Bertel Haarder
Panel introduction by Bertel Haarder, Denmark’s Minister for Nordic Co-operation, at the conference "Common Concern for the Arctic " in Ilulissat, Greenland.
Introduction speech, Panel 4
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Ladies and Gentleman,
As minister for Education ad for Nordic Cooperation it gives me great pleasure to introduce this segment of the Conference. I had the honour to chair the EU-Arctic Conference in 2002 opening the Arctic window in the EU Northern Dimension.
As we saw yesterday, enormous icebergs are moving though the Icefjord. Over the past decades the flow and size of icebergs has increased, just as the flow and size of action and interests from all parties concerned has increased when it comes to the Arctic.
Why are we talking about capacity building and the role of education and training in the arctic? We do that because all societies need capacity building, and in the Arctic capacity building is an especially challenging task, not least because of the enormity of the lands, the traditions and the live styles in this part of the world.
We all need and want steady economic growth, cultural satisfaction and influence when it comes to shaping our own future. Education and training is one of the most important tools in achieving this goal. Concrete initiatives must centre on raising the general level of education, preventing early dropouts from schools and on developing policies to retain skilled labour. Demands from the modern, industrialised and globalised world must be taken into account. All in all a daunting task for any society.
Greenland has taken important steps in that direction. The government’s strategic target is that by 2020 two thirds of its working population must have obtained a vocational or higher education. Today only one third of Greenland’s working population is educated. Greenland receives an annual grant of 25 million euro earmarked for educational purposes.
I am convinced that there are no real frontiers to learning, and that no one knows what he or she can achieve until it has been tried out. Only education – and lots of it – liberate the creative forces in man and thereby secures the foundation for progress. Mind you, education is a never-ending process.
So friends of and in the Arctic – I can only say – education, education and finally more education.
These were my short and general words of introduction. We have in the panel knowledgeable people who will pinpoint the concrete challenges and ways to alleviate problems. I now give the floor to them, and I look forward to hearing their interventions.
Thank you.
