Council Conference on Information and Communication

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen

It is a great pleasure to be invited to this conference on Information and Communication Technology in the Arctic. Akureyri, and especially the University of Akureyri, has during the last few years established itself as and important center for Arctic research in Iceland. It is therefore very appropriate that Akureyri has been selected as a location for this International Conference of the Arctic Council.

From the beginning, environmental protection has been a fundamental goal of the Arctic Council, which has done outstanding work in the area of monitoring and assessing pollution in the Arctic land and seas, as well as in the field of conservation of biodiversity. The outcome of this work has created genuine interests within the scientific community worldwide and increased political awareness about the particularities of our region.

The Arctic Council currently devotes increasing attention to ways and means of eliminating pollution. The Arctic Council Action Plan - for the Protection of the Environment - has developed specific action programs to phase-out harmful substances like PCB's and dioxins, to mention only a couple of examples.

Issues relating to climate change are of paramount importance, as the climate change will affect our life in the Arctic in many ways, probably more then we can imagine today. For this reason, the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment is attracting special attention.

The lessons we have learned from our environmental work teach us an important lesson about the environment as such but also about the effects that environmental changes can have on the lives of the people. It is not least for this reason that we are now devoting more effort to the social, economic and cultural life of the Arctic.

Man has inhabited the Arctic for thousands of years and the region is extremely rich in culture, tradition and diversity. Life in the Arctic has typically been based on harmony with nature. Respect for sustainable harvesting of natural resources has been engraved in the souls of the Arctic people since long before the term Sustainable Development was invented in political circles.

Addressing also the social needs and economic and cultural well-being, in addition to environmental question, is necessary for establishing balanced sustainable development. Responding to this need, Ministers, at their last meeting in Inari, launched a comprehensive study of the living conditions in the Arctic, entitled Arctic Human Development Report, to be completed by fall next year. In addition, the Icelandic Chairmanship program focuses on the need for co-ordination of Arctic research and of course on the use of information technology in the Arctic, the reason for which we are all gathered here today.

It is our belief that by promoting these subjects within the Arctic Council, we can contribute to the overall objective of the Arctic Council, that is to address sustainable development in a vigorous and balanced way.

It is my hope that this conference will help us to establish clearer our vision of the opportunities that await us in the utilization of information and communication technology, with primary focus on distance education and telemedicine. These two subjects are obvious priorities in the sparsely populated areas as the Arctic. We have all recognized the special role information technology has played in economic growth and increased prosperity worldwide. We can also appreciate the enormous benefits that the utilization of these technologies can play for the communities of the Arctic region - with their long distances and fragmented habitats.

I am convinced that all of our countries have been exploring the endless possibilities that these technologies can confer. This is reflected in many policy issues here in Iceland. As a part of the Governments Regional Policy, we have launched special development programs in distributed learning ranging from primary school to university level education. The operation of these programs is based on our belief that education and especially the possibility for young people to fulfill most of their educational desires from their home districts will strengthen the rural communities and their economic competitiveness.

We have also noticed that in the rural areas of Iceland the utilization of the tools of the Information Society is not keeping up with the development in the urban area of Reykjavik. In order to speed up the development in rural Iceland the Government has launched a national competition on designing and operating new development projects that are specially tailored to the electronic needs of the rural areas. These development projects can for example be on distance education, telemedicine, e- commerce, the utilization of electronic signatures in business transactions - just to name a few.

I mention this competition - at this occasion - because it was based on a similar competition held in Canada a few years ago - named: "Smart Communities". When we expressed interest in utilizing the concept here in Iceland - the Canadians very willingly shared their experience with us and thereby saved us a lot of time and effort. There is no doubt in my mind that there are many similar projects that we could share for our mutual benefit. This conference is an ideal venue for sharing such ideas both by the formal conference presentation and also during other more relaxed occasions.

Ladies and gentlemen.
I am pleased to note that the Arctic Council has recognized the importance of the information- and communication technologies for the communities of the Arctic region. This emphasizes the importance of the Information Society for developing human resources and new opportunities in the region. Given the capacity of information technology to change society and transform the economy, it is important to identify obstacles for the effective use of this technology and content in the region.

The Arctic Council has its roots in co-operation on environmental issues for which it has gained widespread recognition for the high quality scientific research. It is my belief that by highlighting the social and socio-economic dimension, the positive influence on the development in the Arctic can lead to greater accomplishments still.

Ladies and gentlemen with these few words I declare this Conference on Information and Communication Technology in the Arctic - formally open.