Arctic Winter Games 2023 Youth, Sport, Culture Social and Environmental Sustainability

Abstract

This report presents the results of research conducted by an international research team that worked on the 2023 Arctic Winter Games (Wood Buffalo, Alberta, Canada). The main goals of the project were: To investigate how principles of the Games’ social and environmental sustainability are designed and implemented, and how it is perceived and experienced by participants. We were curious also about the ways in which inclusion (or exclusion) of respect for the environment at the Games resonates with the construction of Arctic identity/ies - including the extent to which Indigenous/traditional cultural knowledge was articulated in connection with sustainability, both in terms of discourse and practices or representations. We believe this environmental focus is particularly relevant in Arctic regions where resilience to and mitigation of cultural and social globalization and to climate change are profound societal questions. In the report, we use the concepts of ‘social and environmental sustainability’ to address these issues. ‘Social sustainability’ refers to the dimension of exchanges between participants, their socialization, cultural discovery, and the feeling of belonging to a wider community. Thus, by social sustainability we consider the ability to meet expectations concerning collective Northern/Arctic identity building, cultural celebration, and exchange. Social sustainability in this report hence relates closely to how the AWG achieve their mission of cultural exhibition and social inter-change and how they foster the values of cultural awareness and understanding, fairplay, access and equity, integrity, respect for self and others, partnerships, personal development and community development (AWGIC 2018/2023). Environmental sustainability refers not only to the impact of the Games on the environment but also to the way in which participants’ awareness of the issue of environmental protection is addressed within the framework of the Games. The report is divided into 5 main sections: 1. The Arctic Winter Games, a sporting, social and cultural event. We begin by defining and characterizing the Games, drawing on existing scholarly literature. 2. Our Methodology. This section sets out our research design and explains why a hybrid methodology, combining quantitative and qualitative data, is relevant for our research. 3. History of the Arctic Winter Games. Based on archival research, this section will be of interest to the AWG International Committee and organizers of the Games, even if it does not specifically address the results of our recent survey or interviews. 4. The General Results of our participants and organizers survey, interviews and observations. Here, the aim was to highlight the main results about participation in the AWG (motivations, satisfaction, interaction, etc.) 5. Social sustainability. Here, focus is on Northern identity, sense of belonging, the perception of a shared culture or the differences between cultures, the balance between traditional sports and mainstream sports as well as between sport disciplines and cultural/artistic disciplines. We also highlight in this section how participants experience the Games (social experiences, interactions, pin trading, etc.) 6. Environmental sustainability is the last section of the report. We collected data on participants’ perception of the Games as a sustainable event, and their perception of the role of the Games in terms of environmental protection.