This proposal, PI Eleanor Sterling, is to increase the participation of Arctic residents in science by ensuring their participation in the Spring Symposium at the American Museum of Natural History. The symposium will explore a range of topics under the theme "Sustaining Cultural and Biological Diversity in a Rapidly Changing World: Lessons for Global Policy" and aims to bring leading scientists, practitioners, members of indigenous, tribal and local communities, the public and NGO's together to engage in a dialog across disciplines, cultures and knowledge systems in order to "forge a long-term multi-dimensional vision for research into sustaining biological and cultural diversity."
ASSP support is for the participation of four Arctic residents from Alaska, Canada, Finland, and Russia. These Arctic participants will give a public presentation during the conference and will participate in the discussions surrounding the three topics mentioned above. The anticipated outcome of the conference are an academic publication of the papers and a policy paper which will be presented to the UN Permanent Forum on Indigneous Issues, UNEP, UNESCO, WIPO, FAO and various other national and international NGOs and governmental organizations as a lead-up to the 2008 World Conservation Congress.
In responding to the NSF Strategic Plan 2006-2011 "Investing in America's Future," which states that the Goal of Learning is to "Cultivate a world-class, broadly inclusive science and engineering workforce, and expand the scientific literacy of all citizens," the Arctic Social Science Program endeavors to expose Arctic communities to all aspects of science, from early learning experiences, to higher education, to participation in science policy. The AMNH symposium offers a unique opportunity for Arctic residents to participate in a dialog that will inform science research agendas on topics of relevance to the Arctic Social Science Program, e.g., the future sustainability of language and culture throughout this millennium.
