Reflection by Kate Bishop-Williams Wednesday was the first official day of the Arctic Change Conference, and it was my first time at an Arctic specific conference. We heard a variety of interesting opening plenary talks, in particular, a great introduction by the President of the Inuit Circumpolar Council, Mr. Duane Smith. There were exciting topical sessions on health in the North throughout the day. Chris Furgal and Eric Loring chaired these sessions. It was great to see a series of presentations related to various health topics in the Arctic. Inez Shiwak and I co-presented a talk in the afternoon, entitled “Seasonal Changes in Prevalence of Acute Gastrointestinal Illness in Rigolet, Nunatsiavut, Canada.” We were happy with our presentation, and I was excited to have had the opportunity to co-present for the first time!
In the evening, an excellent second poster session offered an opportunity to discuss the same project with individuals from the earlier session and others who were not able to join us previously. It was great to be busy with questions for the entire two hours, and the Infographic we had designed was well received!
In the evening, Mr. Peter Mansbridge of CBC's The National hosted the Arctic Inspiration Prize ceremony. The ceremony included incredible talents of artists. I was thrilled to see esteemed throat singer, and Polaris Prize winner, Tanya Tagaq! Congratulations to FOXY for their incredible win of the Arctic Inspiration Prize! It was a wonderful day and I am excited for the days to come!