The North Calotte is currently undergoing one of the fastest and most expansive green transition processes in all of Europe and, at present, our civil society is not included in the development. None of the three Nordic countries covered by the Interreg Aurora programme area has an arena for democratic meetings and public debate that is physically located in the Arctic like Almedalen, Arendalsuuka or Suomi Areena. In this smallscale project we want to explore a new perspective on what a North Calotte arena could look like and co-design a contemporary arctic democracy forum fit for the challenges of the 2020s.
The overall goal of the small-scale project is to validate the need for a cross-border democracy arena as well as determine forms and methods for a long-term cooperation, carry out a desktop study of civil society’s capacity in the North Calotte and establish a coordinating network/governing body that has the capacity to run a joint North Calotte effort aimed at strengthen civic and democratic participation in the green transition. If the need is confirmed and the conditions exists, a full-scale application will be prepared to establish such an arena.
Contact person: Maja Mella, maja.mella@norden.se
