Winter

By Stephen Hendrie

Each December Canadian researchers gather for the ArcticNet Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM). Every three years it is an international conference. The one held in December 2020 was different, like everything these days, because it had to be held virtually.

As a result, 1,600 attendees tuned in online, including 327 Northern participants. Going virtual meant giving up the in-person visits, but not the interactions or networking opportunities. Participants watched more than 346 presentations, joined in live question and answer sessions and online chats with panelists and speakers, connected to each other on the virtual conference platform, and more than 5,207 streamed the plenaries together. During the week, sessions and conference events were viewed more than 25,000 times.

Aside from the presentations, a key part of each ASM are the student posters. There are hundreds of them. Thirteen posters included a research focus on Nunavik. They were grouped into three categories: Social and Health Sciences, Terrestrial Science, and Marine Science. Nunavik was well represented in all categories.

Topics were wide ranging. They included: the challenge of permafrost thaw, a new web platform for the sharing of permafrost research, a specific study of permafrost near Kangiqsualujjuaq, the variability of snow cover, and, a better understanding of Nunavik’s coastal dynamics.

Three of the posters studied various aspects of Arctic Char. Another series of posters included a pan-Arctic approach, including Nunavik in its research and findings. These included a study on foxes, an analysis of policies framing research in the Canadian North, and a literature review of Food Insecurity.

There’s a poster that stood out by Myrtille Bayle, a student at Laval University, called, “Towards a Home that Makes Sense?” It’s a thoughtful poster, which explores what a home means for Inuit, and includes quotes from Inuit leaders. It has descriptive sections that describe a home as a micro-territory, social space, and protective shelter.

All the posters can be found here under the “E-Poster” button. You will have to register with an email address to access the site for free. https://eventmobi.com/ac2020/