Highlights from ArcticNet’s Arctic Change 2020 Conference

• Published in: Arctic Science
• Main Authors: Christine Barnard, Jackie Dawson, Heather Desserud, Alexa Reedman, Marc-André Ducharme, Pascale Ropars, Claude Levesque, Christine Demers, Natalie Desmarais, Philippe Archambault
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; French
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 2021
• Subjects: Environmental sciences; GE1-350; Environmental engineering; TA170-171; Arctic; Canada; ArcticNet
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0002; https://doaj.org/article/ef4a785f616145e1a2f8879992b4dde8

2020 was a year like no other for Arctic research, and ArcticNet’s Arctic Change conference was no exception. Held every three years in different Canadian locations, the international conference shifted to a virtual setting with the global COVID-19 pandemic, with 1600 attendees tuning in online from across Canada and around the world. This year included 327 Northern participants, the most representative Arctic Change conference yet. The heart of any conference is the people, and the connections participants make with each other. Going virtual meant giving up the in-person visits, but not the interactions or networking opportunities. Participants watched more than 346 presentations, joined in live question and answer sessions and online chats with panelists and speakers, connected to each other on the virtual conference platform, and more than 5207 streamed the plenaries together. During the week, sessions and conference events were viewed more than 25000 times. The ArcticNet Students’ Association held their annual student day with over 300 participants, finding innovative ways to keep the social spirit of past conferences, holding a virtual trivia night to cap off a busy day of student-focused programming.