Introducing the Future Keepers of the High North

FUTURE KEEPERS OF THE HIGH NORTH

Editorial team:
Nauja Bianco, Vilborg Einarsdottir, Inga Hansen, Ivor Crotty, Ines Piątkowska, Hlin Johannesdottir, Susan Garde Pettie,

Photography: Olafur Ardal, Kristjan Fridriksson, Hans Vera, Angu Motzfeldt

Filming: Heimir Bjarnason, Olafur Ardal

Graphics / Visual editing:
Audur Elisabet Johannsdottir, Ines Piątkowska, Olafur Ardal

Future Keepers of the High North is an editorially independent series produced by a dedicated JONAA editorial team. The series is made with initial support in part from JONAA Initiative Inc. and
NORA (Nordic Atlantic Cooperation), an intergovernmental organization under the regional cooperation program of the Nordic Council of Ministers

The Future Keepers of the High North is a new series in JONAA, offering insights into the Arctic and sub-Arctic through the eyes of Generation Z. Raised on the frontlines of climate change in a region warming four times faster than the global average, they are poised to lead and protect their homeland.

Born between the mid-1990s and mid-2010s, Generation Z is also the first to grow up with digital technology, enabling cross-border collaboration, activism, and new opportunities in education and business.

In developing this series, we spoke with young Arctic people, many already addressing local challenges while sharing a united vision for sustainability. Despite differences in nationality and culture, they are innovative, resilient, and passionate about future developments in the vast High North.

We also hope this series calls on policymakers, as the voices of young people must be heard and actively involved in decision-making to ensure a thriving Arctic for generations to come. ▢

The JONAA Dialogues at the Arctic Circle ‘23

“I wanted the Arctic Circle to become a new model of cooperation for the 21st century. A model where formal representatives of states no longer had the monopoly of the dialogue and where anyone could participate, whether he or she was a young activist, a student, a president or a prime minister.”

In these words, Iceland’s former president and founder of the Arctic Circle Assembly, Ólafur Ragnar Grimsson, once described his vision for the highly successful Arctic conference held annually for over a decade.

The number of young people attending and participating in sessions is always striking, as is the wide range of topics they present. They come well-prepared; they are good at presenting their research, making their arguments, and describing their projects. They not only have the knowledge and interest for the issues they speak about, but they also have the heart for it.

But do they feel that their words, concerns, suggestions, and ideas are genuinely heard by the people they want to hear? At the Arctic Circle Assembly in ‘23, a group of brilliant young people, Future Keepers of the High North, participated in the JONAA Dialogues.

Click here to watch their discussions with Nauja Bianco and learn about their priorities for the near future.

I want a professional future that does not require a move to Oslo

Margareta Orkan, filmmaker and documentarist from Tromsö, North Norway

Speaking solemnly from my perspective and taking the risk of sounding very selfish - in the coming years, I long to see a reality where you can have a long, thriving film career in the North of Norway. Where you don’t have to move to Oslo for the opportunities but can grow professionally despite living in the Arctic. To work here in “my environment,” my nature and my community is an important part of who I am. It is also reflected in the work I create; you can say that it is the preservation of knowledge about people and life in Arctic Norway, and there is value in that for all of Norway.

We’ve seen a continuing brain drain from the area for too long. People in my profession have moved to Oslo or abroad because there aren’t enough opportunities here at home. I believe this problem is found in many places in the Arctic and in many more professions.

It feels like within our government administration, of course, based in the capital, there is some lack of understanding or enthusiasm - or both. Seeing strong reasons for serious investment in creative professions in faraway regions may not be so obvious. Or maybe people feel that what is created so far from the capital is hardly of high standards. Or whatever! Ok, now I am sounding way to negative, but it really sometimes feels this way.

I´ve seen this happen several times. Also, I´ve seen talented professionals who don’t want to move from here switch to jobs that neither fit their specialty nor their industry. So those who are too stubborn to leave may exit the film industry of the North for financial reasons.

When films and documentaries that are made here gain attention, especially in other countries, everyone, including in Oslo, is so proud of us filmmakers living in the High North. But most other days, it feels like the attention and support are focused on other areas.I want this to change. It is a privilege for me as a filmmaker to be able to have a career and live in Tromsö, but it is also a gain for Norway. Filmmakers everywhere get ideas and inspiration within their close surroundings; we do that too, visualize stories that happen here, keep memories alive, and document, in that way, parts of Norwegian history and heritage that might otherwise go unnoticed and eventually become unknown.

