Bringing Together Young People in the Arctic: Opportunities for Personal Development and Career Growth

Plenary session ‘Bringing Together Young People in the Arctic: Opportunities for Personal Development and Career Growth’ was the key event of the Youth Day at the International Arctic Forum 2019.

The speakers were unanimous that in the foreseeable future it would be impossible to implement large-scale projects in the Arctic without the participation of young people. “The International Arctic Forum platform provides an excellent opportunity for young people to present their projects and receive support to implement them,” Deputy Director of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh) Andrey Platonov noted.

Nina Veysalova, First Vice President of the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North and Advisor to the Rector of Herzen State Pedagogical University, believes that the “strategic task of the executive authorities at all levels is to preserve the people and maintain the living conditions for the people in the Far North.”

There are no more than 3 million young Northerners, and the main issue for them is self-realization and employment. “We need to create adequate living conditions in the North. So far, they do not live up to the standards of a civilized human being. Patriotism and romanticizing alone will not do. The fly-in/fly-out practice should become a thing of the past, because it creates the mindset of a temporary worker. Indigenous and minority peoples of the North need a special government programme for targeted support and personnel training,” Nina Veysalova said.

Vladimir Khavinson, Director of St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology drew attention to the problem of preserving the health of northerners who work in the conditions of an incredibly harsh climate. “To tackle this problem, the institute develops and implements special natural remedies to prevent stress and enhance immunity,” the speaker said.

Participants of the discussion presented proposals to address the main task: sustainable development for the people. One of the mechanisms could be the World Youth Center for Sustainable Development of the Earth, located in the Urals. Such proposal was voiced by Ivan Moskvin, President of the Architecture and Design Foundation.

In order to provide the influx of young professionals to the Arctic region, it is important to determine the life strategies of modern youth in the Arctic, as well as to create the conditions for them to open up their potential – both professionally and socially. Session speakers presented special programmes, professional contests and training that would focus on the country’s northern regions, such as ‘My country – my Russia’, ‘Russia – a country of opportunities’, ‘The Arctic – made in Russia’, ‘My first business’, ‘Manage’, ‘Digital breakthrough’, ‘Student spring’ and others.

Danil Yegorov, teacher at Vorkuta Mining and Economics College, pointed out that statistically every third resident has left the North since 1990. Such negative dynamic is explained by the following reasons: companies cease their operations, northern premium multiples are being annulled, social and transport infrastructure is poorly developed, living is expensive, climate is harsh and environmental conditions are poor, prospects are scarce, etc. “We need urgent measures to address these problems; large-scale projects in the Arctic must be implemented,” Danil Yegorov said.

Summing up the plenary session, moderator Matvey Navdayev, Programme director at the Terra Scientia on Klyazma River National Education Youth Platform, called on the Youth Day participants to “personalize work with every young person who lives in the North so as not to lose them for the Arctic.”