High North Conference

Bodo, Norway

Forrest Freeman

It was a particularly non-arctic Day when I was called by a UC Berkeley representative from the university’s Nordic Center to see if I was interested in joining the High North Dialogue Academy. It was low 70’s, the sun was shining, I was out climbing near Stinson Beach in Marin County. I was asked if I would like to attend the High North Dialogue conference in Bodo in mid-April while watching the waves
crash against the rocks, donning a T-shirt and enjoying the sun and Spring smells of Northern California. Bodo, I was told, would be cool, in the 30’s, likely rainy or snowy, with wind, I might even see, for a moment, a glimmer of blue sky during my week-long long visit! How could I say no?

I arrived a couple days before the conference started and explored the region South of Bodo. The landscape, among the northern fjords is dramatic, with rising rock peaks, covered in snow, going directly into the ocean. Mid-April and the snow had begun melting. There were many waterfalls, and flowing rivers. The air was cool but not bitter. Later on, our host of the Dialogue Academy would tell me that the Norwegian people are rude, and have covert means of showing affection. ‘You won’t know you have made a friend with a Norwegian until after you leave and they reach out and say they miss you,’ she claimed. Though I did not have this experience. In the airport a local woman approached me and asked what I was doing in her land, she could hear my English. After telling her of my weekend’s itinerary, she reached out to a couple of her friends. She got me set up with a ski guide, her brother’s friend, and another lad to take us by boat to [insert glacier name] the second largest glacier of Norway. Each other Norwegian I met showed similar levels of hospitality and interest. I was pleasantly surprised at how engaging and thoughtful each person I met was. 

Come Monday and the week’s agenda began. The High North Dialogue is a conference which gathers minds from across the arctic to engage in discourse around topics related to politics, business, space, ocean health, and education as they relate to common regional arctic issues. The voices who gave speeches and engaged in panel discussions ranged from professors, to economists, to business owners, and executives, to students and other young voices. The prime minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre, spoke during the event, and a panel was held with ambassadors of the Arctic from the US, Canada, Norway, EU and Iceland. Attendees came from both arctic and non-arctic nations, all with a vested interest in the region. The conference covered themes around how the energy mix will change to meet sustainability goals and grid reliance & resiliency standards. Speakers discussed the growing concern of maintaining and growing the population of the arctic. How can young people be incentivized to move to the high North? Considering indigenous voices in these issues was also brought up with every formal discussion. Another common theme was how the Arctic Council– as well as arctic business, research, trade and education– will look without the inclusion of voices from Russia. Each other member of the Arctic Council condemns the Russian nation for its role in the war in Ukraine.

Each panel, lecture, and informal discussion I attended offered a learning experience. Coming from an objectively non-arctic background, I was drinking out of a firehose to keep up. The Sami people had representation in attendance, and I learned of their history with Norwegian settlers, and how the issues faced in generations past are still impacting life today. I learned of the importance of maritime law and trade route considerations in maintaining the arctic economies. I learned how vital salmon farming is for the Norwegian economy. I also experienced life in the Arctic first hand. Each morning I took a dip in the frigid waters of the Bodo Bay, followed by a sit in the sauna to warm up. I spoke with locals starting their days. I snuck away from the conference to go for walks or runs around town, feeling the cool fresh air on my face. In the evenings I joked around with the other members of the High North Dialogue Academy, and the incredible hosts who organized our visit. 

The High North Dialogue Academy brings young voices, mostly students or newly minted professionals, together in the arctic to engage in the High North Dialogue conference. We had members of our group ask questions directly to the Prime Minister, ambassadors, business leaders, and educators. The academy featured people from China, the US, Canada, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Singapore, France, Finland, Mongolia and Norway.  The organizers themselves were from Norway and Russia. We all had unique backgrounds and reasons to be in attendance of the conference, the academy and to be in the Northern reaches of the world. For some, those who operate in arctic, this is a means of protecting their land and means of life. For others, like myself, who come from non-arctic places, this was an opportunity to learn from those with experiences and perspectives far different than my own. Though we all came from different backgrounds, easy friends were made. Engaging in meaningful conversation was fluid, and the learning went in multiple directions. It was a professor of Nord University along with his colleague from the Norwegian Economic forum whom I informed of the nuances of the US’s offshore wind goal stipulations of the Inflation Reduction Act. It was the student from the Yukon who explained to a leader of the Sami people, myself, and a lecturer from Anchorage, how differently Canada has addressed indigenous issues from the Scandinavian nations. It was the prime minister of Norway who explained much of the rationale for handling relations with and without Russia to the entire forum.

At the conference’s formal dinner, the Mayor of Bodo recited a poem describing the liveliness of the cool air on your cheeks as you move yourself North. We can all relate to at least some degree to the feeling of elation that comes with being outside, moving, with a cool breeze coloring the cheeks. This conference showed me a unique corner of the globe, but more importantly, it showed how despite being far from any land I had ever stepped on before, I found minds I could relate to from all over the world, celebrating a common cause of preserving and progressing the Arctic. I learned much from others, and I hope others learned something from me as well. We are all on this floating rock in space together, despite our differences, we ought to try and work in conjunction. The High North Dialogue and the experience with the Academy gave me hope that coordinated effort to better the world will happen in perpetuity.