I also want to see changes outside of my profession. In ten years, I want to wake up in a “greener world.” Where the big companies have made their promises and proposed green shifts and where societies globally have adjusted to existing in harmony with nature and with each other, we who live in the North see positive changes made that help in our everyday lives and bring us even closer to nature. This may sound utopian, but most positive things begin with hope and a dream - and dreams can come true!

Then, of course, like many of my generation, too many, I should say - I want to see a Norway where buying a home is an option for young people and not a privilege for the rich.” ▢

An excerpt from an interview, yet to be published in full, with filmmaker Margareta Orkan from Tromsö, Norway.

Josef Tarrak-Petrussen in acton. JONAA©Arny Kor Mogensen

Greenlanders - Wake up!

Josef Tarrak-Petrussen from Greenland, an activist, visionary, and artist

The Roskilde Festival in Denmark is one of Europe’s largest music festivals, attracting some 130,000 people yearly. In the summer of 2023, a Greenlandic rapper became the first from his country to perform on the Gaia stage for up-and-coming artists. With his commanding presence and powerful voice, he delivered the razor-sharp message he wanted the audience to hear—and no less importantly, to be heard by people far beyond the festival's borders.

And Josef Tarrak Petrussen was heard loud and clear. His stark criticism was directed at Denmark—but no less at his fellow Greenlanders, whom he urges to break free from the constraints of their colonial mindset.

In the industry, he is known as Tarrak. An artist in his mid-twenties whose work spans music, film, and theatre, an activist, a visionary - and he is fearless.

Click here to read on.

Look out for the several brilliant Future Keepers who will be introduced here in the coming weeks; activists, politicians, indigenous hunters, and so much more. All with voices that need to be heard.

And, feel free to bring our attention to young people in your environment that we should be aware of and who fit the definition of being Future Keepers of the High North - send us an email to jonaa@jonaa.org. We know many are out there, and we welcome all suggestions.

Nauja Bianco was born and raised in Nuuk, Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland). She is part Inuk, part Danish. She has a master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Aarhus, Denmark, and Sciences Politique á Lille, France supplemented with communication and leadership coaching. Since 2004, her career has been within international relations, foreign and security policy, and diplomacy as well as general advice around Greenland, the Arctic, the Nordic countries, and the EU. Besides Greenland, she has lived in the USA; Brussels, Belgium; Toronto, Canada, and now lives in Copenhagen, Denmark. Between 2020-2023 she was the CEO of the Greenlandic House and the North Atlantic House in Odense, Denmark. Since 2023 she has worked as a board member and has been an independent consultant (Isuma Consultancy). Nauja is a contributing member of JONAA’s advisory board since 2018.

Vilborg Einarsdottir is the Editor-in-Chief of JONAA, the Journal of the North Atlantic & Arctic and a JONAA partner & founder. Formally a journalist for 12 years at Morgunblaðið in Iceland, she has worked since 1996 as a specialised producer of film, photography and media productions on extreme locations in Arctic Greenland and as a cultural producer in the Nordic-Arctic region. She is an awarded film and documentary scriptwriter, experienced project manager and editor of photography books from the Arctic.

Hlín Jóhannesdottir is the Head of Production at JONAA and a JONAA partner and founder. Following her studies in anthropology and media, Hlín has worked for over 25 years in Iceland's film industry and is a multi-awarded producer of feature films and documentaries. Hlín headed ÍKSA, The Icelandic Film & Television Academy, for five years and is currently the dean of the Icelandic Film School. She is the founder of the production company Ursus Parvus. In addition to film production, Hlín has produced and organized cultural and media projects in the Nordic-Arctic region.

NORA (Nordic Atlantic Cooperation) is an intergovernmental organization under the regional cooperation program of the Nordic Council of Ministers that brings together Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and coastal Norway, as stated on the organization’s webpage. The organization traces its roots to 1981 and the establishment of cooperation in the west Nordic area. It adopted the name NORA when coastal Norway joined in 1996. The NORA constituents are interlinked by their location, shared traits, and common challenges, in addition to multiple historical, institutional, and cultural ties.
NORA contributes to reinforcing regional cooperation to make the North Atlantic a strong and dynamic part of the Nordic region that is defined by its robust, sustainable economic development. NORA’s initiatives include strengthening cross-border collaboration between the private sector and research and development bodies. The NORA offices are based in Torshavn, the Faroe Islands.