One of the goals is to increase the educational and research capacity of Arctic people.

With this in mind, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and the University of the Arctic.

Shared responsibility
- The IPY has proven that mankind is becoming more aware of the global threats, said Prince Albert II in his closing of Tuesday's plenary session.

The Foundation, which was created by the H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince Albert II in June 2006, is dedicated to the protection of the environment and the promotion of sustainable development on a global scale.

Photo: John Petter Reinertsen/Samfoto
H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince Albert II of Monaco.- The threats concern us all, and we should bring together good will from all over the planet, said the Prince. - I am pleased that my Foundation can participate, thanks to the agreement that we are signing today.

Virtual university
The University of the Arctic, UArctic, is a cooperative network of universities, colleges and other organizations committed to higher education and research in the North. It embraces 130 institutions in total.

Through the newly signed partnership, the two entities aim at replicating to other regions threatened by climate change the knowledge gained by the Arctic people. They also wish to increase understanding of northern environmental issues and examine the possibility of creating stipend programs for students at a UArctic member institution.

Different kinds of knowledge
The agreement was signed by Mr Lars Kullerud, President of the University of the Arctic and HE Mr Bernard Fautrier, Vice-President and Chief Executive Officer of Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.

The signing was followed by a discussion between representatives from the two organizations, where the Monegasque Prince was offered pieces of dried reindeer meat from the Arctic.

Kullerud emphasized the importance of involving the people of the Arctic in the research.

- There is not just one way to think about knowledge. The Arctic has a knowledge that is different from the traditional scholar knowledge, and which builds upon the culture of the indigenous people. We need to include different kinds of thinking in these common efforts, was his message.

Photo: John Petter Reinertsen/Samfoto
Prince Albert II of Monaco with representatives of the University of the Arctic and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.