The 7th International Kastelli Symposium will be held at the University of Oulu, Finland, on 18-19 November 2010. The primary theme of the symposium is "People in a Changing World." Sub-themes include adaptation of people to changes in society and culture; effect of political issues on welfare and well-being; and future aspects of health and well-being. A book of abstracts will be compiled and published from the abstracts submitted to the Symposium. The Symposium is organized by the Thule Institute, University of Oulu, in cooperation with the University of Arctic Thematic Networks on Global Change and Arctic Medicine.

A group of researchers working on a SSHRC-funded study about Aboriginal broadband development in Canada is looking for potential interview sources. Dr. Susan O’Donnell (National Research Council; University of New Brunswick), Dr. Richard Smith (Simon Fraser University) and Rob McMahon (SFU) are working on a research project for SSHRC’s Knowledge Synthesis Grants on the Digital Economy program.

A primary focus of the work is to understand and develop an Aboriginal perspective on an Aboriginal Connectivity Strategy for Canada. 20 key informants working on Aboriginal connectivity issues will be interviewed, and short stories will be developed of effective practice in Aboriginal communities. This interview data will be accompanied with a literature review, and the resulting report will be discussed with INAC staff (and potentially Aboriginal partners) working on Aboriginal Connectivity Strategy. We are particularly interested to learn about broadband and information and communication technology (ICT) projects in Aboriginal communities in the North and Far North.

ICASS, the International Congress of the Arctic Social Sciences, is held every three years. The seventh congress will be held in Akureyri, Iceland, on June 22-26, 2011. The working title for ICASS VII is "Circumpolar Perspectives in Global Dialogue: Social Sciences Beyond the IPY".

IASSA invites concrete proposals or ideas and thoughts about themes of special interest for sessions and workshops at ICASS VII. Please submit your session proposals by 15 September 2010 to IASSA secretary Lara Olafsdottir (address below).

The Department of Archaeology and Social Anthropology, University of Tromso is offering a fully funded 4 year PhD fellowship to conduct field research in Siberia and/or the Russian North. The fellow will work in partnership with several funded research projects with indigenous societies in the region. Deadline: 1 September 2010 to begin work 1 January 2011. Complete details are available at the following website: http://www.jobbnorge.no/job.aspx?jobid=67845

The 18th annual Arctic Conference will be held 12-13 November 2010 at Bryn Mawr College, located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. The college is located a few miles west of Philadelphia. The Arctic Conference has traditionally been an informal meeting with no concurrent sessions, to maximize opportunities for information
exchange across sub-regions and disciplines. Students are especially encouraged to present research results in a collegial atmosphere that includes senior archaeologists, anthropologists, ecologists, and geologists who gather once a year to share data and new findings, and to plan collaborative research activities.

The Centre for Nordic Studies at the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) invites the submission of abstracts for the Inaugural St Magnus Conference, Orkney 2011 at the Centre for Nordic Studies, UHI Millennium Institute, Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, Scotland, 14-15th April, 2011. The 2-day international conference will feature presentations on cultural and geographical connections between Scotland and the Nordic World, fostering dialogue and knowledge exchange between academia, government and the public. The theme of this event concerns cultural, geographical and historical links between Scotland and the Nordic World. However, we welcome talks on all Nordic and maritime topics, particularly comparative studies. Abstracts are due by 30/11/10.

In the Arctic, climatic warming is twice as marked as in the rest of the world, and the arctic territories are being transformed. The shrinking of the permanent sea ice cover is opening up navigation through the
North-West and the North-East passages and possibilities are arising, regarding the resources of the ocean floor and its surrounding coastline. The conference will examine the existing juridical arrangements, and discuss what role can be played in the protection of the Arctic by international organizations and institutions, as well as other organizations in terms of regional cooperation. By bringing together geophysicists, political scientists, jurists, geographers and historians, this international conference intends to discuss and analyze what is at stake in present controversies, to clarify modes of governance, to explore the possibility of international regulation, and to throw scientific light on this urgent and increasingly controversial topic of major geopolitical interest.

Organizers announce that the 15th International Congress on Circumpolar Health (ICCH15) will be held 5-12 August 2012 in Fairbanks, Alaska. The ICCH is the triennial Congress of the International Union for
Circumpolar Health (IUCH), a network of international societies and organizations dedicated to health in the circumpolar regions. Archives for ICCH14, held in July 2009, can be found at: http://icch2009.com. Updates on ICCH15 will be available at: http://iuch.net/index.php.

10.00-17.00, TUESDAY 21 SEPTEMBER 2010, British Library, London. Speakers include Harald Brekke, Sverker Sörlin, Alan Hemmings, Corine Wood-Donnelly, Philip Hatfield and Dougal Goodman. Attendance is free and open to all those interested in the Polar Regions, but prior registration is required to help with catering arrangements. To register for the seminar, please contact Richard Powell (R.C.Powell@Liverpool.ac.uk) as soon as possible, and by MONDAY 30 AUGUST 2010 at the very latest.

Organizers are pleased to announce that funds are available to support the travel costs of postgraduates, postdoctoral fellows and early career researchers at the seminar. In order to apply for one of these grants, please send your name, position, contact details and a statement of your research interests and why you wish to attend the seminar (50 words maximum) to Richard Powell (R.C.Powell@Liverpool.ac.uk) by MONDAY 23 AUGUST 2010. Previous applicants for grants need to just send an email confirming that they want to apply again.

The scientific exploration of extreme climatic conditions and hostile environments flourished during the Cold War. In the course of these years of confrontation between East and West, research on ‘the cold’ served ambivalent purposes. On the one hand, increasing knowledge about extreme climatic conditions seemed to guarantee political power and access to future resources. One the other hand, the very nature of the earth’s surface and its characteristics challenged dichotomous ideologies of 'East' and ‘West’. Events like the International Geophysical Year (1957-1958) structured global efforts to investigate the world as a whole. Spatial images of the ‘blue planet’ can be seen to be a result of the environmental knowledge gained through earth sciences. As the earth’s climate influenced many aspects of human life, culture, and politics, the scientific perception of ice and snow needed to be investigated from different perspectives. Scientific disciplines such as meteorology, geophysics, glaciology and oceanography were part of the exploration of ice and snow.

This workshop is interested in new research projects at the interface of environmental history, military history and the history of science and technology to contribute to the discussion on the scientific perception and constitution of nature in the Cold War.