Canadian Inuit Leader Mary Simon to Speak on Arctic Issues in Edinburgh

Canada's national Inuit leader Mary Simon, President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami - the national Inuit organization in Canada - will be speaking on Arctic Issues at an event in Edinburgh on Tuesday December 1, 2009. The event will be hosted jointly by the Centre of Canadian Studies at the University of Edinburgh, and National Museums Scotland.
 
"The Canadian North wants in," commented Mary Simon. "The Arctic as a region within Canada has some ways to go to catch up to the other regions of our great nation. We face development issues such as those related to human health, economic development, and basic infrastructure. Furthermore our Arctic region is under great stress right now as a result of global issues such as Climate Change. I am looking forward to speaking in Edinburgh to expand on these issues."
 
The Director of the Centre of Canadian Studies at the University of Edinburgh, Dr. Annis May Timpson, said: "We are delighted to welcome Mary Simon to the Centre and to mark her visit to Edinburgh by co-hosting a public lecture with National Museums Scotland. Scholars at the Centre of Canadian Studies are researching the development of new forms of governance in the Canadian Arctic, and value the opportunity to hear Mary Simon give first hand insights into the current challenges facing Inuit in the Arctic."
 
Keeper of the Department of World Cultures, National Museums Scotland, Dr Henrietta Lidchi said "We are pleased to be able to co-host this significant lecture by Mary Simon in association with the University of Edinburgh.  Some of our earliest collections were the product of early exploration in the North, and we are pleased to highlight these important collections within a contemporary Inuit perspective."
 
The speech will be held at the University of Edinburgh at 5:15 pm on Tuesday December 1, 2009 at Seminar Room 1, Crystal Macmillan Building, 15A George Square. The lecture is free and open to the general public.
 

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