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arctic work funded from other (non-mfa )
sources
Many Strong Voices (MSV)
MSV brings together people and organizations in the
SIDS and the Arctic to take collaborative and strategic ac-
tions on climate change mitigation and adaptation at the
local, national, regional and international levels. Its goal
is the well-being, security, and sustainability of communi-
ties, and it provides a platform for people in these regions
to tell their stories to the world.
In September 2012, MSV supported the organisation of a
workshop in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. During the
event, community leaders from Newtok, Alaska met with
residents of the Cateret Islands in Papua New Guinea to
discuss climate-induced relocation, a challenge faced by
both communities.
At the UNFCCC COP 19 in November 2013, MSV held
a global consultation entitled the Warsaw Dialogue as
part of its project on climate change, human rights and
community-based relocation. There is much discus-
sion about forced migration in the context of climate
change, much of it from a top-down perspective, but
little from the bottom up. The consultation brought to-
gether 45 participants from affected communities68 to
begin a dialogue on community-based relocation, and
share experiences and best practice between regions.
Plans were developed for next steps – including how to
support the voices of people and communities facing
relocation.
GRID-Arendal participated in two research field trips to
Indian Ocean SIDS during 2013 to explore future MSV op-
tions. A trip to the Seychelles in late February, together
with colleagues from the Center for International Climate
and Environmental Research - Oslo (CICERO), provided
the opportunity to plan initiatives on ecosystem-based ad-
aptation, forced relocation, and food security. A second
research field trip was undertaken to the Maldives in early
March.
GRID-Arendal took part in partner meetings and initial
field visits for the new MSV project ‘Perceptions and un-
derstanding of climate change and migration: Conceptu-
alising and contextualizing for Lakshadweep and the Mal-
dives’.69 Participation in the September 2013 Asia Pacific
Clean Energy Summit and Expo and Islands & Isolated
Communities Congress, in Hawai‘i, enabled MSV to es-
68. Participants included representatives from the Pacific, Caribbean,
Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet and Taiwan
69. Project partners include GRID-Arendal, CICERO, The Energy
and Resources Institute from India, the Ministry of Housing and
Environment in the Maldives, the Centre for Earth Research and
Environment Management, the University of Manchester, and the
University of Reading.
tablish new contacts for developing a project on sustain-
able energy in the SIDS and Arctic.
Following consultation with MSV’s Advisory Committee, a
new three-year funding proposal is currently being devel-
oped with University College London and will be finalized
in January 2014. A first draft was submitted to the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs earlier in 2013. (Note: due to a change
in organizational priorities, CICERO will no longer be in-
volved in MSV after 2013.)
SIGNIFICANT OUTCOME: MSV’s global outreach
Many Strong Voices has reached a point where
numerous organizations and individuals are asking to
participate. In November 2013, MSV was selected by
readers of The Guardian newspaper in the UK as one
of the most influential awareness raising campaigns in
the world.
See:
professionals-network/2013/nov/15/top-10-climate-
change-campaigns
European Space Agency (ESA) project
The ESA-funded project, ‘Supporting European Arctic
Policy-Opportunities for Space-based Systems’, led by
GRID-Arendal with the support of the Polar View con-
sortium members C-Core and the Tromsø center for
Remote Technology, University of Tromsø, provided
a coherent perspective on how space-based technolo-
gies can support European Arctic policies at national,
regional and international levels. In March 2012 a cross-
section of Arctic stakeholders including the private sec-
tor, indigenous peoples, and scientists were invited to
identify priorities and needs for space-based systems.
The final project report was submitted to the ESA later
that month.
University of the Arctic Thematic Network on Communi-
cating Arctic Research
GRID-Arendal led a photography workshop70 in Kuusa-
mo, Finland in September 2012 organized by the The-
matic Network on Communicating Arctic Research
at the Oulanka Research Station. The goal of the new
network is to link professional photographers, informa-
tion visualization specialists and art students together
with science students, Arctic researchers, and holders
of traditional knowledge, to create photo, video, and
map-based communication materials that can be used
for publishing, scientific research, public exhibiting, and
web distribution. The project will continue for the next
three years with new funding from the Prince Albert
Foundation.
70.