Thursday, March 5, 2009

Win a trip to Norway: Deadline April, 14, 2009

Essay contest: win a trip to Norway

Fighting climate change is among the top priorities on Norway’s international political agenda. The Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Jonas Gahr Støre, and the Minister of the Environment and International Development, Mr. Erik Solheim, emphasize that climate change, international development, managing natural resources and security policies are all interrelated and need to be addressed as a whole. The Norwegian Government is also committed to taking immediate action to reduce the extent of climate change, hence the focus on preventing deforestation which is one of the most cost-efficient climate measures.


On this background The Royal Norwegian Embassy invites students at the American University to participate in an essay contest on climate change. Two winners will travel to the Arctic city of Tromsø, Norway, and visit the Norwegian Polar Institute and the University of Tromsø, courtesy of the Royal Norwegian Embassy.


The winners will be announced on an Earth Day Symposium at American University on April 22.


Choose task A or task B:


A. Discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the Arctic region as a result of global climate change


B. Discuss what role the Norwegian Climate and Forest Initiative can have in fighting climate change.


Your essay should be approximately 1200 – 1600 words.

Submit your essay via e-mail to tahe@mfa.no (attach essay as word document).

Deadline: April 14, 2009


Useful links:


Norway’s policy on issues related to the High North:

http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/ud/campaign/the-high-north.html?id=450629
http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/ud/about_mfa/minister-of-foreign-affairs-jonas-gahr-s/Speeches-and-articles.html?id=435039


The Norwegian Climate and Forest Initiative:

http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/md/Selected-topics/klima/why-a-climate-and-forest-initiative.html?id=526489
http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/md/About-the-Ministry/minister-of-the-environment-and-developm/Speeches-and-articles.html?id=486350


The Norwegian Polar Institute: http://npweb.npolar.no/english


General information: www.norway.org


The Norwegian Polar Institute:

The Norwegian Polar Institute is Norway's key institution for research, environmental monitoring and mapping of the Polar Regions. The Institute supplies advice and expertise to Norwegian authorities, contributing to the best possible administration of Norwegian polar areas.


The Institute dates back to 1906 when the first scientific expedition to Svalbard took place.


The Institute’s activities are concentrated on environmental management needs at both poles. Global climate, long-range transported pollution, the effect of pollutants on the environment, biodiversity and topographical mapping of the regions are all important tasks, as is environmental collaboration in the Barents Region.

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