1ST DAY OPENING SESSION OF THE ARCTIC FUTURES SYMPOSIUM 2022 INTRODUCTIONS: Nicolas Van Hoecke (Managing Director, International Polar Foundation) WELCOME FROM THE ORGANISERS Alain Hubert (Founder and Chair, International Polar Foundation) OPENING KEYNOTES: Angelina Eichhorst (Managing Director, European External Action Service) Speaking on behalf of High Representative and European Commission Vice-President Josep Borrell-Fontelles Charlina Vitcheva (Director-General, DG MARE) Eivind Vad Petersson (State Secretary of Norway) Sara Olsvig (Chair Inuit Circumpolar Council) Neil Gray (Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development, Scotland) Jasper Pillen (Member of the Chamber of Representatives, Belgium)

On Monday, May 30th 2022, the International Polar Foundation (IPF), Schneider Electric, and Venturi hosted an official EU Green Week 2022 partner hybrid event, Striving to Reduce the Environmental Footprint of Polar Research. The event took place from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm at Atelier 29, Rue Jacques de Lalaing 29, 1000 Brussels. From 2007-09, the International Polar Foundation, with the support of its many private sector partners and the Belgian State, designed and constructed the world’s first zero-emission polar research station - the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica (PEA). Fully operational since 2009, the primary goal of constructing the groundbreaking station was to serve as a zero-emission platform for scientists working in the Dronning Maud Land region of East Antarctica. Now that the revolutionary Princess Elisabeth Antarctica research station has been in operation for more than a decade, IPF and its partners showcased the latest innovations at the revolutionary research platform that reduce even further the environmental footprint of doing scientific research in Antarctica. Programme: 10:00 am - 11:00 am - PRESS CONFERENCE featuring: - Alain Hubert (Founder and Chairman, International Polar Foundation) - David Orgaz D'Hollander (President, Benelux Region, Schneider Electric) - Franck Baldet (CTO, Venturi) - Sarah Wauthy (Glaciology Laboratory, Université Libre de Bruxelles) - Preben Van Overmeiren (Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Ghent University) - Kate Winter (Senior Lecturer in Extreme Environments, Northumbria University)

Meet the International Polar Foundation - an organization unlike any other you've encountered in your life! Our mission: to support scientific research in the most spectacular place on Earth: Antarctica! How do we do it? We operate the world's first zero-emission polar research station! Visit www.antarcticstation.org or get in touch with us at comms@polarfoundation.org to learn more! ----------------------------------------- More about the International Polar Foundation: Founded by Belgian polar explorer Alain Hubert, Prof. Hugo Decleir and Prof. André Berger in 2002, the Brussels-based International Polar Foundation (IPF) provides a novel interface between science and society, and was recognized by Belgian Royal Statute as a foundation for the public good in 2002. HM King Philippe is the International Polar Foundation's honorary president. The IPF seeks to bring about a keener appreciation of the role of science, particularly research in the Polar Regions, through a re-examination of the planet’s interconnections, its fragility, the impact of human actions on the environment, and the evolution of millennial climate cycles. To achieve its aims, the IPF has initiated several high-profile projects, including supporting polar science through the creation and operation of the world's first (and to date only) zero-emission polar research station, the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica. This groundbreaking station runs entirely on renewable wind and solar energy and treats, recycles and reuses all the water it uses. The International Polar Foundation is mandated by the Belgian Polar Secretariat as Antarctic Operator of the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica. This means the Foundation is responsible for the management and the operation of the zero-emission station and its facilities. This responsibility covers the following tasks: - The upkeep and maintenance of the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica polar research station and its facilities; - Operational logistics, including the management of the station and its outbuildings, as well as the stocks, with a view to optimal workings of the operations and its use by the scientists in accordance with the scientific programmes approved by the Polar Secretariat; - Measures to be taken to ensure the safety and the assumption of responsibility for all of the people and the goods that arrive at the station; - Updating the technical aspects of the station, as required by and with consent from the Belgian Polar Secretariat.&²

In December 2021, the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica, the world's first zero-emission research station, welcomed a team from Venturi who were testing the first electric vehicle with caterpillar treads in Antarctica. Radio Monaco conducted an interview with Alain Hubert (IPF Founder and BELARe Expedition Leader), Gildo Pastor (President of Venturi) and Luc Jacquet (Filmmaker known for March of the Emperor Penguins) on December 3, 2021.

