The polar retrospective takes up events of the past week that are related to the Arctic and Antarctic and focuses on one or more aspects. This time, the focus is on economic possibilities and opportunities arising from the changes currently taking place in the Arctic, not just in terms of climate. In an interview with Radio Arctic, Mads Qvist Frederiksen from the Arctic Economic Council takes a look at the past, present and future of economic development.
The Arctic and Antarctic are changing: not only the climate, but also the political, economic and social aspects of the polar regions are changing at an ever-increasing pace. The causes are partly linked to climate change, but also partly to the rapid global changes. This became clear once again last week with the announcement by Norwegian Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram, who explained in an interview with the news platform High North News that in addition to a new brigade, many infrastructure projects must also be implemented to strengthen Norway’s defense readiness. This means more construction activities, more services, more jobs and is just one example. The same can be heard from Sweden and Finland, or Canada’s northern regions, from Alaska and also from Antarctica, where many of the treaty states are modernizing their stations or even building new ones. All of this shows the interconnectedness of the individual factors responsible for change in the Polar regions.
People in the Arctic are feeling the change in the polar regions particularly severely. “Four million people call the Arctic their home,” explains Mads Qvist Frederiksen, Executive Director of the Arctic Economic Council, in an interview with Radio Arctic, a radio platform that conducted the interview in collaboration with Polar Journal AG. “This is where we live, this is where we go to work,” he explains. He sees the change in economic development and therefore also in the job sector as facing major challenges. The traditional sectors that provided jobs, such as fishing, mining and tourism, have to operate differently today than they did 20 or 30 years ago, he says. Sustainability is usually at the top of the agenda and he sees three obstacles to a sustainable development in the Arctic: too little investment, insufficient infrastructure and too few people.
BOX: Who is Radio Arctic?
RADIO ARCTIC is an online radio station focusing on Arctic issues, run and founded by the interdisciplinary design and journalism duo Anna Diljá Sigurðardóttir and Gudrun Havsteen-Mikkelsen.
Radio Arctic aims to initiate public discussions and awareness on issues such as territorial claims, natural resources, and human infrastructures within the changing Arctic. By integrating real-time data with digital design solutions, the online radio platform serves as a central hub for fostering a comprehensive understanding of the region’s significance and its global implications.
In collaboration with the Polar Journal, Radio Arctic engages in conversations with experts on opportunities, geo-political tensions, and the changing climate within the polar regions. Through these discussions, the radio discusses, visualises, and forecasts the future of the polar regions.
To the website of Radio Arctic
The latter in particular is of great importance because, according to Mads Qvist Frederiksen, the Arctic regions in Scandinavia and Greenland are in a downward spiral: migration due to poor infrastructure, poor education and working conditions and hardly any prospects for the future due to a lack of investment. “A few years ago, the Norwegian government wondered how more people could be brought to the Arctic. A well-known study published by Peter Norman propagated the “High Three” theory,” Frederiksen continues in the interview. “This states that there are three things that must be present in three places.” This means that there must be three jobs, three houses and three potential partners per person.
But this requires greater investment in infrastructure that not only attracts employers, but also makes everyday life better, simpler and more sustainable, he says. In addition, a more positive image of the Arctic regions and their places must be conveyed, so-called branding must be carried out and investments must be made in culture and art to prevent young people from leaving their homes. “We don’t have to work harder in the Arctic to achieve this, we have to work smarter. That’s how we prevent migration,” Frederiksen, who lives and works in Tromsø, is convinced.
BOX: Arctic Economic Council
The Arctic Economic Council, based in Tromsø, is an independent non-governmental organization concerned with the economic development of the Arctic. The aim of the organization is to “disseminate and represent best practices, technological solutions and standards. It represents practically all sectors of the economy, from small businesses to large companies, and helps to bring together as many stakeholders and rights representatives as possible for Arctic issues.
When asked which sectors would play an economic role in the future and which factors need to be strengthened, Mads Qvist Frederiksen sees traditional economic sectors such as fisheries and resource extraction far ahead, but in a more modern and sustainable way. On the other hand, up-and-coming sectors such as tech companies or various service companies, as well as research, will change the Arctic as a workplace. However, this also requires political and social changes to take place. “I think we have to realize that the job market is also changing and people no longer want to work in the same way as the generations before,” says Frederiksen. Greater gender equality and inclusion, especially of the indigenous population, are essential to ensure opportunities and possibilities in the Arctic in the future and to bring about change in a positive direction for the people.
Text & Design: Dr. Michael Wenger, Polar Journal AG / Interview: Radio Arctic
On our own behalf: Next Wednesday, May 1 (Labor Day), our new platform “Polar Jobs” will go online. The platform is intended to be a central hub of contact for those who are either looking for jobs or have jobs to offer in connection with the polar regions. However, our aim is not simply to be a job exchange, but also to publish lots of important and interesting information about working and living in the Arctic and Antarctic, in line with our main platform. We want to offer employers a platform on which they can present themselves in the best possible way. On the other hand, they should find talents here who can contribute to overcoming the challenges posed by activities in the polar regions and work towards sustainable, safe, socially acceptable and fair development.
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