The jubilee 10th interdisciplinary Franco-German workshop “Gateway to the Arctic” co-organised by MIARC and AWI together with the Sudernes Science and Learning Center was held at the Centre’s premises in Sandgerði, Iceland, February 6-8, 2024.
More than twenty Master students and early stage researchers participated in the workshop supported by the Franco-German University in Saarbrücken, REKLIM and MIARC. ARCTIC PORTAL streamed the sessions on the first day, including notably student presentations on the history of nutrition in the Arctic chaired by Junior-Full Professor Joanna Kodzik (MIARC). Other highlights included lectures by Dr. Sumarliði R. Ísleifsson, University of Iceland, on the history of food in Iceland, and Prof. Rasmus Bertelsen, Professor of Northern Studies and Barents Chair in Politics at UiT, Norway, and outgoing Nansen Professor in Arctic Studies at the University of Akureyri, on the topic of science diplomacy, and lectures on Icelandic fauna and flora.
The group was received by the French Ambassador Guillaume Bazard together with his German counterpart Clarissa Duvigneau at the residence of the French Ambassador. All participants are very grateful to the director and staff of the Sudernes Science and Learning Center to have made everyone feel so well and even comfortable despite the exceptional circumstances during the last day when the warm water system in the area was suspended due to the eruption of the volcano close by, a truly memorable event and excellent lesson in Icelandic resourcefulness and resilience.
Photo: © Alexandre Delangle
