TO DATE, THE UNESCO CHAIR OF NEFU IMPLEMENTS RESEARCH ACTIVITIES ON THE FOLLOWING PROJECTS:

Digitalization of the linguistic and cultural heritage of the indigenous peoples of the Arctic

This Arctic Council project aims to preserve and develop indigenous languages, traditional knowledge and cultures of the Arctic indigenous peoples, including nutrition as a basis for diversifying the local economy and new approaches to adapting to changes in the Arctic. The project provides for the widespread use of modern digital technologies, the creation of a GIS map and a knowledge base of the indigenous peoples of the Arctic on a single multilingual portal www.arctic-megapedia.com. The project will provide access to information, promote better understanding and facilitate adaptation to changes in the Arctic based on the knowledge and resources of affected communities and peoples.

Expected project outcomes:

• Compilation of a digital collection of languages and cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Arctic;

• Presentation of information on the indigenous peoples of the Arctic on the portals:: www.arctic-megapedia.com, www.arcticportal.org, www.arctic-council.org and others;

• Promotion of traditional culture of indigenous peoples on the Internet, transfer of traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples to young people and involvement of young people in science and research, promotion of educational activities to teach native languages and culture of indigenous peoples of the Arctic, preservation and development of their language and culture;
  
• Creation of a unified structured knowledge base and platform for the indigenous peoples of the Arctic, which will allow them to learn fr om each other, preserve and develop their languages, culture and traditional way of life;
  
• Creating a multicultural environment for communication between peoples living in the Arctic;
  
• The use of digital technologies to train future personnel for the Arctic regions, taking into account the nomadic way of life.
  
• Expansion of the project "Arctic Indigenous languages and revitalization: an online educational resource" through methodological expert evaluation of the first draft version of the map together with partner organizations;
  
• Development of GIS maps of the languages of the indigenous peoples of the Arctic;
  
• Holding a seminar on intellectual property rights of indigenous peoples of the Arctic;
  
• Conducting a workshop on creating an open source development infrastructure for language technologies.
  

Thematic network of the University of the Arctic "Human adaptation in the changing Arctic"

A new thematic network "Human Adaptation in the changing Arctic" was created in 2019. This thematic network (TN) has an interdisciplinary focus, wh ere human adaptation in the Arctic will be researched from the point of view of various sciences. This network includes climate, environmental, sociological, cultural and linguistic studies that will assess the adaptation of indigenous peoples to climate change and globalization.

The main purpose of the thematic network is to study traditional, local and scientific knowledge for the development of scientifically based adaptation solutions for the indigenous population of the Arctic.

More information: https://www.uarctic.org/organization/thematic-networks/human-adaptation-in-the-changing-arctic/

Project "Feasibility study on co-production of knowledge between researchers and indigenous communities for climate change adaptation"

The UNESCO Chair, in partnership with the Circumpolar Reindeer Husbandry Institute, received a grant from the Nordic-Russian Cooperation Program in the field of higher education and research and began work on the project "Feasibility study on co-production of knowledge between researchers and indigenous communities for climate change adaptation". Within the framework of this project, two seminars with the participation of indigenous communities, authorities and researchers are planned to be held in the village of Kolymskoye in the Nizhnekolymsky district of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), as well as in the village of Hetta, Finland, 2020-2021. Work is underway to study climate change in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and Finland, as well as the correlation of these processes with the ongoing natural disasters. In May 2021, it is planned to publish a collection based on the results of the work.

Cooperation with the UNESCO Chair on Language Policies for Multilingualism of the Federal University of Santa Catarina (Brazil)

In 2019, a cooperation agreement was signed between NEFU and the Federal University of Santa Catarina (Brazil). Since then, both universities have been working together. Gilvan Muller de Oliveira, Professor at the Federal University of Santa Catarina and Head of the UNESCO Chair, specializes in multilingualism and linguistic diversity.

The work of two sections of the Northern Forum has been organized and ensured:

1.     Preservation and development of the languages and culture of the indigenous peoples of the Arctic in the context of globalization.

2.     Human adaptation in the Arctic

Gilvan Muller de Oliveira made a presentation at the first section.

In February 2021, it is planned to hold two joint seminars on multilingualism, which will be attended by the NEFU – the Institute of Foreign Philology and Regional Studies, the NEFU Department of International Relations and the UNESCO Chair.

The project "Arctic Indigenous languages and revitalization: an online educational resource"

Our chair is a partner of the Arctic University project of the University of Tromso – the Arctic University of Norway. The Institute of the Peoples of the North of the A.I. Herzen Russian State Pedagogical University, Nord University (Norway) and the Secretariat of the Indigenous Peoples of the Arctic Council, the Alaska Indigenous Languages Center will also work on this project. The aim of the project is to complete the review of a comprehensive circumpolar GIS map of the languages of the indigenous peoples of the Arctic, which will be used as an online resource for teaching and research. The main result of this project GIS map will be posted on the portal arctic-megapedia.com.

The project "Development of innovations in the nutrition of indigenous peoples"

The UNESCO Chair is a partner of the University of the Arctic project, headed by the Nord University Business School, and is part of the EALLU Arctic Council project "Changes in the Arctic, Indigenous Youth and Food Culture". The project "Development of innovations in the nutrition of indigenous peoples" is associated with the project of the Food Innovation Cluster of the Arctic Council (AFIC). In February 2019, the Arctic Council's Working Group on Sustainable Development approved the Arctic Food Innovation Cluster (AFIC). The aim of AFIC is to respond to global food production challenges by trying to identify the role of the Arctic and its contribution to climate change and food security issues locally and globally.