Arendalsuka 2025

Welcome to GRID-Arendal’s event page for Arendalsuka 2025! 

Arendalsuka took place from 11–15 August this year, where we presented a range of environmental events in both English and Norwegian. This page is now updated with details about our Arendalsuka activities, pictures, and available live stream recordings. Get in touch with us for any questions or collaboration, we look forward to connecting with you!

Arendalsuka is Norway’s largest annual political gathering, held since 2012. Its main goal is to promote democracy and civic engagement through open discussions and inclusive participation. For five days, the city of Arendal becomes a hub of thought-provoking exhibitions and events. 

For GRID-Arendal, Arendalsuka is a key opportunity to engage with policymakers, stakeholders, and partners on topics central to our mission — all right here in Arendal, our home base!

Norge en havbunnskjempe: muligheter og ansvar – en Lavvo samtale

Om arrangementet

Norsk kontinentalsokkels yttergrenser ble formelt definert gjennom vår ratifisering av Genevekonvensjonen i 1958, etterfulgt av lov om kontroll over ressursene på sokkelen i 1963. I løpet av 1960-og 70-tallet ble midtlinjeprinsippet etablert, blant annet gjennom avtaler med Danmark og Storbritannia. Norsk økonomisk sone er basert på FNs havrettskommisjon fra 1982 som gav stater rett til en økonomisk sone på inntil 200 nautiske mil fra grunnlinjen. For Norge ble det også etablert fiskerisoner rundt Svalbard og Jan Mayen, og en forlengelse av norsk kontinentalsokkel i Nord-Atlanteren og nord for Svalbard ble akseptert av FNs kontinentalsokkelkommisjon i 2009.

I løpet av de siste 40 år har Norge tatt ansvar for 8 ganger mer havområde på den nordlige halvkulen enn det landet Harald Hårfagre samlet for over 1000 år siden. I tillegg fastslo havrettens grensekommisjon Norges sokkel rundt Bouvetøya i sør-Atlanteren i 2019, noe som representerte dobbelt så mye som Norges landareal. I tillegg har Norge juridiksjon over Dronning Mauds land i Antarktis med tilhørende kontinentalsokkel, som alene utgjør dobbelt så mye som alt annet areal Norge forvalter.

Hvordan ble Norge en slik havsupermakt, hvilke muligheter og ansvar medfører dette og hvorfor er det så lite i allmenhetens bevissthet?

I denne samtalen skal vi dykke litt ned i denne spennende historien for å forstå litt mer av hvordan vi endte opp som en så viktig aktør til havs, og for å forstå hvordan denne rollen både åpner for muligheter og forplikter oss. Vi skal høre hva politikere, embedsverk, forskere, og media tenker om hvordan vår rolle som havsupermakt bør utformes og kommuniseres, og hvilke utviklingstrekk de ser for seg i årene fremover.

Medvirkende

• Andreas Motzfeldt Kravik – Statssekretær, UD
• Veslemøy Hedvig Østrem – Sjefredaktør, Altinget
• Tor Eldevik – Instituttleder, professor oseanografi, UiB – Universitetet i Bergen
• Tina Schoolmeester – Strategic Lead, GRID-Arendal
• Lars Kullerud – President, UArctic
• Brigt Dale – Research Professor, Nordlandsforskning (Ordstyrer)

SPORTS FOR NATURE: CAN COMPETITION INSPIRE CONSERVATION? 

• Tuesday 13.00-13.50 
• Location: GRID-Arendal backyard 

About the event: 

This debate will explore the growing tension between outdoor sports and nature conservation. In Norway, national parks and wild spaces are often framed as open arenas for recreation and sports. However, as sports events increase in scale and frequency, so does their ecological footprint. Can athletes, organisers, and environmental advocates come together to ensure sport respects the very landscapes it celebrates? 

Moderator: Karen Martinez-Swatson – Senior Expert, GRID-Arendal 

Panelists:  

• Kilian Jornet – President, Kilian Jornet Foundation 
• Jenny Marie Gulbrandsen – Raet National Park manager, Statsforvalteren Agder 
• Fred Arthur Asdal – Organiser, Hove Triathlon event 
• Preben Falck – Managing Director, Stavanger Turistforening, DNT, The Norwegian Trekking Association 
• Mar Fabres – Youth voice, Hove Tri participant 

ER NORGE VERSTING PÅ Å BESKYTTE NATUREN I HAVET? (in Norwegian) 

• Tuesday 14.00-14.50 
• Location: GRID-Arendal backyard 

About the event: 

Today, around 1 percent of Norway’s marine area is protected. This makes us one of the worst performers globally when it comes to marine conservation. A new law, called the Marine Protection Act, was passed before the summer this year. Until then, we didn’t even have a legal tool that allowed us to protect marine areas beyond our territorial waters (12 nautical miles). In other words, Norway lacked the ability to establish marine protected areas in 89 percent of its own seas – until now. 

Moderator: Gro Slotvik – Nature lead, GRID-Arendal 

Panelists:  

• Ola Elvestuen – Member of Parliament, Venstre 
• Lars Haltbrekken – Member of Parliament, SV 
• Maria Pettersvik Arvnes – Senior Advisor, Norwegian Fishermen’s Association 
• Karoline Andaur – Secretary General, WWF 

CAN NATURE REALLY BE VALUED? 

