I am writing to you today to invite you to our forthcoming Arctic dialogues at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival (France) and Senate House, London (UK). May I also take this opportunity to share with you brief reports about our recent engagements in NYC, Seattle, London, Detah and Helsinki, and to let you know about our dialogues in June. Cannes: I am pleased to announce that Polar Research and Policy Initiative (PRPI) will be at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival and Monaco Better World Forum from 16-20 May 2019. On 20 May 2019 (12 pm to 1 pm), we will join forces with Think-Film Impact Production (TFIP) to co-host a dialogue on Our Planet: The Power of Film to Affect Change in the Conference Room of the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès de Cannes. The session will explore the ways in which film already has impact on how global communities take action on the environment, and how new technologies will further enhance the capacity of film to serve as a vehicle for wider and more effective civic engagement. Would you like to come on board as a sponsor, partner or participant? If so, please do drop me a line as soon as possible to let me know, and I will provide you with further details. London: Join us at Senate House in London from 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm on 21 May 2019 for an evening focused on North Alaska, featuring a film screening, panel discussion and networking reception. In the light of the film Eskimo, Inc. (Max Baring and Gregory Scruggs, Thomson Reuters Foundation), the event will look at what the 'Conservation vs Development' question means in the context of North Alaska, and whether a right solution or indeed a right balance is possible? The session will be hosted by Polar Research and Policy Initiative (PRPI), in partnership with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, Arctic Today, UCL Institute of Risk and Disaster Reduction and the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London. Please see the poster above for further details, and please do sign up via the Eventbrite link to register: http://alaska-evening-london.eventbrite.co.uk   Recent Events: New York: We were delighted to kick off our NYC Arctic dialogues with a small and informal networking evening at the Princeton Club of New York on 22 May 2019. We had friends from Arctic in Context, Columbia University, UN Department of Political Affairs, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, International Labour Organisation, as well as the film industry and Oxford-Cambridge Alumni Groups in NY. We plan to host at least 4-6 events in NYC in a year, so should you wish to attend any of these, do let us know, and we will make sure you are invited. Seattle: It was good to be back in the Pacific Northwest for the 6th Arctic Encounter Symposium, 25-26 April 2019. We convened a dialogue on 'International Borders in the North American Arctic: Implications for Indigenous Communities'; chaired a panel discussion on 'Energy Innovation, Investment and Disruptive Business Modeling in the Arctic'; and hosted an exhibition 'Polar Images' with the award-winning National Geographic photography expert, Susan Seubert. You can read the media coverage here: Devex: Advice from the Arctic: 4 key development challenges facing the far north Reuters: North American indigenous chafe at restrictions along U.S.-Canada border GeekWire: Misunderstood and untapped: Alaska's burgeoning tech industry spotlighted at conference in Seattle World Economic Forum: Homes like parkas? Shivering housing dwellers may need Arctic rethink North of 60 Mining News: A glimmer of hope for the Arctic... humanity Next City: With an indigenous perspective, Anchorage seeks to adapt to climate change even if Alaska doesn't London: On 29 April 2019, I was pleased to join Sir Peter Marshall (former Deputy Secretary-General of the Commonwealth), Akbar Khan (Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association) and Dr Sue Onslow (Deputy Director, Institute of Commonwealth Studies) for a panel discussion on 'The Commonwealth & Resilience in the 21st Century' convened at Senate House in London to mark the 70th anniversary of both the London Declaration and the Institute of Commonwealth Studies. Detah, NWT: Thomas Bishop and Peter Sherwin of Polar Research and Policy Initiative made their first public presentation of our new project on developing an Arctic Infrastructure Standard at the meeting of the Arctic Security Working Group, currently co-chaired by the Government of the Northwest Territories and Joint Task Force North, in Detah, NWT. We are looking for individual and institutional donors and partners keen to support our work in this regard, so if the development of, and investment in, sustainable infrastructure is of interest to you or to a government, business or foundation you know, please do get in touch. We will also be convening roundtables in different villages and towns across the Arctic to consult with local communities and experts, so stay tuned and do join in person or via teleconference. Helsinki: Of course, nothing captured the attention of international media outlets as much as the Arctic Council Ministerial in Rovaniemi earlier in the week! The emotions were palpable even in Helsinki where I had the pleasure of joining the Munich Security Conference Arctic Security Roundtable in the Parliament of Finland. The dialogue was opened by the President of Finland, HE Sauli Niinisto, whose remarks you can read here. I was also glad to be reunited with our friends heading down from Rovaniemi for a memorable dinner with the Foreign Minister of Finland, HE Timo Soini, on the icebreaker Sisu thereafter. You can read the conference report Reducing Tensions, Managing Risks, Rebuilding Trust here.  At this stage, I would like to congratulate Finland for two splendid years as chair of the Arctic Council: the greatest highlight for us of the past two years was convening 15 high-level dialogues on 'Sustainable Development Goals in the Arctic' around the world in support of the priorities of the Finnish chairmanship and building on our strengths when it comes to consensus-building. We wish Iceland the very best in its chairmanship of the Arctic Council and remain happy to support its priorities wherever it deems our contributions beneficial.  Events in June 2019: Milan, Italy: 1-7 June 2019 (Theme: Infrastructure) London, UK: 10-17 June 2019 (Theme: Oceans and Infrastructure) Sisimiut, Greenland: 10-17 June 2019 (Theme: Infrastructure) We are currently looking for sponsors and partners for our events in June. Get in touch for further information, if you are interested. That should be all from me for now. May I just conclude by saying that I very much hope to see you in London and Cannes later this month. Should you wish to attend, please do not forget to sign up.  I will send you further information about our June dialogues in due course.  Sincerely, Dwayne Menezes --- Dr Dwayne Ryan Menezes MA PhD (Cantab) FRSA Founder and Managing Director Polar Research and Policy Initiative

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