he joint seminar of the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region and the UArctic Rectors’ Forum was held on February 28, 2008, at the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland in Rovaniemi, Finland. The purpose of the seminar was to stimulate discussion and debate on Arctic issues between academics and politicians from the Arctic on the two themes of adaptation to climate change and borders and access to the sea. This proceedings document contains papers presented at the seminar, the two background papers from experts in UArctic’s member institutions prepared for the seminar, as well as a summary.

Press release from Ms. Hill-Marta Solberg, Chair of SCPAR and Mr. Steve Jones, Chancellor at University of Alaska, Fairbanks, who were the chairs of the joint seminar held by the Standing Committee of the Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region and the University of the Arctic Rectors' Forum on 28 February in Rovaniemi, Finland. A photo of seminar participants is also included along with the press release.

Read the prior announcement for the 8th Conference of the Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region, to be held in Fairbanks, Alaska 12-14 August 2008. Please note that participation is by invitation only.

The Standing Committee of the Parliamentarians of the Arctic Regions will meet in Rovaniemi, Finland from the 28-29th of February 2008. The 28th will be a joint seminar with the Rectors Forum of University of the Arctic. Click for the latest draft program.

Hill-Marta Solberg, chair of the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region, delivered a speech at the 16th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference in Berlin on 27th August 2007, drawing parallels between cooperation in the Baltic Sea and Arctic regions.

At its meeting in Reykjavik on the 1st of June the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region agreed to make a contribution to the process of making a new EU maritime policy. At the meeting the Committee was introduced to the findings of the SLiCA-project (Survey of Living Conditions in the Arctic) and started the planning of the next Conference of Arctic Parliamentarians which will be in Fairbanks, Alaska 12-14 August 2008. The next meeting of the Standing Committee will be in Ottawa, 19 October 2007.

Full conference report from the Parliamentary Conference on the Northern Dimension, held 28 February- 1 March 2007 in Brussels.

Members of the Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region, as well as members of the European Parliament, the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, the Baltic Assembly, the Nordic Council, and the network of Barents parliamentarians, met at the Parliamentary Conference on the Northern Dimension in the European Parliament in Brussels on 28 February - 1 March 2007.

Hill-Marta Solberg, chair on the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region, spoke at the Parliamentary Conference on the Northern Dimension held in Brussels on 28 February- 1 March 2007.

The Swedish Parliament has published the Conference report from the 7th Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region held on 2-4 August 2006 in Kiruna, Sweden. The report is available in Russian as well as English.