[21st WIRE Workshop] Balancing Transitions in the Arctic: Indigenous Perspectives on EU Green Policies and Europe’s Future

Academic Workshop
UCLouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles
1 July (afternoon) – 2 July (midday)

Balancing Transitions Workshop 2nd Call for Papers

Organizing committee
Eleni Kavvatha, PhD researcher UCLouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles
Amandine Orsini, Prof. UCLouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles
François Thoreau, Associate Professor, University of Liège, Belgium

Topic
Europe is undergoing profound transformations driven by the European Green Deal, climate
change adaptation imperatives, shifting geopolitical dynamics, and growing demand for
energy and critical raw materials. While these transitions are central to Europe’s vision of a
sustainable and secure future, they also generate uneven social, environmental, and political
impacts. Indigenous communities—particularly the Sámi of the European Arctic—are among
those most directly affected by land-use change, renewable energy expansion, mining, and
large-scale infrastructure development.
This interdisciplinary workshop invites critical reflection on the intersections of EU climate and
energy policies, Indigenous rights, and Arctic futures. It aims to examine not only how Europe’s
green and geopolitical transitions reshape Indigenous territories and livelihoods, but also and
most of all explores how Indigenous governance systems, legal claims, and knowledge
challenge dominant models of sustainability and development.
The workshop indeed positions Indigenous rights and justice as central to Europe’s green
transition, encouraging dialogue between scholars, Indigenous representatives, policy
professionals, and civil society actors.

Key themes and questions include (but are not limited to):

• Justice, equity, and inclusion in EU climate, energy, and resource governance in the
  Arctic
• Indigenous land rights, cultural landscapes, and environmental governance
• Sámi experiences of renewable energy development, mining, and infrastructure
  expansion
• Indigenous knowledge, participation, consultation, and representation in EU
  policymaking
• Arctic geopolitics, security concerns, and pressures toward resource extraction