Transcending barriers in communication and cooperation

in the Arctic

Nancy N. SoreideNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

Seattle, Washington

Information and Communication Technology in the ArcticAn International Conference of the Arctic Council

Akureyri, Iceland, 20–21 October, 2003

• Overall global infrastructure– Availability of the Internet

• Access to high quality resource material• Ability to interact with the global community

• Computing infrastructure – Computers– Computer skills– Advanced software– Technical support

Technology Challenges

Information Challenges

• Availability of high quality information and resource material on the Internet

• Clarity of presentation of educational materials • Ease of exchanging information and ideas with

others• Alternative presentation of material for access

when bandwidth is limited

Human Challenges

• Human challenges are subtle, but recognized– Is available content suitable to meet students’

and other users needs?– Are students and other users interested in

utilizing information technology for educational, medical and other purposes?

Information Technology is already beginning to meet these challenges

• Technology advances are making real inroads towards global Internet access– Satellite communications, fiber capacity and wireless

connectivity

• When the requisite IT resources are available– Fast computers, high bandwidth Internet, advanced

software and high level of technical support for users

• Extremely functional shared classroom, laboratory and medical experiences can be provided remotely

Global Internet Growth

• Since the invention of the web browser, the global Internet backbone has doubled every year

• Although the rate of growth of international bandwidth is slowing, growth of 67% is forecast for 2003

Global count for 1991-2003

Non-English-speaking on-line Internet Users

• Internet growth is a global phenomenon

Source: Global Reach, Global Internet Statistics by Language, http://www.glreach.com/globstats

1997 1999 2001 2003 2005

projected

Internet access in the Arctic

• Increases in the use of satellite communications, fiber and wireless technologies are reducing the of cost providing significant bandwidth capacity to Arctic residents. – “fixed wireless” technologies are designed to be rugged

for deployment in harsh environments, such as the Arctic.

– Wireless deployments are already providing broadband or high-speed Internet access for remote and rural areas, including the Arctic.

The Web

The most universally available technology for transcending barriers in communication and

cooperation in the Arctic

• Transcends geographical, political, climatological, cultural and regulatory barriers

• Enables telemedicine and distance learning

• Creates a global society

• The Alaska Federal Health Care Access Network (AFHCAN) is developing sustainable telehealth systems.

Alaska Federal Health Care Access Network website

Some Technologies used in Telemedicine

• The AFCHAN advanced workstation consists of a mobile cart loaded with a workstation, power management hardware, and telemedicine peripherals. Digital cameras capture diagnostic images for referral to a specialist.

• For most sites – especially the small village clinics - it is more cost effective and reliable to use wireless connectivity.

• To assure wide accessibility, AFCHAN software is web-based.

Alaska Federal Health Care Access Network website

Distance Learning• Public educational institutions offering courses over

the Internet advanced from 33% in 1995 to >90% today

• Internet and video were the two most commonly technologies used for instruction delivery.

• The Web is a primary delivery vehicle, leading to the creation of entire “virtual schools”

US Department of Education

Education Week on the Web

The Web can serve as a “reference library”Information portal to health issues of Northern peoples. It provides access to evaluated health information from hundreds of local, state, national, and international agencies, as well as from professional societies and universities (US National Library of Medicine)

• Opportunities for learning are not restricted to the classroom, nor are Arctic residents the only students

• Citizens of lower latitudes are interested in learning about the lives, interests and perspectives of the citizens of the Arctic and visa versa.

• Web pages provide a forum that supports communication and cooperation spanning global, national, regional and personal interests.

The Web supports human interests that transcend cultural and geopolitical boundaries

Let’s see some examples that illustrate these ideas…..

High-level intergovernmental forum addressing the common concerns and challenges faced by the Arctic governments and the people of the Arctic (Eight countries, Icelandic chairmanship)

International organization of northern countries addressing common political, environmental and economic issues (Ten northern nations)

Using Internet communications to cover and report on international negotiations and broker knowledge gained through collaborative projects with global partners, resulting in more rigorous research, capacity building in developing countries and a better dialogue between North and South (Canada)

An international nongovernmental organization representing 150,000 Inuit living in the Arctic regions of Greenland, Alaska, Canada, Russia, Denmark

International network working to strengthen the cooperation between individuals, NGOs and indigenous peoples and nations concerned with the protection, restoration and sustainable use of the world's boreal forests (Sweden, Russia, Canada, Europe…)

With the goal of stimulating interest in the peoples and environment of the Arctic and Subarctic region.

A European web resource on human-environment relationships in the Arctic.

US site that explores the history of northern peoples, cultures, and environments and the issues that matter to northern residents today.

• Climate change is one of the most significant sustainable development challenges facing the international community1

– the health and well-being of the Earth’s ecosystems

– economic enterprises and social livelihoods

• Change in the Arctic may play a substantial role in climate change throughout the globe… Global change may have it’s most pronounced effects in the Arctic2

1International Institute for Sustainable Development: on Climate

http://iisd.ca/climate/

2U.S. Arctic Research Commission, 1999

Presenting scientific data and analyses, maps, photographs, essays and other information for a wide audience including scientists, decision makers, educators, students, citizens.

Bering Sea climate and ecosystem information, data, scientific analyses, trends, essays, maps, photographs, and other topics for a wide audience including scientists, decision makers, educators, students, citizens.

The web fosters active interaction between the Native community and scientific researchers investigating Native lives and environment

English-Inuktitut weekly newspaper serving the people of [Nunavut] and the Nunavik region of Arctic Quebec.

Informative forum that highlights Alaska Native news, entertainment, and local resource numbers. (Sponsored by the Mat-Su Native Community Church, Wasilla, Alaska)

Advanced Information Technology has made great strides towards transcending barriers

to communication and cooperation in the Arctic

Arctic citizens, and citizens from the most sophisticated and well-populated areas in lower latitudes, are part of the global village, immediately connected and part of

one interdependent world

The Global Village

Through the web…

Looking forward

• The trend of increasing penetration of internet availability and use will continue to unite people across vast distances and cultural differences.

• Seemingly frivolous activities, such as young people playing computer video games in collaborative mode across the internet,– Illustrate the use of the internet to bring people together– Have resulted in a tremendous decrease in the cost of high-end computer

video cards needed for virtual reality applications

• Only a few years ago, ideas such as these were considered visionary, but today they are being harnessed to serve the needs of distance education and tele-medicine and are enabling the global Internet to interconnect the citizens of this one world.

• Virtual reality applications for distance delivery of realistic healthcare and education are already being prototyped in demonstration projects:– a “virtual classroom” in electronic space – “touch over the internet” – “virtual scalpel” telemedicine application