2019 in Yellowknife, Canada

In 2019, Canada will host the circumpolar hydrological community at the 22nd bi-annual NRB symposium and workshop in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories Canada.  Yellowknife is situated in one of the most rapidly warming regions on Earth. William Quinton, Director of the Cold Regions Research Centre, Wilfrid Laurier University will lead the Canadian Delegation for the NRB.

To facilitate Indigenous community participation in the development of new knowledge, NRB 2019 will provide a forum for knowledge producers, mobilisers and end-users from Indigenous communities, universities, government agencies and other sectors to gather together to collaborate on improving their collective understanding of and ability to respond appropriately to the impacts of a rapidly warming climate on cold regions water resources. NRB 2019 will also facilitate the sharing ideas and knowledge, and will help to develop new perspectives, and respect and understanding for different ways of knowing.

Through collaborating on research and monitoring, local communities and researchers become “partners in learning”. Such collaborative learning is empowering to Indigenous communities as it gives them a voice for creating new scientific knowledge of direct importance to their environment. By making research programmes visible and available for Indigenous community participation ensures vital input / feedback to guide researchers and enriches the collaborative learning environment.