GRID-Arendal is a non-profit private foundation, established in 1989 by the Norwegian Ministry of Environment. It is a collaborating centre to UNEP, the United Nations Environmental Programme, which works to support governments around the world with their awareness-raising and decision-making towards environmental management. GRID-Arendal’s mission is to disseminate environmental knowledge enabling positive change. This is achieved by organizing and transforming sound scientific environmental data into rigorous information products, delivered through innovative communication tools, environmental assessments and capacity-building services to the relevant stakeholders.
GRID-Arendal has a long and varied history of successfully communicating environmental issues and solutions to a variety of target audiences within the Arctic, and to global audiences. The Arctic region has been one of the principal focuses of the organisation since its founding, with GRID- Arendal being UNEP ́s key polar centre and helping to communicate Arctic issues to a global audience. Over the years, GRID-Arendal has built a strong network in the region, including with Arctic Council working groups and Permanent Participants, other Indigenous Peoples groups and communities living in the coastal as well as inland areas, as well as a host of scientific institutions in the Arctic. Our work has included providing communications support to the Arctic Council in the format of assessments and more visual communication, including infographics and films, to the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) and the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP). We have also co-led the Many Strong Voices (MSV) programme, which brings together communities (including Indigenous) from the Arctic and Small Island Developing States to take action on climate change. In 2013, MSV was named as one of the ten most influential climate campaigns. Recently, we have been involved in several EU-funded initiatives in the Arctic. GRID-Arendal co-led the development of the Arctic NGO Forum (2012 – 2015), a stakeholder platform to promote the views of circum-Arctic environmental NGOs in EU policy decisions. GRID-Arendal was also responsible for stakeholder consultations in the EU-funded “Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment of Development of the Arctic” project.
Main Tasks in the Project
GRID-Arendal’s main tasks in the project is to provide outreach and communications services under WP10 in cooperation with AWI, AP, and APECS, as well as in WP 4, 7, 9 and 10; in particular with regards to developing the communication and dissemination strategy (early on the project), communicating the project results through the website, social media and through other means (including cartography, short films etc); assisting the design and implementation of stakeholder meetings and larger events, and developing targeted information products such as a comprehensive Atlas of Arctic Permafrost.
GRID-Arendal staff involved in Nunataryuk
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PI in WP10
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Communications Expert in WP10
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| Cartographer and communications expert in WP10 Levi Westerveld Geographer, Technology and Innovation Phone: +47 929 89 904 |
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