Attending the 98th International Session in Tromsø in March 2023
4 March 2023 was finally the long-awaited kick-off day of the “98th International Session Tromsø 2023.” The breathtaking view from the plane promised very good things. However, since us delegates represented 35 different countries and travel times ranged from one hour to 20 hours, this day consisted mostly of a long, calm, relaxed check-in procedure, followed by a cozy, warm welcome event at the Tromsø municipality.
The second day started with general teambuilding at the Kongsbakken videregaende school. Though the introductions to the respective organizers, media team members and chairpersons was very helpful to avoid confusion, this part of teambuilding exclusively consisted of external activities, which at the -15˚ Celsius of the Arctic circle made the experience more challenging. The committee teambuilding for the Committee on Foreign Affairs) consisted of conflict resolution games, 36 questions to fall in love and an engaging snow sculpture contest. I am honored to say that the fat chicken we produced took first place.
The highlight of teambuilding was the Eurovillage dinner program, where each delegation brought food from their country. The Swiss delegation was proud to present Gruyère cheese and Lindt chocolate. Though some delegations physically brought more food, the appreciation for our snacks was present in comments such as “Wow, I can taste the milk!” The music and food made for a great atmosphere; however, I do not necessarily recommend mixing the food of 35 countries including their desserts in one sitting…
The following three days consisted of committee work. As my first choice, I had ended up in the Committee on Foreign Affairs which focused on governing bodies in the Arctic. The topic choices in themselves were very unique to this session because contrary to other sessions all topics focused on the Arctic and were interlinked and did not technically fall under EU jurisdiction. This also led to many debates, e. g. if it made sense to call on the European Commission etc. during solution proposals and what exactly fell under our topic. Since International Sessions are longer than national ones, the committee work is longer as well and more comprehensive. For us, this meant the inclusion of a secondary committee, to which we gave feedback to and expert talks. In our expert talk we discussed with an observer of the Arctic Council and a representative of the Norwegian government the influence of Indigenous peoples in legislative bodies. This was especially relevant as during our stay in Tromsø the Indigenous Sami people were protesting against a wind park that was built on their lands and prevented reindeer herding. The unusual aspect was that the Norwegian courts had ruled this to be a breach of human rights, namely the right to practice culture, and that despite this, no action had been taken by the Norwegian government for the past two years. Our stay in Tromsø coincided with the culmination of this inaction into protests in Oslo. We even got to meet some of the Sami who took part in these protests at the session!
After committee work, we had a “Cultural Day” where different activities could be selected. I ended up sledding, and it was hilarious. Not only was it aggressively snowing, but our sleds with 50kg capacity also kept periodically breaking mid-sled which made for great memories. The evening consisted of my personal highlight, the Euroconcert. After 3 rounds of auditions, 10 acts were selected to be performed in front of everyone in the Tromsø cathedral. There was a mix of poetry, songs, movement, and instruments, making both the participation and watching other acts very exciting and enjoyable.
The General Assembly (GA) was a full success for our committee. As the second committee, we were the first group with a resolution that passed. It was very relieving to have our work recognized by the General Assembly. This part of the program consisted of two days and 15 committees presenting their works. 13 passed overall. Because we were the committee on governance, we had a huge advantage during GA as we could easily recognize inaccuracies in other resolutions, for example the assumption that the Arctic Council has legislative power. There were very heated debates regarding the inclusion of Indigenous peoples and the geopolitics of the event. Something unique to this session was the fact that amendments could be made to resolutions which fostered more collaboration and added an additional dimension to the GA. A very exciting characteristic of GA at International Sessions is that passing proposals will be presented to the EU Parliament, albeit in a shortened form.
As the Swiss delegation, we also had the privilege of being invited to dinner by the Swiss ambassador in Oslo Bernard Jaggy and honorary consul Sonja Steigen. Through this we were both able to experience delicious Norwegian dishes e. g. raw herring and whale while discussing possible futures in politics and learning about the world of diplomacy.
This last day of GA was simultaneously the last active day of the session as 12 March was also reserved for travel. It was very sad considering the intensity and length of the session to watch friends from all over the world disperse again though I am happy to say that many connections and friendships have outlasted the session.
Melissa Lelli, 3A
