UNAK Professors join Fulbright Arctic Initiative IV

Professor Sigrún Sigurðardóttir, Faculty of Nursing and Professor Rachael Lorna Johnstone, Faculty of Law, joined eighteen other outstanding scholars at the inaugural meeting and fieldtrip of the Fulbright Arctic Initiative IV project. The group is engaging in collaborative, multi-disciplinary research over the next eighteen months as part of the fourth iteration of the U.S. Department of State’s Fulbright Arctic Initiative, which seeks to advance Arctic nations’ shared interest in building a secure and sustainable Arctic region. Sigrún participates on the mental health and well-being working group while Rachael contributes to the climate change and Arctic resources group. A third group examines Arctic security and governance. A third Icelandic expert, Anna Karlsdóttir from University of Iceland, was also selected and joined the trip, alongside Belinda Theriault, executive director of the Fulbright Commission Iceland.

Rachael, Belinda, Sigrún and Anna at the Alta museum.

The group met first in Tromsø before taking a tour of Finnmark, meeting with Sámi and settler experts and leaders at the Fram Centre, UiT the Arctic University of Norway, UiT Campus Alta, Sámi University College, the International Centre for Reindeer Husbandry, the Sámi Parliament (Norway), and the Sámi Centre for Mental Health. They also visited the Alta museum, on the site of over 6000 petroglyphs (Sami rock art) that dates back up to 7000 years, nearly 6000 years before Iceland was inhabited.

Rachael said of the experience, “It is a privilege to be selected to work with this outstanding group of scholars bringing together a wide range of perspectives on the common challenges of climate change. From them, and from the many experts and Sami leaders who took time out of their busy schedule to talk to us, I learned more in a week than I could learn in a year sat behind my desk. Climate change is here and it is a moral obligation of us all to act on it – but we must do so in a way that does not compound existing inequalities and injustices.”

Sigrún added: I agree with Rachael. It is a great honour to have been selected for this important project. One might also say that it is an honour for the University of Akureyri to have two women selected in this strong group from seven countries. I find it really interesting to learn about the different approaches to mental health that we encountered, for example, links to nature, emphasis on healing intergenerational and social trauma, and working with the whole family.

Áslaug Ásgeirsdóttir, UNAK rector, herself a Fulbright alumna, is also excited about the project. She said: “The University of Akureyri is thrilled to have two professors participating in the Fulbright Arctic Initiative. This important program brings together scholars from around the Arctic to engage in interdisciplinary conversation and research. We hope this will encourage more of our faculty and students to take part in the many opportunities presented by Fulbright programs."

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Icelandic Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, as well as the Danish and Canadian governments, this initiative supports interdisciplinary research for scholars from Arctic countries.

Dr. Elizabeth Rink, Professor of Community Health in the Department of Health and Human Development at Montana State University, and Dr. Lill Rastad Bjørst, Associate Professor of Arctic Studies in the Department of Culture and Learning and Scientific Director of Green Societies at Aalborg University, serve as the Co-Lead Scholars for the Initiative. Both Dr. Rink and Dr. Bjørst are alumni of the program. The diverse group of twenty scholar participants – including five from Indigenous backgrounds – will explore public policy research questions and offer innovative solutions to guide policy makers at the local, national, and international levels. Read the scholars’ full biographies at http://www.fulbrightscholars.org/arctic.

PHOTO: The Fulbright Arctic Initiative IV cohort. Co-lead scholars Beth and Lill hold the sign.

For more information regarding their research, Rachael can be reached at: rlj@unak.is and Sigrún at sigrunsig@unak.is .

For press inquiries regarding the Fulbright Arctic Intitiative, please contact the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, ECA-Press@state.gov, (202) 632-6452, or the Institute of International Education (IIE) at outreach@iie.org.