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  A book of selected scientific articles  of the fourth NRF, The Borderless North, was published in the summer of 2008 and will be distributed at the fifth NRF in Anchorage, Alaska. The proceedings were published on this website in November 2007.

The Fourth Open Assembly of the Northern Research Forum, "The Borderless North", which took place in Oulu and Tornio in Finland, and Haparanda and Luleå in Sweden in October 2006, had a wide range of northern stakeholders, including community leaders, regional and national policymakers, heads of state, civil society activists, business people, memebers of the research community and university students. Based on the main theme "Tech-knowledgy in Economies and Cultures", a wide spectrum of relevant subject matter was covered during the sessions in dynamic discussions and dialogues among the participants. These discussions focused on cross-cutting themes, interdisciplinarity, policy-oriented discourses and analytical dialogues and thereby, confirmed a number of exisiting ideas and procedures as well creating innovative approaches and concepts.

One of the outcomes of this NRF meeting is this publication, which consists of 25 articles based on the background papers and presentations of the meeting. Its content is organized under the following themes, which were broadly discussed in the meeting: "Tech-knowledgy and its Application", "Boorders, Barriers and Borderlands", "Legal Challenges in the Northe" and "Gender, Citizenship and Human Security".
 
                                                                     (text from back cover of the book)

Calotte Academy 2008
 The Calotte Academy 2008, Climate Change Defining Human Security, will be held in Inari, Finland, Kirkenes, Norway and Murmansk, Russia, May 22-26, 2008. See first announcemet and program.

North Calotte Academy 2007
The Calotte Academy 2007 is a travelling symposium with a series of sessions and panels to be held in Finland, Norway and Russia. The main theme of the Calotte Academy this year will be “New Northern Dimension”. It will take place on 14 - 15 of June in Inari, Finland, on 15-16 of June in Kirkenes/Svanhovd, Norway, and on 17-18 of June in Murmansk, Russia. See final programme. (30 May 2007

Calotte Academy 2006
 Here you find a Call for Participation in Calotte Academy 2006, taking place in Inari, Finland and Kirkenes, Norway, May 19-22, 2006. Get registration form as pdf or Word document. Final programme.

Town Hall Meeting
Findings and Issues Raised by ACIA and AHDR, Anchorage, February 8, 2006. See more

The 4th NRF Open Meeting: The Borderless North
The fourth NRF Open Meeting will take place on October 5-8, 2006 in the Bothnian Arc of the Baltic Sea in North Europe, i.e. in Oulu and Tornio in Finland, and Haparanda and Luleå in Sweden. See more (1 October 2005)

The NRF SC chairman on "The Paula Gordon Show: Conversation with People at the Leading Edge"
Concerned with the Northern Research Forum activity, an interview conducted in Atlanta, USA with the Chairman of the NRF Steering Committee, Lassi Heininen, will be broadcast on The Paula Gordon Show on Saturday April 9th, 2005. The interview will also appear on the Internet on April 16th.

The Show: http://www.paulagordon.com  and 50Kwatt WGUN/AM1010 in Atlanta "CNN LookOut with Paula Gordon" -- CNN/Radio - USA & International "Perspectives" for CNN at  http://www.CNN.com  -- click on CNN/Radio ___ Paula Gordon & Bill Russell "The Paula Gordon Show: Conversations with People at the Leading Edge"(sm)

The Northern Economy Workshop was held in Oulu, Finland, in May 2005. The primary objective of the workshop was to strengthen the economic study of the Circumpolar North through networking among economists working throughout the north. The workshops recognized that economists have something to say but are underrepresented in the discussion of the north. Here you find Joan Nymand Larsen's and Lee Huskey's report on the workshop.

The Challenges for a Northern Dimension Foreign Policy in International Relations. March 3-5th, 2005, Atlanta Georgia  (Download program)

This conference addresses the timely issue of Canada’s northern foreign policy in context of:

  1. Its place within a more general international movement to construct a ‘northern dimension’ among North American and European countries, as well as Russia; and

  2. The potential impact of an emerging consensus about, and approach to, ‘circumpolar north’ issues including environment, governance, traditional culture, sustainable development and ‘north-south’ relations among, and within, ‘Arctic’ nations.

