Sharing Circle for Early Career Professionals & Arctic Youth

Application Process

• 1. Who is eligible to apply?

  Youth from and living in the Arctic, from students to young professionals, and early career professionals from all nations and backgrounds with a relation to the Arctic and an interest in Arctic cooperations are welcome to apply. This specifically includes natural and social scientists and individuals from the education, policy, public, or private sector. Participants must be at least 20 years old and no older than 35 at the time of the Sharing Circle. If your background or field of work/study is not mentioned specifically, but your work or life is linked to the Arctic, you are welcome to apply. 

• 2. How to apply?

  Please apply via the application form. In case you cannot access the application form, we will provide you with a Word document version; please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The organizers will inform you about your results by the end of May.

• 3. Do I need to be an APECS member?

  You do not have to be an APECS member in order to apply for the Sharing Circle. However, we encourage everyone that is interested in the Sharing Circle to sign up as an APECS member to receive updates about this event and other relevant opportunities.

Program & Concept

• 4. Why Northern Finland?

  In the Arctic PASSION project we are honored to work with 6 Arctic communities. One of them, the community of Sevettijärvi, is located in Northern Finland and will be the venue for the Sharing Circle. We are happy for this unique opportunity to stay with the Skolt Sámi community and to host the event there. 

  This location on the home lands of this community allows the participants to listen and to have meaningful conversations with members of the Arctic Indigenous community. Learning about Sámi livelihoods and culture will enable participants to understand conservation and restoration efforts of unique ecological habitats. The culturally important location will introduce participants to different ecosystems and cultural heritage in an Arctic environment.

• 5. What does the program look like?

  The program will be filled with group discussions, presentations, outdoor activities and excursions. Presentations will be given by community members, experts and participants. Participants will gain a better understanding about Arctic life and about the intercultural and transdisciplinary complexity of the Arctic. The Sharing Circle enhances the exchange of young people from Arctic and non-Arctic regions, promoting better collaboration with and among Arctic communities. The program contents will be co-developed by early career professionals, Arctic youth and Arctic PASSION partners, as well as by the Sevettijärvi community. Participation in the Sharing Circle includes two mandatory online events, one introduction call and one online workshop. The dates of these online events are forthcoming.

• 6. What is the ambassador project about?

  After the Sharing Circle, participants will stay connected with the Arctic PASSION project as Arctic PASSION Ambassadors for one year (until September 2024). They will share their newly gained knowledge and lessons learned with a wider audience of their choice through outreach products or projects. The project will be chosen and developed by each participant. Arctic PASSION Ambassadors act as multipliers and increase the reach of the Sharing Circle. 

  The ambassador projects can have a variety of formats, such as a blog, a presentation, activities with schools, engagements with other early career scientists. A similar ambassador project scheme was included in the MOSAiC School in 2019, see example projects here: 

  https://www.apecs.is/outreach/mosaic-school-outreach/mosaic-ambassadors-projects.html

  There will be time for participants/ambassadors to develop ideas for their own projects during the Sharing Circle. 

Travel

• 7. How to get there?

  The Sharing Circle will take place in Sevettijärvi and Inari, Finland. If you are not from Finland, one option is to fly to Helsinki and take the train from Helsinki to Rovaniemi (helping us reduce CO2 emissions from additional flying). Train tickets can be booked on VR’s website: https://www.vr.fi/en. There are also good connections for night trains between Helsinki and Rovaniemi. From Rovaniemi you need to hop on the bus to Inari. Tickets can be booked here: https://www.matkahuolto.fi. There is also an airport in Rovaniemi and Ivalo.  Please check your connections early! Depending on the distance of your travel, it might be necessary to fly in on Saturday. The Sharing Circle will end on Friday, 6 October 2023, in Inari. 

  Please keep in mind that we will be in an Arctic environment that is strongly affected by climate change. Please try to reduce the carbon footprint of your travel as much as possible.

  Do NOT make any bookings before the organizers have confirmed your participation in the Sharing Circle.

• 8. Do I need travel insurance?

  Arctic PASSION and APECS reserve the right to cancel the Sharing Circle due to unforeseen circumstances, including but not limited to political unrest or pandemic restrictions. Participants should also consider the possibility that they may be unable to travel (e.g. in case of illness). Given these reasons, please consider booking flexible or refundable tickets and/or using travel insurance.

• 9. Do I need a visa?

  It is your responsibility to check if you need a visa to be able to travel to Finland. Please also consider whether you need special documents to travel e.g. valid passport.

• 10. Will there be any COVID restrictions?

  You can find information on current Finnish border restrictions related to COVID here: https://raja.fi/en/covid19-info. All participants are individually responsible for checking requirements and preparing any necessary documents before their journey starts.

  Depending on the situation in October, we will decide if further COVID precautions must be taken.

Practicalities

• 11. Accommodation: What can I expect?

  The accommodation will be simple: rooms will be shared (bunk beds and single beds). People of the same gender will share bedrooms. Accommodation during the event will be provided by the organizers.

• 12. Food: What can I expect?

  We will be dependent on the accommodation providers and the local resources for food and drinks. Therefore, we cannot necessarily accommodate all preferences. We will provide further information for people who are vegan or vegetarian. Please make sure to mention your dietary restrictions in the application form. Food (breakfast, lunch, dinner) will be provided by the organizers.

• 13. Will I have internet access during the Sharing Circle?

  Please be aware that there may be very limited internet during the Sharing Circle due to the remoteness of the location. We will update the FAQ section with more information regarding internet access in April.

• 14. What to pack?

  You can ask questions about what to bring during the online introduction meeting before the event and you will be provided with a packing list. 

• 15. What are the costs?

  There will be no registration fee for the Sharing Circle. The only costs participants will have to cover themselves are travel costs to and from Northern Finland. Should travel support become available, the organizers will notify the participants, but this additional travel support cannot be guaranteed. Accommodation and food (breakfast, lunch, dinner) will be provided by the organizers. The day prior departure, there will be possibilities to buy food in the store to prepare for the travel.