The seventh International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences in Akureyri is going well. Participants, hosts and organizers are happy with the event so far. Day two, as day one, was a success and participants enjoyed the courtesy of organizers, receiving a traditional lamb meat soup for lunch.
All sessions and lectures have been a success and have inspired further dialogue about Arctic Social issues. The two keynote speeches by Kirsten Hastrup on „Scales of Attention: Global Connections and Local Concerns in the Arctic" and Sven D. Haakanson, Jr. on „The revitalization of indigenous language, culture, and customs" were well attended and gave a good start for the day.
Day three has started well as well, with two keynote speeches from Nikolai B. Vakhtin on „The Future of Arctic Social Research in Russia" and Igor Krupnik: Crossing Boundaries: What did we learn in IPY 2007–2008 and who learned it" gave a good inspiration into the day.
Participants of ICASS VII are in a treat in day three, where a grand banquet will be offered in the Akureyri town cultural center Hof.
The town of Akureyri is turning into an Arctic town these days, hosting the ICASS conference and now the golf tournament of „Arctic Open" starting during the same weekend, giving the residents of the small town in the north of Iceland to be „Arctic" in many ways during these days.