Talks of the North: Bad climate on Svalbard

The ice is melting, the world is getting warmer and the climate is about to be destroyed. Nowhere in the world is this felt more than on Svalbard.

At the same time as the climate is changing, the major powers are looking towards the Arctic. What was once a small settlement on Svalbard, Longyearbyen, is now becoming a geopolitical challenge for Norway.

A young anthropologist moves with her husband and three sons to Svalbard, Norway, to study how life in polar regions is changing. After falling in love with her new home, she discovers that more than icebergs and permafrost are vanishing in the Arctic.

The documentary film The Visitors addresses some of the most central and controversial questions regarding Norwegian Svalbard policy today. Who is allowed to live on the archipelago? Who is allowed to decide in local politics? Why do non-Norwegians feel like strangers in a place where they should basically have the same rights as "ethnic" Norwegians? How does climate change the lives of the people in Longyearbyen?

Researcher Zdenka Sokolíčková traveled to Svalbard to interview residents about what everyday life is like up there. The answers she received from many may be unpleasant for the Norwegian authorities to hear.

Veronika Lišková graduated from Charles University and the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. She made a few TV documentaries before completing a feature-length debut entitled Daniel's World which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2015. The Visitors is her second feature documentary.

In the panel:
Veronika Lišková, director
Kim Holmén, Specialist Director, Norwegian Polar Institute
Sigrid Ina Simonsen, Regional Director NHO Arctic

Moderator: Amund Trellevik, journalist at Investigate Europe

Time: Thursday, January 19th at 3:30 pm
Location: Tromsø library

This event is held in English.

Watch the event at Tromsø library or the live stream here: