Arctic Centre Annual Report 2020

Annual Report 2020

ARCTIC CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT 2020

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The year 2020 meant dramatic cuts in work-related travelling. The science communications team visited Kirkenes and Zapolyarny in February just before the pandemic prevented all travel. | photo arto vitikka The tusk of a woolly mammoth was displayed in the permanent exhibition of Arktikum Science Centre. The tusk had been confiscated, and it was donated to the Arctic Centre by the Finnish National Board of Customs in 1993.

Tusk weighs about 45 kilos. | photo anne raja - hanhela

Editor Anne Raja-Hanhela

Layout & Design Reetta Linna

Cover photo Santeri Happonen

Printed in University of Lapland Printing Centre Rovaniemi, Finland 2021

Arktikum Science Centre was closed for the public between mid-March and the end of May. At the beginning of June, Arktikum re-opened with special attention paid to safety and hygiene. | photo arto vitikka The exhibition Story of the Arctic Garden based on research professor Monica Tennberg’s book (Arctic Heterotopia: Four stories from Rovaniemi) was exhibited at the Arktikum Science Centre from June to September. | photo marjo laukkanen

Contents From the Director Expertise Arktikum

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Publications

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12

Events and Seminars

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From the Director No matter what your plans for the year 2020

record amount of external competitive funding for research during 2020. were, it is likely that most of those plans needed to The unfortunate impacts of the pandemic can of be revised. It is rather safe to say that nobody was course be seen in the number of visitors and activities. prepared for such an exceptional year.

In a normal year, several thousands of school The COVID-19 pandemic put many things on children visit our learning paths in the Arktikum hold, but it also taught us many things. Cancelling Science Centre and people all over the world visit work trips meant missing out on many important the exhibition. The previous year 2019 was a record encounters and discussions but it also meant more year for Arktikum with over 128 000 visitors so it is, time to concentrate on research. Changing meetings of course, sad that in 2020 the number of visitors and seminars to virtual mode made many of us to dropped by over 50 % (57 571 visitors). Many school take “a digital leap” and we ended up learning new visits had to be cancelled, among them the traditional skills. Colleagues becoming small square boxes Science Week in September. On the on a Teams screen really made us positive side, many school classes and appreciate the cosy common coffee It was a great local people found their way to the breaks at the office. honour for me Arctic Garden surrounding the Arktikum Despite the obvious challenges to serve as your building this year. to our work, the Arctic Centre had in director between The year 2020 was challenging for many ways a successful year. We have 2015 and 2020. the University of Lapland not only due to made a record number of publications the pandemic but because of the difficult during the past two years. We have economic situation. The employee co-operation also been very successful in getting our research negotiations launched by the Board of the University projects accepted, to the extent that we secured a 4

photo anna muotka

of Lapland led to unfortunate personnel reductions at every unit of the university. The process was heavy for the whole staff, as co-operation negotiations always are.

In 2020 the Arctic Centre started to implement its new strategy for 2020–2025, which was adopted at the end of 2019. To some extent, we have had to postpone the implementation of this strategy due to the pandemic. Our new International Scientific Advisory Board also started their work in 2020. The long-standing co-operation between the University of Lapland and the Lapland University of Applied Sciences has led to concrete effects also for us, as many of the services of the Lapland University Consortium (LUC) impact on us.

All the challenges that we have faced make it all clearer how important a resource our working community in the Arctic Centre is. We have tried our best to stay connected with each other during the pandemic and that is something we should continue to do.

In 2021 the Arctic Centre will continue to execute its mission with our new director Johanna Ikävalko. It was a great honour for me to serve as your director between 2015 and 2020.

Timo Koivurova 5

Arctic Centre staff meeting in September.

Meetings in different virtual modes became a daily routine for many. | photo marjo laukkanen

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Expertise Visiting personnel

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researchers from 11 countries with average 8 months stay

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Total funding 3 425 583 €*

trainees from 4 countries with average 2,5 months stay

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projects More information:

research.ulapland.fi

Person years of work 46.08

Basic budget 2 114 614 €, 62 %

Researchers 61 %

External funding 1 310 969 €, 38 %

(e.g. Exhibition Designer, Science Communicator, Project Coordinator, Administrative Secretary)

*Does not include costs of premises and other general expenses

Others 39 %

ARCTIC CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT 2020

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Arktikum 128 454 107 238

2007 80 593 70 333

94 711

77 653

70 369

72 945

72 216

57 571

Visitors in Arktikum

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109 301

91 143

88 049 visitors

73 776

2020 57 571 visitors

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the number of visitors in Arktikum dropped dramatically.

