Snowchange 2008 Symposium was held 3rd December to 7th December, 2009 in Waitara, Taranaki Region, Aoteoroa (New Zealand).
Our Symposium assembled indigenous delegates from Evenki, Even, Chukchi, Yukagir and Sakha Nations in Siberia (Russian Federation), Inuit peoples of Nunavut (Arctic Canada), Gwitchin Nation of Northwest Territories (Arctic Canada), Kwaugiutl First Nation in British Columbia (Canada), Maori of Aoteoroa as well as local Snowchange Cooperative community participants from Finland, United Kingdom, Mauritius and India and other regions of the world.
In addition to indigenous and local peoples the Symposium convened scientists, state organizations, legislative entities, administrative authorities, and other stakeholders. The main themes of the Workshop were ecological and climatic change in the global context as well as preservation of traditional knowledge in the local cultures of the World.
Thank you to all participants, sponsors and organisations that made our event possible, especially Thank You for travel grants to Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation (Canada), JMK Fund (USA), Arkleton Trust, Tampere Polytechnic (Finland), NIWA (New Zealand) and all other local, Maori and international organisations who helped.
The main results as well as the Declaration of Snowchange 2008 will be presented here in January / February 2009. The reason for this to take some time is that all text has to be approved by the Maori peoples according to their protocols.
So please check back for more soon!
Meanwhile you can see some media coverage here.