Carving out Climate Testimony: Inuit Youth, Wellness & Environmental Stewardship
This summer our program was able to meet and network with several new projects starting up.
One of those projects is Carving out Climate Testimony: Inuit Youth, Wellness & Environmental Stewardship. This new international research project asks a two-fold question: how does climate change impact Inuit youth and what are the resilience factors that enhance mental health and well-being?
This new research initiative funded by the new Canada-Inuit Nunangat-United Kingdom (CINUK) Research Programme. The CINUK program’s purpose is to increase understanding of and to address the environmental, social, economic, cultural, engineering and infrastructure impacts of climate change in the Canadian Arctic. It was announced this spring by the federal government.
“Canada is committed to Indigenous self-determination in Arctic research as a pivotal element for strengthening capacity building, education, networking, and resilience,” said the Hon. Dan Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs and Member of Parliament for St. Boniface and St. Vital riding in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Working alongside other Inuit artists the project will also be exploring how long-standing practices of storytelling can be used as a material and intergenerational method to visually convey climate realities and shape policy that enhances resilience strategies. Specifically, an interdisciplinary team will be exploring how changes to terrestrial, freshwater and coastal ecosystems (sea-ice and coastal processes, freshwater, snow, permafrost thaw, and changing marine ecosystems) impact Inuit youth’s mental health and well-being.
The research being conducted by the successful projects over the three years of the CINUK Programme covers a wide range of important areas, including shipping, wildlife health, country foods, ecosystem health, renewable energy, community health, and much more.
Related Reading:
Successful Canadian, Inuit and UK Research teams announced for major new Arctic research programme
https://www.canada.ca/en/polar-knowledge/news/2022/05/successful-canadian-inuit-and-uk-research-teams-announced-for-major-new-arctic-research-programme.html
Canada-Inuit Nunangat-United Kingdom Arctic Research Programme 2021 – 2025 (CINUK) https://www.arctic.ac.uk/research/canada-inuit-nunangat-united-kingdom-arctic-research-programme-2021-2025-cinuk/
Food Security, Resilience and Adaptation in the Arctic, using Participatory Video
https://www.cbrl.uvic.ca/inuit-youth
UNESCO Chair in Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education, University of Victoria (UVic)
https://www.unescochair-cbrsr.org
