Geoff Green joined more than 2000 participants from 60 countries at the largest international gathering in the Arctic, the annual Arctic Circle Assembly. This year’s assembly was held October 19-21, 2018 at the Harpa Conference Center and Concert Hall in Reykjavík, Iceland and included an international cohort of heads of states, ministers, scientists, entrepreneurs, business leaders, indigenous representatives, environmentalists, students, activists and others, all interested in the future of the Arctic.
This year’s assembly included a panel discussion, led by Geoff Green, on the topic “Advancing Ocean Literacy to Promote Healthy Arctic Communities”. Having led more than 130 ship-based expeditions to the Arctic, Antarctic and many places in-between, Geoff leveraged is knowledge and experience connecting youth to the ocean environment and how this can benefit healthy Arctic communities to engage a diverse group of panelists in this important dialogue. The panelists included:
- Lisa Glithero, National Coordinator, Canadian Ocean Literacy
Coalition - Enooyaq Sudlovenick, MSc Student, University of Prince Edward Island
- Scott Carr, CEO, JASCO Applied Sciences (Canada) Ltd.
- Jeannette Menzies, Director of Knowledge Management and
Engagement, Polar Knowledge Canada - Paul Crowley, Vice-president, Arctic, World Wildlife Fund Canada
During an evening breakout session, Geoff and his Students on Ice Foundation also hosted a reception where they screened a recently released drone video from the historic Canada C3 expedition as well as Educating for Ocean Conservation and the recent Students on Ice 2018 Arctic Expedition recap video. Geoff introduced two recent SOI alumni who spoke to the impact of their journey to the Arctic. Honoured guests included the First Lady of Iceland, Eliza Reid, and Ambassador of Canada to Iceland, Anne-Tamara Lorre.