NGO Forum in Yugra Adopts Charter on Developing Arctic Regions

The participants of the Yugra international forum on civil initiatives of the countries of the 60th parallel adopted the charter of civil participation in the development of Arctic and Northern regions to protect the environment of indigenous Northern peoples and support social entrepreneurship.

The forum gathered about 300 experts on civil society development and representatives of non-profit organizations from the regions located at the 60th parallel north, a representative of Yugra’s department of public and external relations told RIA Novosti. The forum, held in Yugra for the first time, is meant as a permanent venue for sharing experience on humanitarian cooperation and social entrepreneurship between the northern regions of Russia, Scandinavia, Iceland, the United States and Canada.

The department’s representative said the charter establishes the main areas of cooperation between the participants of the forum. They will focus on protecting the environment of the indigenous people of the North, conducting local studies, developing a barrier-free environment and social entrepreneurship, supporting volunteer and crowd funding projects and creating a common digital space for civil initiatives.

The charter is designed to serve as the foundation for developing a strategy to strengthen civil society in the Arctic and Northern regions.

“The territories of the North have much in common. They have unique and fragile ecosystems that require special protection. They face unique climatic conditions that create in people special stamina, character, activity and personal concern for those around you. These are indigenous Northern minorities with their own unique cultures, traditions, and languages, and our common humanitarian task is to preserve them,” Yugra Governor Natalya Komarova said in a statement shared by the department’s representative.