Opinions

Model Arctic Council provides real-world test of diplomacy

With nearly 1,000 scientists, government officials and public policy experts gathered in Fairbanks this week to discuss key issues among Arctic nations, one of the major themes is the uncertainty that lies ahead for the Arctic.

One way to prepare young people for that uncertain future is to introduce them to the critical thinking and communication skills necessary for large and complex organizations to resolve differences peacefully and build consensus. In essence, that is what happened here during a multiday academic exercise called the Model Arctic Council that preceded the main Fairbanks meetings.

Some 65 college students from 13 nations debated the most important issues facing the Arctic at a gathering that had been planned for two years, an effort led by the Arctic and Northern Studies program and the political science department at University of Alaska Fairbanks.

It was a simulation of the work of the Arctic Council, which is made up of eight nations and six permanent participant groups. Patterned after the Model U.N., the students took on the roles that their elders play on the Arctic Council.

They issued a policy statement dealing with a wide range of ideas about the need to keep working on sustainable development, initiatives to respond to the growth in cruise ship tourism in the Arctic, health and welfare needs and environmental issues.

Victoria Sutherland, a 21-year-old graduating cadet from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut, played the role of the U.S. minister in the simulation.

While her first Coast Guard assignment after graduation this spring will be in Miami, she said her preparation and participation in the UAF meeting gave her insight into a region that has become far more important to the Coast Guard and the world.

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"In Texas we don't really talk about the Arctic," she said. "I know it's a lot different for people in Alaska."

"With the waterways opening up, it's definitely a topic our senior officers are discussing," she said.

In the concluding ceremonies Monday, Sutherland referred both to the Model Arctic Council and the "Real Arctic Council."

Ambassador David Balton, a deputy assistant secretary in the State Department who serves as the chair of the Senior Arctic Officials, said he believed the model council is just as real as the other one. "You feel like you are playing roles. Don't you think that's what I'm doing right now? We all have roles to play in life," he said.

Sara Lundin, a student from Umea University in Sweden, said the formal and informal discussions she had with the other students "are the thing that I will try to take with me."

Balton highlighted that statement as an important lesson, saying "the currency of diplomacy really is interpersonal interactions."

Maksim Marchenkov, a student from Northern Arctic Federal University in Russia, said the meeting was "an amazing experience of conducting negotiations and educating people throughout the whole globe about the importance of serious treatment toward indigenous people," he said.

"I can assure you that our work is not done yet," he said, adding he believes there is one thing that is certain: "The Arctic is a territory of cooperation based on partnership and mutual trust. We all need to realize this."

Retired Coast Guard Adm. Robert Papp, who serves as the U.S. State Department's Special Representative for the Arctic, praised the students for coming to consensus and dealing with conflicting opinions. "Compromise is not a bad word. It's how we make progress," he said.

He said one of the lessons that looms large in his military experience is that "part of our job is always to prepare our successors" and the model council is part of that work.

"Thank you so much for the work you've done over the last couple of days. Thank you so much for what you will do in the future," he said.

Dermot Cole is a Fairbanks columnist for the Alaska Dispatch News. The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com.

Dermot Cole

Former ADN columnist Dermot Cole is a longtime reporter, editor and author.

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