Questions concerning connectivity in the Arctic have drawn unprecedented international attention during recent years. This lecture attempts to explain how the Arctic is simultaneously facing several connectivity problems of its own (lack of any or fast internet connection in many parts of the area) and how it has become recognized as a region that could host a new types of communication infrastructure (submarine fibre-optic cables and data centres) and help to solve some of the global connectivity-related problems (need for faster connections as well as need for robustness and resilience). Rather than concentrating on technological solutions, this lecture approaches questions concerning connectivity from the point of view of the Arctic inhabitants and communities.

The lecture is hosted by the Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law (NIEM) of the the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland in cooperation with the UArctic Thematic Network on Arctic Law. The lecture is a part of Finnish-Japanese Arctic Studies Program, a project led by Research Professor Kamrul Hossain, the Director of NIEM in collaboration with the partners from the Universities of Helsinki, Hokkaido and Oulu. The project is funded by the Finnish National Agency for Education (CIMO) and supported by UArctic Thematic Network on Arctic Law.

The guest lecture is open for all who are interested. Students attending the lecture will have the opportunity to earn 1 ECTS credit after submission of a short 3-4 pages paper on the lecture.

More information:
Junior Researcher Karolina Sikora
NIEM, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland
karolina.sikora(at)ulapland.fi, +358 40 484 4269.