After a snowy winter, Rovaniemi was hit by a severe flood. As a precaution, security measures were also taken in Arktikum.

In the end, all damages were avoided. | photo arto vitikka

During the Science Week in September 2018, 1920 schoolchildren learned about Arctic animals and nature, climate change and space by using methods such as programming, chemistry, art and drama. | photo johanna westerlund

ARCTIC CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT 2020

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Science Centre Exhibitions ▪ ARCTIC IN CHANGE Permanent exhibition ▪ DROWNING LAND, DISAPPEARING SCENERIES 17.1.–26.4.2020 Photo exhibition by Janette Backman tells about the last freeflowing part of River Kemijoki.

▪ NATURE PHOTOS OF THE YEAR 10.3.–26.4.2020 Winners of the Best Nature Photograph of the Year Competition.

▪ CHANGING WINTER 2.6.–13.9.2020 Photography exhibition shows winter as we know it and reminding us of what has already changed. Photos by Markus Varesvuo, Jarmo Manninen and Ville Heikkinen. Texts by Pertti Koskimies.

▪ THE STORY OF AN ARCTIC GARDEN 5.6.–27.9.2020 Exhibition about Arktikum Arctic garden by Monica Tennberg, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland.

▪ THE CALL OF THINGS 22.10.2020–28.2.2021 Exhibition by Jessica Houston uses ‘talking objects’ and photography to address the environmental distress of the North and South Poles.

School co-operation The COVID-19 pandemic caused major obstacles for the school co-operation as well. The biggest annual event Science Week traditionally organized in September was cancelled. Around 325 children took part in learning paths, workshops, and other activities in the Arktikum Science Centre. This is only a fraction of the numbers in previous years.

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A new game was developed for the Arktikum Science Centre for schoolchildren who can learn for example about the effects of global warming on Arctic animals. | photos marjo laukkanen

In Arktikum one can experience winter also during summer. Amazing bird photographs in the Changing Winter exhibition were taken by Markus Varesvuo. | photo santeri happonen

ARCTIC CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT 2020

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Publications 147 32 23

Scientific publications Professional publications Publications for general public

Blogs Northern Political Economy www.arcticcentre.org/NPEblog Arctic Anthropology arcticanthropology.org Kaikuja Arktikselta – Arctic Echoes www.arcticcentre.org/kaikuja

More information: research.ulapland.fi

The conference “Future of the Arctic Human Population: Migration in the North” was organized with a hybrid model 29–30 October 2020, with some of the participants onsite and some online. This two-day event dealt with (im)migration in the north from policy, business and research perspectives. | photo marjo laukkanen

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ARCTIC CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT 2020

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Events and Seminars ▪ GLOBALLY INFLUENTIAL FINLAND IN THE ARCTIC REGION Stakeholder event for preparing Finland’s new Arctic policy strategy 6.2.2020 ▪ PUBLIC DEFENCE OF DOCTORAL DISSERTATION OF ADRIAN BRAUN “Corporate Social Responsibility in the Barents region – A Situational Analysis of Metal Mining” 24.3.2020 ▪ PUBLIC DEFENCE OF DOCTORAL DISSERTATION OF ROZA LAPTANDER “When we got reindeer, we moved to live to the tundra – The Spoken and Silenced History of the Yamal Nenets” 29.4.2020

▪ NORTHERN POLITICAL ECONOMY SYMPOSIUM 2020 Excavating sites of power in the Arctic 27–28.10.2020 ▪ MIGRATION IN THE NORTH CONFERENCE: The Future of the Arctic Human Population 29–30.10.2020 ▪ PUBLIC DEFENCE OF DOCTORAL DISSERTATION OF LUKAS ALLEMANN: “The Experience of Displacement and Social Engineering in Kola Saami Oral Histories” 15.10.2020 ▪ ARCTIC CAFÉ: Land use, climate change, justice – Presenting three Horizon 2020 projects important for the North 25.11.2020

▪ GUIDED TOUR IN THE ARCTIC GARDEN Two guided tours organized as part of the Rovaniemi Week 8.9.2020 and 10.9.2020 The Arctic team of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland were among the rare guests who had the chance to visit the Arctic Centre during 2020. | photo santeri happonen ARCTIC CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT 2020

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Contact Arctic Centre, University of Lapland P.O. Box 122 (Pohjoisranta 4, Arktikum House) 96101 Rovaniemi Finland tel. +358 (0)16 341 341 arcticcentre@ulapland.fi

www.arcticcentre.org @arcticcentre @Arctic_Centre @arktikumofficial