UArctic’s Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Greg Poelzer, and the Vice-President Academic of Aurora College, Margaret Imrie, made a presentation to the officials during a meeting which took place in Yellowknife on 22 February.
"We were very pleased with the ambassadors' engagement in goals and programming of UArctic and their understanding of the great needs in the Northwest Territories and the Canadian North in general," says Imrie.
In attendance at the meeting were:
Mr. Richard Têtu - Ambassador of Canada to Iceland
Mr. Lorenz Friedlaender - Ambassador of Canada to Sweden
Ms. Fredericka Gregory - Ambassador of Canada to Denmark
Ms. Anne-Marie Bourcier - Ambassador of Canada to Finland
Ms. Jillian Stirk - Ambassador of Canada to Norway
Mr. Jeffery Parker - Consul General to Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska
Mr. Jack Anawak - Ambassador for Circumpolar Affairs
Mr. Michael Small - Director General, Human Security and Human Rights Bureau
Mr. Pierre Guimond - Director, Russia Division
Ms. Lee-Anne Hermann - Acting Director, Aboriginal and Circumpolar Affairs Division
Ms. Christine Short - Policy Advisor Aboriginal and Circumpolar Affairs Division
Mr. Brian Young - Policy Advisor, Intergovernmental Affairs Division
Ms. Norma Beth Mickleburgh - Desk Officer, Northern Europe Division
Poelzer says the meeting was an opportunity to express the need for stronger, on-going multi-year Canadian funding for UArctic. Currently, Norway invests into UArctic $1.58 per Northern resident, where as Canada only invests $0.25 per Northern resident.
He says the meeting also gave him the chance to highlight some of UArctic’s success stories.
"We were very proud to outline the successes of UArctic based on Canadian and other Circumpolar investments--more than 1300 student enrolments; 80 per cent of our curriculum developed by Northerners, the current development of an advanced emphasis on Aboriginal self-government led by Aboriginal scholars and practioners, and more than 200 students on north2north exchanges.”