International Arctic Forum host a session of the Eurasian Women’s Forum Council for the first time

On 27 March, as part of the International Arctic Forum, the ‘Heroes’ Wives’ Arctic Lounge will be held by the United Volunteer Centre of Murmansk Region and the Council of the Eurasian Women’s Forum under the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. The Arctic Forum is organized by the Roscongress Foundation with the support of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Among the speakers are Galina Karelova, Chairman of the Council of the Eurasian Women’s Forum and First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Federal Structure, Regional Policy, Local Self-Government and Northern Affairs; Elvira Nurgalieva, Deputy Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic; Oksana Demchenko, First Deputy Governor of Murmansk Region and others. The moderator will be Evgenia Chibis, Head of the United Volunteer Centre of Murmansk Region.

“The session of the Eurasian Women’s Forum will be held at this Forum for the first time, but I hope it will become a mandatory part of the Arctic Forums in the future, since increasing the role of women in the development of the Arctic can be considered strategically important. If attractive conditions are created in the macro-region for their employment and self-fulfilment, this will have a direct positive impact on the quality of life and economic development, as well as on the task of retaining personnel, creating new families, and solving the demographic issue,” noted Galina Karelova, Chairman of the Council of the Eurasian Women’s Forum.

According to her, the Council of the Eurasian Women’s Forum is actively working in this area. In 2024, special programmes were launched – ‘Woman Leader. Navy Cities’ and ‘Woman Leader. North and Far East’. Women’s initiatives that emerged during the programmes are already being implemented and are having a good social effect.

“The session of the Council of the Eurasian Women’s Forum at the Arctic Forum will not only be a kind of summarizing of the first results of this work. I am sure that during the discussions at the International Arctic Forum its new areas and new socially important initiatives of women aimed at the development of northern territories will emerge,” said Galina Karelova.

The session participants will discuss how the role of women in the development of the Arctic territories is changing, how to create conditions for the formation of new leaders, and what projects can be replicated to improve the quality of life. In addition, they will talk about regional programmes and effective tools to support women living in northern territories, including closed towns.

“We want to present the guests of the International Arctic Forum with a female perspective on the Arctic and show not only an area with enormous industrial potential, but also a place of strength. We will tell the stories of women: spouses of military personnel, travellers, and representatives of indigenous northern peoples living in the Arctic region, who are role models in very different spheres of life,” said Evgenia Chibis. 

The session will also launch the second cohort of the ‘Woman Leader. Arctic and Far East’ programme, a number of agreements will be signed, and a show of collections by northern designers reflecting the character of Arctic women will take place.

The 6th ‘Arctic: Territory of Dialogue’ International Arctic Forum will take place on 26–27 March in Murmansk. It is a key platform for discussing important issues of socio-economic development of the Arctic territories, elaboration of multilateral mechanisms for joint disclosure and effective development of the powerful resource potential of the Arctic region.

More information is available on the official Forum website forumarctica.ru.