The Arctic region, characterized by its pristine beauty and unique challenges, has been a focal point for environmental discussions for decades. However, the human aspect is often overlooked amidst the climate change discourse. Significantly, the people from the immigrant community are always ignored. This session fosters a comprehensive dialogue on immigrants' evolving role and significance in this environmentally sensitive region.
Syed Musa Kajim Nuri (PhD Researcher at the University of Lapland) and Nafisa Yeasmin (Visiting researcher at the University of Lapland, a docent at Tampere University, and the Lead of the UArctic Thematic Network on Arctic Migration) were the convenor of the session.
Nafisa Yeasmin started the session with her presentation on ‘Conflict or Sustainability in the Northern Communities.’ She reflected on Conflict theory and connected it with Immigration and Resilience. She also pointed out the inclusion and exclusion faced by immigrants in the northern communities and explained the drawbacks of those exclusions, which lead to ideological conflict and may lead to radicalization.
After her presentation, Syed Musa Kajim Nuri presented his paper on ‘Unraveling the Dynamics of Radicalization Against Immigrants: A Study Identifies the Causes, manifestations, and Societal Implications from the Perspective of Lapland.’ He explains the discriminatory situation faced by immigrant people in Lapland, especially by young Immigrants. His paper showed the key factors that can lead to the radicalization of young people, such as discrimination, hate speech, and racist thoughts against immigrants. Furthermore, he explained that racism and hate speech against immigrants exist in the society of Lapland, and it might lead to violent radicalization in the future.
Roger Norum, Associate Professor at the University of Oulu, presented the third presentation at the session on ‘North Time: The Chronotope and Arctic Migrant Communities.’ In his presentation, Roger explained that researchers need new tools for understanding migration processes, e.g., how migrants interact with communities, society, and the state. He also explained the term Chronotope and its relation to migration and Forced Migration.
Timothy Heleniak, Senior Research Fellow of Nordregio, gave the fourth presentation on ‘Diversity explosion in the Nordic Arctic: Migration and integration in the Nordic Arctic. In his presentation, he explained that migration is a complex social and policy issue, sparking contentious debates across the political spectrum. Additionally, he clarified that integration encompasses various elements, including spatial aspects and segregation, in contrast to integration. He also utilized the country of birth as a metric to assess the national, regional, and municipal diversity of migration.
The fifth presentation was given by Eglė Kačkutė-Hagan, Associate Professor, Vilnius University, on ‘Subjectivities of Highly Skilled Lead, Tied, and Equal Migrant Mothers.’ She explained how internationally mobile couples manage their professional and caregiving roles and how highly skilled migrant women balance their roles as professionals, mothers, and migrants. She discussed the challenges that migrant women face in finding employment and building their own careers. Additionally, she explored how individual migrant mothers cope with the challenges they face post-migration and the structural inequalities they encounter.
Professor Monirul Hassan delivered the final presentation on ‘Identifying Responses to Forced Migration: A Case Study of the Rohingya Crisis in Bangladesh.’ In his presentation, Hassan aimed to demonstrate how cultural resilience can be a best practice for assisting forced-migrated people. He illustrated how social capital plays a pivotal role, particularly from the perspective of a small country with limited resources, in helping forced migrants integrate into society.
The session aims to foster constructive dialogue and propose actionable solutions to ensure immigrants' integration into the Arctic through sustainable, culturally enriching, and respect for the region's delicate ecological balance. By facilitating knowledge sharing, collaboration, and the exchange of best practices from various parts of the world, the session sought to establish a foundation for a future where diversity and unity flourish in this distinct region, creating positive outcomes for the immigrant community in the Arctic.