a strong interest in moving towards action-based scientific programs to mitigate and/or reverse the dramatic effects of climate change in a concrete way.

Nominations are now open for the 2023 Frederik Paulsen Arctic Academic Action Awards. The call closes on April 30th.

The goal is to further the development of new ideas that could contribute materially to preventing, mitigating, adapting, and reverting the effects of climate change in the Arctic.

Nominees should propose creative ideas that are action and results-oriented and at an early stage of development. These ideas should nevertheless be grounded in academic research and scholarship, while also, where appropriate, giving due regard to the knowledge practices of Arctic residents, including Indigenous peoples. Nominations should describe an action that addresses the causes or impacts of climate change on the Arctic region. Ideas can be broad in scope, or geared toward local issues but could have results scalable to the entire Arctic region, and potentially beyond. We are looking for bright new ideas from people/groups with a demonstrable drive to see something achievable happen, and in the near future.

The call for nominations is inclusive and open to all. Nominations can come from individuals or small groups, including community groups and organizations. Both self-nominations and nominations from others on behalf of the idea are accepted. In addition to established experts, emerging and mid-career professionals are encouraged to apply with ideas.

The Award Ceremony will take place at the 2023 Arctic Circle Assembly.

The winning initiative of the prize will be chosen by the UArctic Award Council. The winning initiative will receive EUR 100,000, and the opportunity to implement the project through the UArctic network.

A reception and a dinner will be held in their honor following the presentation of the winning project at the Award Ceremony.

Their winning project aims to develop an advanced permafrost and meteorological climate change response system in order to build resilience in Arctic communities. The PermaMeteoCommunity project focuses on building a real-time response system which connects direct observations from boreholes and small-scale meteorological stations with an online platform that receives and displays all the data in near real time.

The system can be used for decision making and meaningful action by local authorities during operational evaluations and extreme weather events, and also in designing local infrastructure and overall land area planning. In addition to serving authorities, the data is highly beneficial for the students and researchers living in Svalbard. The project is currently underway in Longyearbyen at the University Centre in Svalbard, the home institution of the two winners.

Dr. Trevor Bell, University Research Professor at Memorial University in Newfoundland was the winner of the 2021 Frederik Paulsen Arctic Academic Action Award. Dr. Bell was nominated for his project SmartICE. SmartICE combines remote monitoring and traditional Indigenous knowledge to help Inuit communities to make sea-ice travel faster and more secure in increasingly unpredictable ice conditions.

The Award is linked to the name of Frederik Paulsen who for decades has been a strong promoter of Arctic and Antarctic research and cooperation. He is a patron and crucial supporter of many Arctic endeavours which have facilitated the cooperation between experts and scientists from multiple nations. Frederik Paulsen has also demonstrated strong respect for the culture and the livelihood of Indigenous peoples. His support for Arctic Circle and the UArctic is also a contribution to our success.

The Frederik Paulsen Arctic Academic Action Award will serve to promote and raise awareness of promising projects which address climate change through concrete actions and plans.