The 16 young people who will influence the Arctic's future

The Arctic news website Arctic Deeply has published its list of 16 young leaders they believe will influence the region’s future. This may be a bit self-promotional, as I’m honored to be included in the list. Reading about the hopes and aspirations of the other fifteen folks is enormously inspiring.

It’s also satisfying to see many young leaders born and raised in the Arctic, from Mikhail Pogodaev, an economist born into a reindeer-herding family in Russia’s Sakha Republic, to Angela Nuliayok Rudolph, an Inuk teacher and graduate student from Gjoa Haven, Nunavut, Canada. The rise of leaders with Arctic roots is important to making local voices heard in decision-making about the region’s future.

Eleven out of the sixteen are women, too, which is good news for a region where so many decisions in the past have been made by men hailing from the Earth’s more temperate reaches. It also may inadvertently shed light on how it may be easier for women to negotiate new roles in the contemporary Arctic, whereas men, who are often no longer called upon as they once were to fill traditional roles of hunting and providing for the family, can encounter more challenges. 

From filmmakers to climate change scientists to indigenous activists, the young people on the list are hard at work trying to make a difference in the Arctic. Over the coming weeks, Arctic Deeply will be publishing interviews with these individuals. I’m hoping that thanks to this list, I’ll be able to connect with people from across the region on projects and solutions to make the Arctic a better place.