• Tuesday 15.00-15.50 
• Location: GRID-Arendal backyard 

About the event: 

At a time when climate disruption and biodiversity collapse threaten the foundations of our economies and societies, the question of how, or whether, we can value nature is no longer theoretical. 

Can nature really be valued in financial terms, or does pricing the priceless mean betraying what we claim to protect? 

Moderator: Natalie Mangondo – Lead, Sustainable Finance for Nature, GRID-Arendal 

Panelists: 

• Karen Landmark – Managing Director, GRID-Arendal 
• Oda Bjerke – Executive Director, UN Global Compact Norway 
• Jan Erik Saugestad – CEO, Storebrand Asset Management 
• Kristine M. Grimsrud – Senior researcher, Statistics Norway, Research Department (SSB) 
• Anne Solgaard – Business Development Associate, Earth Law Centre – Nature Governance Agency 
• Marius R. Gulbranson – Lawyer and Author, Det store klimasøksmålet 

TID FOR TRANSFORMASJON – VEIEN MOT EN NY FREMTID? (in Norwegian) 

• Tuesday 18.15-19.15 
• Location: GRID-Arendal backyard 

About the event: 

The global environmental crises we face are deeply rooted in the values that shape our societies, economies and daily choices. 

According to the IPBES Value Assessment, we need a fundamental reorganization of the structures of society. We need a new understanding of how we treat nature and prioritize its care, and ultimately this must influence our decisions. 

We have known for 50 years that what we do is harming our planet, so how do we make real change? 

Moderator: Karen Landmark – Managing director, GRID-Arendal 

Panelists: 

• Karen O’Brien – Co-founder cCHANGE, UiO, 
• Petter Gulli – Imperfect climate activist and incorrigible climate optimist, 12 Years 

Green Mingle

• Tuesday 18:15 – 22:00
• Location: GRID-Arendal backyard 

About the event:

Welcome to Green Mingle, the gathering point for everyone who is passionate about our environment! During Arendalsuka, we invite you to an informal meeting place where climate, nature and sustainability are in focus. Here you can connect with other committed people – from environmental organizations and researchers to politicians and business – and get inspiration for how we can together create a greener future. 

• 18:15 – Time for transformation – the path to a new future? 
• 19:30 – the classic Climate Dilemmas with ZERO 
• 20:30 – 22.00 Green mingle with a little surprise 

SOURCES OF TRUTH – HIGH NORTH RENEWABLE ENERGY PERSPECTIVE 

Wednesday 13.30-14.15 

Location: Lavvoen 

About the event: 

As the world’s nations turn their eyes toward the fast-melting North, a new race is on for this fresh frontier to help secure energy independence, economic prosperity, and military dominance. And, in an increasing fractured global geopolitic, military and energy security have never been more important.

But that’s just one version of the story. Too often, state-centered framing risks sidelining the urgency of both climate change and Indigenous rights. Today, Arctic climate research is caught in the crossfire of geopolitics, crippled by sanctions against Russia and, more recently, the US’s decommissioning of decades of climate data. And the Indigenous peoples of the North are impacted by border closings, militarization, and renewable energy development promoted for the sake of energy independence. Who’s telling these stories, and how should they be valued?

Join us for a thought-provoking discussion around the fire as we probe the popular narratives powering headlines about the high North. We’ll bring together an Indigenous leader, climate scientist, journalist, and politician to reveal gaps in current coverage, and what they say about our priorities in this fast-changing world.

We’ll dig into big questions:

What values are currently shaping current conversations about the high North, and where do they come from?

How can we balance large-scale questions of geopolitical security with scientific openness, climate cooperation, and securing human rights?

In an era that seems increasingly fractured and winner-takes-all, what does it mean to strive for collaboration, reconciliation and understanding?

Panelists

• Brett Simpson – Journalist
• Anders Oskal, International Centre for Reindeer Husbandry
• Jan Gunnar Winther – prorektor for forskning og utvikling ved UiT
• Oda Mulelid, GRID-Arendal (Moderator)

FROM RISING TEMPERATURES TO RISING TENSIONS

• Wednesday 15.00-15.45 
• Location: GRID-Arendal backyard 

About the event: 

Climate change is increasing global insecurity by worsening environmental stress and fuelling conflict. Poorly managed climate responses can deepen fragility, while armed conflicts cause growing environmental damage. 

Norway has taken a leading role in linking climate, peace, and security — especially during its 2021–2022 UN Security Council term. 

The panel will bring together experts from policy, research, and diplomacy to discuss the risks to peace and security caused by global temperatures rise and geopolitical tensions globally. The conversation will also explore what these developments mean for the Nordic, Arctic, and Baltic regions, and how Norway is addressing climate-related insecurity. 

Moderator: Karen Landmark – Managing director, GRID-Arendal 

Panelists: 

• Cedric de Coning – Research Professor, Norwegian Institute of Foreign Affairs 
• Espen Barth Eide – Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arbeider partiet 
• Siri Hatlen – President, Red Cross 
• Per Fredrik Ilsaas Pharo – Director of the Department for Climate, Nature and the Private Sector, NORAD