Our hope is that these meetings will have the effect of merging the notion of the ‘northern dimension’ as a political and foreign policy construct with a better understanding of the circumpolar region as a homeland for unique cultural identities. The latter is critical in understanding the importance of sustainable development to region-building initiatives in the circumpolar north in general, and in Canada in particular. It is this emphasis which makes this conference unique, and sets it apart from other “northern” symposiums recently organized within Canada and the US.

In addressing the overall themes, there are essentially four issues which this conference will address:

  1. The “Northern Dimension” in Multilateral Context: Identifying Policy-Orientation, Potential and Policy Gaps

  2. New Definitions of “North-South Relations”: Incorporating the Arctic into Global Structures of Governance and Cooperation

  3. Cultural Identities and Northern Dimensions

  4. Canada, the US and the North: An Evolving Relationship

Each of these addresses aspects of the main themes identified at the outset of this funding proposal, and each of these topics will be the subject of a panel discussion. There will be four formal panels, followed by open discussion. There will also be a fifth, concluding session, in which conference organizers will summarize the main points of discussion and solicit concluding debate in an open panel forum.

Please note that in addition to the conference panels described below, we intend to develop a parallel cultural program.  In consultation with the Canadian Consulate General in Atlanta, we plan to organize a series of cultural events for conference participants—including art, film and literature exhibits to incorporate the voice of a broad spectrum of indigenous peoples, organizations and NGOs. The latter is crucial in understanding the importance of sustainable development as a goal for region-building.

Overall, we anticipate the following outcomes from these meetings:

  • They will serve to initiate dialogue concerning new approaches to circumpolar regionalism in the Southern USA, in a region which has not been particularly engaged with recent multilateral approaches to northern foreign policy.
  • The broad-based and consultative dimensions of discussion in each panel session should help to develop points of connection between Canadian foreign policy, its grounding in a broader arena of multinational cooperation, and its relevancy for US decision-makers.

Further information is available at THIS website.
 

The First Host Planning Committee Meeting in preparation for the 4th NRF Open Meeting in 2006
The first Host Planning Committee meeting of the 4th Open Meeting of The Northern Research Forum was held in Oulu, Finland, December 1st 2004. During the meeting, the composition of the Host Planning Committee was approved and is as follows:

Governor Per-Ola Eriksson, Provincial Government of Norrbotten
Chairman of the NRF Steering Committee, Lassi Heininen, University of Lapland
Director Kari Laine, Thule Institute, University of Oulu
Rector Lauri Lajunen, University of Oulu
Director Pentti Lampinen, Council of Oulu Region
Director Esko Lotvonen, Regional Council of Lapland
Mayor Kari Nenonen, City Administration of Oulu
Ingegerd Palmér, President of Luleå University of Technology
Governor Hannele Pokka, State Provincial Office of Lapland
Mayor Karl Petersen, City Administration of Luleå
Mayor Raimo Ronkainen, City of Tornio
Rector Esko Riepula, University of Lapland
Governor Eino Siuruainen, Provincial Government of Oulu

Governor Eino Siuruainen was elected as a Chairman of the Host Planning Committee and Governor Per-Ola Eriksson was elected as a Vice-chairman of the Host Planning Committee

The following have agreed to be the he hosts of the 4th NRF Open Meeting: City Administration of Luleå, City Administration of Oulu, Council of Oulu Region, Luleå University of Technology, Provincia Bothiensis, Provincial Government of Lapland, Provincial Government of Norrbotten, Provincial Government of Oulu, Regional Council of Lapland, University of Lapland and University of Oulu.
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 Northern Dimensions - Expanding Circumpolar Cooperation
 See here a report on a Symposium that was held in Brussels on June 3-4, 2004, and hosted jointly by the Northern Research Forum, the Canadian Embassy in Finland and the Canadian Mission to the EU
 

NRF Secretariat, Borgir, Norðurslóð, IS-600 Akureyri, Iceland