The Arctic As a More Sustainable Place to do Business This panel will discuss specific solutions and cases from the Arctic on how sustainability and business development can go hand-in-hand. Moderator:  Mads Qvist Frederiksen (Director, Arctic Economic Council);Speakers: Naaja H. Nathanielsen (Minister of Housing, Infrastructure, Minerals, Justice and Gender equality); Pär Weihed (Professor; Pro-Vice Chancellor, Luleå University of Technology); Monica Paulsen (Cluster Manager, Arctic Cluster Team); Jocelyn Douhéret (Director, Business Development Office, Société du Plan Nord);  Niels Winther (Senior Advisor and Deputy Director, House of Industry in the Faroe Islands

Arctic Resilience This session will focus on the socio-economic impacts of climate change on Arctic communities and address issues such as food and environmental security, health, infrastructure, education, connectivity, response capacity, and cross-border cooperation in areas of “soft security” such as search and rescue. Moderator: - Mike Sfraga (Chair, U.S. Arctic Research Commission; Director, Wilson Center Polar Institute) Speakers: - Jennifer Spence (Executive Secretary, Arctic Council Sustainable Development Working Group) - Áslat Holmberg (Vice President, Saami Council) Anna-Sofie Skjervedal (Head of Secretariat, International Arctic Hub) - Julie Simone Hébert (Director of Programmes and Territorial Cooperation, Société du Plan Nord) - Niklas Eklund (Director, Arctic Centre, Umeå University)

Arctic Youth, Demographics, and Capacity-Building: a View to the Future Arctic regions face huge challenges regarding future demographic trends and capacity-building, due mainly to changes in youth becoming settled and feeling at home in the region. Trends of concern include outmigration, gender imbalance, “homelessness”, and urbanization. This panel will discuss how Arctic communities still can take advantage of future opportunities. Moderator: Sveinung Eikeland (Vice Rector, Sociologist, UiT The Arctic University of Norway);Speakers: Mika Riipi (County Governor, Lapland, Finland) Alyssa Carpenter (Northern Fellow, the Gordon Foundation);  Charlotte Nyheim (Youth Coordinator Bodø 2024 – European Capital of Culture); Qivioq Løvstrøm (Assistant Professor, Department of Culture and Social History, University of Greenland; Chair, Human Rights Council of Greenland); Birita Matras Petersen (Communication and Marketing Officer, Faroese National Union of Students, University of the Faroe Islands)

Arctic Governance Part 3 After 25 years of the Arctic Council, this panel will be a reflection on where things stand in terms of Arctic governance issues (new Arctic policies both national and EU, the Arctic fisheries agreement, practical implementation of Arctic Council agreements made since 2011, gender equality issues, etc.). Different from the previous sessions, which will focus more on national and Permanent Participant strategies, this session will focus more on regional governance and the EU’s role in light of the EU’s updated Arctic policy.Moderator: - Marie-Anne Coninsx (Former EU Ambassador at Large for the Arctic, European Union)Speakers: - Michael Mann (EU Special Envoy for Arctic Matters)- Åsa Ågren Wikström (Vice President, Regional Development Board, County of Västerbotten) - Mads Qvist Frederiksen (Director, Arctic Economic Council) - Embla Eir Oddsdóttir (Director, Icelandic Arctic Cooperation Network) - Francesco Bertoldi (Head of Nordic and Arctic Unit, Scottish Government) - Dalee Sambo Dorough (Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council)

Governance in the Arctic (pt2) After 25 years of the Arctic Council, this panel will be a reflection on where things stand in terms of Arctic governance issues (new Arctic policies both national and EU, the Arctic fisheries agreement, practical implementation of Arctic Council agreements made since 2011, gender equality issues, etc.) Moderator Romain Chuffart (Research Associate and Leadership Group Member, The Arctic Institute) Speakers Thomas Winkler (Arctic Ambassador, Kingdom of Denmark; Head, Department of Arctic and North America, Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Rebecca Lynge (Greenland Representative to the Arctic Council, Department of Foreign Affairs, the Government of Greenland) Margretha Jacobsen (Senior Arctic Official of the Faroe Islands in the Arctic Council) Heidi Kutz (Senior Arctic Official and Director General for Arctic, Eurasian and European Affairs, Global Affairs Canada) Louis J Crishock (Senior Arctic Official, US. State Department)