Barents Indigenous Youth Side Event 2023

Watch the recording of the event!

During the Summit of Barents Euro-Arctic Indigenous Sámi People, BRYC together with Sámi Youth Idea Lab hosted a side-event to the summit.

Questions discussed were among others:
- How can we make Barents region more liveable?
- How is it like to be the young person and living in the remote areas of the High North? How can the young people contribute to more transparent decision making?
- Who keeps depriving young Sámi of their land and how can young Sámi reach the European institutions that are supporting them?

Answers to these and other questions, you can find by watching the RECORDING or by (spoiler alert) reading some of the key points mentioned below:

- in an ideal world there should be no need for Sámi Youths needing to spend days in Brussels for making their voices being heard, but that under the current circumstances where indigenous rights are not given the necessary attention, there are no other options than being present.
- young Sámi experience limited access to the EU instruments, due to the lack of information and contact person within the EU and the complexity of the overall EU-system.
- land is currently being built down all over Sápmi, and there is a matter of time if one wants to work with the reduction of this. Awaiting the situation will only make more land as subject to disturbance and conflicts of both values and interests.
- some young Sámi people experience racism towards Sámi youth who have decided to be activists. Especially those in “the frontline” are subject for hearing hate talk towards them.
- quote: “green transition is for us not always green, but dark”.
- living in the north in general, and in the Barents region specially, is often branded by using picturesque nature photos. To make the region look more attractive for young people, increased branding with the use of people, especially young people, as representatives for the region, should be considered. It was stated that this also could have an impact on the brain-drain situation the region is suffering among its young population.
- events and youth centres in Sápmi are important for making stronger connections between different Sámi groups as well as between the Sámi and non-Sámi.

Further on it was questioned, why the rising Sámi generation should carry the burden for earlier generations over taxation on indigenous lands. This was stated as especially relevant in those cases where land has been disturbed, without neither the consent nor involvement from the indigenous people living in the affected areas.

BRYC want to thank the excellent cooperation we have had with The Sámi Youth Idea Lab! Further we want to highlight and thank for the support given from The Norwegian Barents Secretariat and The Friends of The Finnish Presidency Format of the Working Group on Indigenous People, to make this event happen!

WATCH THE RECORDING BY CLICKING HERE