Students presenting their Arctic future scenarios at the High North Dialogue conference: Kateryna Ilika, Olga Krasokha and Anastasiia Myronchuk.
What will life in the High North look like in 2050?
Around 30 students took on that challenge. But a team of four, representing Ukraine, walked away with this year’s winning scenario - earning a spot at the High North Dialogue conference in Bodø.
Olga Krasokha, Kateryna llika, Anastasiia Myronchuk and Nazar Hudenko - all students from the master course International Governance and Business in the High North - were selected by the jury as the top team in this year’s scenario excercise.
The master course, led by Dr. Elena Dybtsyna (High North Center), is an important part of the High North Dialogue academic program.
It trains students in foresight and strategic thinking by having them explore plausible futures for the Arctic region.
The winning team had an imaginative presentation that earned them recognition in front of an international audience of policymakers, researchers, and business leaders.
– We didn’t expect to win, but we’re proud of what we created together, the team shared after the presentation.
Creative storytelling
As they started their presentation, they pointed out that the best way to predict the future is to create it. And create it they did - through a dynamic simulation game that pulled the audience into three distinct and vividly imagined futures.
Their creative risk-taking included a live storytelling game and other personal touches, which made an impression on the jury.
– When we had tech problems and the music didn’t play, I just looked at the girls and thought, okay, let’s sing along, Olga shares with a laugh.
The creative process included Zoom calls with teammate Nazar (participating online from Ukraine). About the process, Kateryna shares:
– We realized that information isn’t enough. You have to tell a story. Otherwise people won’t listen or care. That was one of the biggest lessons.
Best group
After their energetic presentation, the group received diplomas and high praise from the moderators of their session, Elena Dybtsyna and Marianna Bahr Simonsen at Kraft Center.
– This is the best group I’ve seen in the five years I’ve been part of this, said Marianne Bahr Simonsen as she presented the award.
– Your creativity, commitment, and insight are incredibly inspiring.
The scenario exercise is part of a growing tradition at the conference, combining academic excellence with engagement in real-world Arctic challenges.
As these students reminded the audience:
We are the creators of our own future. And it’s up to us which scenario we will live in
Watch a recording of the full session below:
Three Arctic Futures
- Their first scenario, The Gaze of Themis, portrayed an Arctic that has embraced renewable energy and balanced high-tech solutions with traditional knowledge. In this version of 2050, smart settlements powered by wind and hydro are maintained by AI systems. The main character, John, once worked in oil but retrained for a greener future — reflecting a broader shift toward sustainability and inclusive innovation.
- The second scenario, Turning Ice Into Gold, offered a much starker vision. Here, the melting Arctic becomes a capitalist frontier, dominated by deep-sea mining, inequality, and environmental exploitation. While wealth grows, so do the social and ecological costs.
- Finally, The Illusion of Safety presented a militarized Arctic, shaped by geopolitical rivalry and AI-driven defense systems. Education and research are tailored to serve security interests, while civilian sectors fall behind.
- As a creative twist, the team also introduced “wild cards” — unpredictable but plausible events like an AI uprising or humanity migrating to Mars. These served to underline the fragility and complexity of long-term planning.
Three Arctic Futures
- Their first scenario, The Gaze of Themis, portrayed an Arctic that has embraced renewable energy and balanced high-tech solutions with traditional knowledge. In this version of 2050, smart settlements powered by wind and hydro are maintained by AI systems. The main character, John, once worked in oil but retrained for a greener future — reflecting a broader shift toward sustainability and inclusive innovation.
- The second scenario, Turning Ice Into Gold, offered a much starker vision. Here, the melting Arctic becomes a capitalist frontier, dominated by deep-sea mining, inequality, and environmental exploitation. While wealth grows, so do the social and ecological costs.
- Finally, The Illusion of Safety presented a militarized Arctic, shaped by geopolitical rivalry and AI-driven defense systems. Education and research are tailored to serve security interests, while civilian sectors fall behind.
- As a creative twist, the team also introduced “wild cards” — unpredictable but plausible events like an AI uprising or humanity migrating to Mars. These served to underline the fragility and complexity of long-term planning.
