Public panel discussion as part of the Nordic Sound 2026

The Arctic region of the North Atlantic has recently become increasingly important in terms of both security policy and economics. There are different interrelated reasons for this, ranging from the unpredictability of American foreign policy to the already apparent and foreseeable consequences of climate change, which are altering access to the region and thus its strategic importance. The panel discussion will focus on Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. How have the discourses within these societies changed? What challenges do the three countries face in terms of their cultural and political self-understandings? While questions about the future shape of the Danish Realm in Greenland and the Faroe Islands have become highly topical, Iceland is discussing the referendum expected to take place in 2027, which will deal with the resumption of EU accession negotiations. The panel will be introduced by three short keynote speeches on the various regional perspectives. Following the discussion among the three experts, the audience will also have the opportunity to pose questions.

The panellists are:
Tobias Etzold is a political scientist with a focus on International Relations and European Studies, specialising in Northern European politics.
Theresa Kohlbeck Jakobsen has a background in Scandinavian Studies as well as European Ethnology and is currently working on her doctorate.
Ebbe Volquardsen is a cultural and political scientist working in the field of political education at an adult education centre near Frankfurt am Main.