Arctic Council event will pump $1M into Maine's economy
Photo / Lori Valigra
Dana Eidsness, director of the Maine North Atlantic Development Office, expects $1 million in economic impact from the Arctic Council meeting in October.
The Arctic Council meeting in October and events preceding and surrounding it, along with hotel stays and attendees, could have up to a $1 million economic impact for the state, said Dana Eidsness, director of the Maine North Atlantic Development Office, or MENADO, which is coordinating the main event of Arctic leaders from Oct. 4-6 in Portland.
Eidsness said some 250 people will attend the Arctic Council meeting at The Westin Portland Harborview, and another 150 will attend related events at Bowdoin College, St.Joseph’s College, the University of Southern Maine and other venues around the state.
The council meeting itself is closed to the public.
“It’s a high-level, intergovernmental forum with the theme “One Arctic,” Eidsness said adding that attendees will discuss issues including sea level, ocean acidification and fisheries.
Maine will become the first state in the contiguous United States to host an Arctic Council conference, which is expected to attract senior officials and experts from 20 countries, as Mainebiz wrote when the state was named the conference location in June.
State officials at the time said the meeting could create new opportunities for businesses and academic and research institutions here. The event is part of a "high-level intergovernmental forum that provides a means for promoting cooperation, coordination and interaction among the Arctic States and involvement of the Arctic Indigenous communities and other Arctic inhabitants on common Arctic issues," according to the Maine International Trade Center, where MENADO resides.
The Arctic group's members include Canada, Denmark (including Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russian Federation, Sweden, and the United States. There are also several observer nations, including France, Germany, China, Italy and Japan.
“I’m interested in seeing how to connect Maine’s supply chain to the Arctic,” Eidsness said. “There are opportunities for Maine businesses in the Arctic around infrastructure development, telecommunications and composites. There’s a movement toward green shipping in Denmark and Norway for faster, better, cleaner ships in the future.”
Last week and this week of September there are number of side talks at other venues on specific topics, including sustainable adaptations and seafood trade.
There also will be a full day Maine Arctic Forum on event Oct. 3 at USM for the public for a $45 fee. Topics include science in the Arctic, impacts for the rest of the world and who is responsible for sea routes in activities such as rescues now that new melted waterways have opened in the Arctic.
Add to that events around town including restaurants serving Arctic-themed food and an Arctic dance at the SPACE Gallery with an Icelandic DJ and possibly an Icelandic band.
Said Eidsness, “It will be interesting to see Sami reindeer herders on the dance floor with Mainers.”
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