January 20, 2020 – Anadyr – Anchorage – Ottawa – Nuuk – Today the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) confirms the following Inuit youth as the recipients of the inaugural Hans-Pavia Rosing Leadership Award:
Janessa Elanik – Canada
Tatyana Oleinikova – Chukotka
Samantha Harrison – Alaska
Pipaluk Hammeken – Greenland
The ICC established the Hans-Pavia Rosing Leadership Award in 2019 to memorialize its founding President not long after his sudden passing, which took place just prior to the 13th General Assembly in Utqiaġvik, Alaska in July 2018.
The award is for young Inuit who inspire others – maligassiuisut. As noted in the application and nomination form, “we recognize the need to highlight those in our communities, who are good leaders and guiding stars. We want to highlight and reveal the many good examples of leadership on all levels. There are many young people who run their own businesses, make a living from hunting, do extremely important volunteer work in diverse arenas, economic, social, cultural and political issues.”
Janessa Elanik is passionate about baking and pursuit of a career as a pastry chef, hoping to open her own bakery in the Northwest Territories, Canada in the future. Tatyana Oleinikova is teacher in the village of Sireniki, in Chukotka and intends to use the award to make advancements in the promotion of her mother tongue language in the classroom. As a nurse, Samantha Harrison’s objective is to design a “medical atikluk” for use by herself and others in the field of health care, in Alaska. Pipaluk Hammeken will be engaged in an internship in language studies with the aim of promoting Inuit languages and traditions in Greenland.
It is fortuitous to announce the first ever recipients of the Award in this new year as it is the 40th Anniversary of Hans-Pavia Rosing’s election as the first President of the ICC. It is also the 40th anniversary of the adoption of the formal Charter and Bylaws of the organizations.
In this first year of the Award, it is recognized that improvements for raising awareness about the Award among media and Inuit need to be made as well as improvements to the application and nomination process itself. For example, there is a consensus that attaching the Award to Inuit organizations as the nominees of potential recipients should be considered for the future. An Advisory Committee will be reviewing this and other criteria.
Like the diverse interests of the original President of the ICC, the purpose of the Hans-Pavia Rosing Leadership Award is to “support the growth and development of young Inuit women and men in diverse areas, ranging from the pursuit of honing hunting skills with elder experts, to higher education, to leadership training opportunities, to skin sewing skills or other Inuit customs, practices and values.
In relation to the Award and Hans-Pavia Rosing’s home country of Kalaallit Nunaat, Hjalmar Dahl, President for ICC Greenland and Vice Chair stated, “I´m proud of creating the Hans-Pavia Rosing Leadership Award and remembering him in this way. Congratulations to all recipients of the inaugural award. Looking to the future I´m confident that this award will help our youth to be more interested and active in Inuit cooperation and international relations.”
Liubov Taian, ICC Chukotka President and Vice Chair, commented that the “Hans-Pavia Rosing Leadership Award is a unique opportunity for us all to remember our history (ICC history), and young people to learn to be a leader or develop these qualities in ourselves.”
ICC Canada President Monica Ell-Kanayuk praised all recipients of the inaugural Hans Pavia Rosing Leadership Award. “I look forward to observing our new young leaders develop, hopefully with the assistance of this award, and I encourage Inuit to apply in the future.”
ICC Alaska President and Vice Chair James Stotts expressed his satisfaction by indicating that “This recognition of my dear friend and colleague is long over-due. It’s gratifying to me personally to see Hans-Pavia remembered in this way. Congratulations to the first recipients of this award. You are all worthy, and I look forward to following your future achievements. Best of luck.”
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Contact:
Kelly Eningowuk
ICC (Alaska)
(907) 274-9058
kelly@iccalaska.org
Carole Simon
ICC (Canada)
(613) 563-2642
csimon@inuitcircumpolar.com
The Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) is an Indigenous Peoples’ Organization (IPO), founded in 1977 to promote and celebrate the unity of 180,000 Inuit from Alaska (USA), Canada, Greenland, and Chukotka (Russia). ICC works to promote Inuit rights, safeguard the Arctic environment, and protect and promote the Inuit way of life. In regard to climate change, we believe that it is crucial for world leaders and governments to recognize, respect and fully implement the human rights of Inuit and all other Indigenous peoples across the globe.