During it’s operation the Icelandic Seal Center has participated in research and other collaboration projects, both local and international.
CAP-SHARE: Building Bridges of Shared Capacity between Scientists, Policymakers, and Communities
The CAP-SHARE project: Building Bridges of Shared Capacity between Scientists, Policymakers, and Communities has received funding from the European Union’s Northern Periphery and Arctic Program amounting to 120 million ISK. It is a three-year project that starts this fall and will end in the fall of 2027. The goal of the project is to empower young people and strengthen the relationship between scientists, policymakers, and Arctic communities when it comes to decision-making regarding the protection of biodiversity and climate change mitigation. Emphasis will be placed on cooperation with young people and the aforementioned groups will participate in workshops where everyone’s voice can be heard.
The participants in Iceland are the Natural History Museum of Iceland, the Icelandic Seal Center, the municipality of Húnaþing vestra, and the youth club Húnaklúbburinn. They will work together with Arctic Frontiers in Norway and the University of Lapland in Finland. Some of the work will be carried out online, but local workshops and events will be also held in each country, based on three themes:
- Co-creating bridges between communities, policymakers, and scientists
- Recognizing intergenerational local and indigenous knowledge
- Involving youth in place-based actions from conception to policy
The project is partly based on an past project called Youth for Arctic Nature led by Jessica Aquino, associate professor at the Department of Tourism at Hólar University. Jessica will also work on the new project together with Cécile Chauvat, who has been hired by the Natural History Museum as an employee of the project and will be based in Hvammstangi.
Contacts: Ragnhildur Guðmundsdóttir ragnhildur.gudmundsdottir@nmsi.is and Cécile Chauvat cecile.chauvat@nmsi.is
Interreg project website: https://www.interreg-npa.eu/projects/cap-share/
Official project website: https://www.arcticnature.org/cap-share.html