Arctic Frontiers Emerging Leaders 2022

About EL: Emerging Leaders is an early-career and mentoring program in the Arctic for young professionals from the academic, industry and policy sector. The program brings together leaders and mentors, and indigenous, business, and policy representatives, to tell the Arctic stories in an educational journey through Northern Norway. Through training, educational and cultural activities, and the contributions of competent and committed partners, the Emerging Leaders program serves as an international and cross-cultural platform for dialogue and exchange to support the arctic leaders of the future. Motivation: As a researcher studying glaciers and ice-sheets, I have come across several articles, reports, documentaries and newsletters that explain what is happening globally and what its implications could be on earth’s (not just our) future. Over the years there have been several questions on my mind, which I try to answer either through my research or exploration (interactions, discussions and reading). While there are several questions that remain unanswered yet, there is one thing that I now strongly trust and believe – Climate Change is real, and it's we who are causing it. This belief drives changes in my lifestyle and my way of being; this belief drives the work I do and the discussions I have; this belief defines who I am today and what I am becoming tomorrow. While I expect to have better personal understanding about oceans and the challenges surrounding it after the program, I would also have more information to dissipate among my peers and audience as part of my outreach activities. Getting to interact and work together with like-minded people from different backgrounds is something I am excited about, as this would help me make my best contributions to the team-work challenges and present my perspectives to the world, helping me become a better leader for tomorrow - as the name of the program rightly suggests!