The 6th NRF Open Assembly was held in Hveragerði, Iceland 3rd - 6th September 2011. The objective was to address the impact of dwindling ice – terrestrial, the Arctic, the Himalayans and Antarctica as well as ocean bound - on the complex interface of nature and society in all climatic zones of the world.

The proceedings from the Open Assembly inlcude papers written by Panelists, Young Researchers, Position Papers authors and other contributors. Furthermore, special rapporteur presentations were prepared by the Young Researchers from each session and discussion group of the Open Assembly.

The titles of the opening and plenary sessions were the following: Opening session part I - opening words and statements; Opening session part II - Implications of the ice melt: A global overview; Humanity, communities, minds, perceptions and knowledge on ice; International law, "soft laws" and governance on ice: economic, cultural and political implications;; Can we imagine a world without ice? economic, social and political consequences. Apart from the plenary session two special sessions were held: Special session I: Knowledge on ice; Special session II: Polar law.

To view the Proceedings from the 6th NRF Open Assembly in Hveragerði, Iceland click on the active links below.

Editors are Mr. Steve Bigrass NRF Steering Committee; Dr. Thorsteinn Gunnarsson, NRF Steering Committe; Msc. Embla Oddsdóttir, Acting Director of the NRF.

Opening Session I: Opening words and statements

• Rector Stefán Sigurðsson
• Dr. Lassi Heininen
• Dr. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President of Iceland
• Mr. Kuupik Kleist, Premier of Greenland
• Dr. Arthur Chilingarov, Special Representative of the the President of the Russian Federation
• Prof. Yao Tandong, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research at Chinese Academy of Science

Opening session II: implications of the ice melt: a global overview

• Prof. Lonnie Thompson, School of Earth Science, Ohio State University & Byrd Polar Research Center
• Senator Vladimir A. Torlopov, Council of Federation at Federal Assembly of Russian Federation
• The inter-related implications for Arctic Indigenous Peoples
  Dr. Dalee Sambo Dorough, University of Alaska Anchorage
• Dr. Anil V. Kulkarni, Indian Institute of Science / Divecha Center for Climate Change and Centre for Athmospheric & Oecanic Sciences
• Monitoring and assesment of changes in glaciers, snow and glacio-hydrology in the Hindu Kush - Himalaya
  Mr. Pradeep Mool, Centre for Integrated Mountain Development Nepal

Young Researcher summary and report for opening session II

• Report 1
• Report 2

open assembly panel: humanity, communities, minds, percaptions and knowledge on ice

• Social adaptation of the indigenous peoples of the Russian North
  Dr. Ludmila Gashiliva, Head of the Institute of the Peoples of the North and Tatiana Bulgakova, Professor of the Institute of the Peoples of the north, Russian State Pedagogical University
• Ice and the Saami People 
  Ms. Liisa Holmberg, Rector of the Saami Education Centre & Saami Parliament in Finland
• Mr. Edward Itta, Mayor of North Slope Borough, Alaska
• Dr.  Bob Su, Department of Water Resources at University of Twente, Netherland TBC

Presentations by NRF Young Researcher

• Local effects of cryospheric change on agriculture and pasture in Nepal Trans Himalaya.
  Keshav Prasad Paudel, University of Bergen, Norway / Nepal
  Sea Ice melting in Arctic
• Yongjia Song, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA / China
• The Quaternary glacial history of Banks Island, NWT: how the paleo-record can help us predict future glacier change.
  Jessica Vaughan, University of Alberta, Canada
• Securitization of Climate Change in the Arctic - The Case of Iceland.
  Audur Ingólfsdóttir, University of Iceland & University of Lapland, Finland
• The Northern Research Forum, a case study for High Northern cooperation.
  Margret Cela, University of Lapland, Finland / Iceland

Young Researcher summary and report for opening session II

• Report 1
• Report 2

open assembly panel: international law, "soft laws" and governance on ice

• Human Rights on Ice.
  Professor Guðmundur Alfreðsson, University of Strasbourg, France & University of Akureyri, Iceland
• Our Ice Dependent World - Impacts and Challenges for the Inuit of Nunavik, Arctic Quebec, Canada
  Jean-François Arteau, Legal Counsel and Executive Assistant to the President of Makivikk Corporation Pita Aatami
• Regional Constraints on Soft Law Legitimacy: Some Australian Geopolitical Perspectives.
  Dr. Richard Herr, School of Government, University of Tasmania 
• Dr. Lasse Pettersson, Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center, Norway

Presentations by NRF Young Researcher

• Russian Institutional Framework for International Environmental Cooperation in the Arctic.
  Mikhail Kalentchenko, Modern Academy of the Humanities, Russia
• Arctic Shipping Development Prospects Evaluation: Nuclear Icebreaker Fleet in the Northern Sea Route.
  Dr.Tatiana Khomiakova, Academy of National Economy, Russia
• Innovations for Polar Research: Partnering Researchers with Innovators.
  Lois Wardell, Arapahoe SciTech, USA    
• North Atlantic Micro State Security Governance: Facing Structural, Natural and Political Challenges Historically, Today and in the Future
  Rasmus Bertelsen, United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies, Japan    
• Greenland's state-building in a changing Arctic: climate, energy and geopolitics.
  Dr. Damien Degeorges, Paris Descartes University, France.

Special session I: knowledge on ice

• Arctic sea ice associated biodiversity: importance and challenges.
  Mr. Tom Barry, CAFF – Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna
• Mr. Halldór Jóhannsson, Arctic Portal, Iceland
  How mobility and other UArctic-programs can be used to communicate new knowledge
• Mona Johnson, Finnmark University College
• Mr. Lars Kullerud, University of the Arctic
• Permafrost and Greenhouse Gases: Towards Sustainable Development or Catastrophe of Our Ice Dependent World?
  Young Researcher Ivan Sudakov, St. Petersburg State University, Russia

Young Researcher Reports

• Report 1
• Report 2

special session II: polar law

• • Report by Young Researchers

open assembly panel: can we imagine a world without ice? economic, social and political consequences

• Professor. Helgi Björnsson, Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland
• The "State" of the Arctic
  Professor Matthias Finger, EPFL - the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland
• Sea Ice as Enemy and Friend: The Case of Iceland and Labrador
  Dr. Astrid Ogilvie, CICERO, Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research, Oslo

Presentations by NRF Young Researcher

• Sovereignty as a Social Issue: The case of Inuit Nunangat.
  Mark Vardy, Queen’s University, Canada
• Evaluating Prehistoric Sea Ice Variability and Culture Change in Northwest Alaska.
  Adam Freeburg, University of Washington, USA
• Frozen in Memory?: Northern Identity in Imagination and Reality.
  Jennifer Laliberte, KIAC School of Visual Arts, Yukon, Canada

Young Researcher Reports

• Report 1
• Report 2