More than 200 high school and college students from around the world have signed up for the Feb. 20-21 Camden Conference, “The Geopolitics of the Arctic: A Region in Peril,” taking advantage of the organization’s decision to waive student ticket fees for this year’s virtual event.

“Recognizing this unique and challenging year we are offering the virtual conference free of charge to all students in Maine and around the world who would like to participate,” said Kimberly Scott, executive director of the Camden Conference, in a news release.

She reports that, while the majority of students registered attend Maine high schools and universities, others will attend from multiple states and as far away as Alaska, the United Kingdom, and India.

In a normal year the conference takes place in the Camden Opera House, with live streaming to audiences in Rockland, Belfast, Portland, and Hanover, New Hampshire. Ordinarily, students from high schools and colleges in Maine are invited to attend if they are participating in the conference’s education program that supports courses related to that year’s topic, and they comprise twenty percent of the total audience.

This year’s conference will be entirely live streamed, allowing students world-wide to have a virtual seat at the event.

"The Camden Conference treasures the community spirit generated at its conferences, and the interaction between students and other attendees," said Scott. "We are delighted to have such a wide range of students joining us to learn more about this critical region that impacts us all. Unlike Las Vegas, what happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic.”

The Camden Conference is dedicated to “fostering informed discourse on world issues.” This year’s conference – the 34th annual – will present some of the world’s leading experts on the Arctic region and its changing conditions. 

Keynote speaker will be former Iceland president Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, president and co-founder of The Arctic Council. 

The conference moderator for the second consecutive year will be David Brancaccio, senior editor of American Public Media’s popular radio broadcast, The Marketplace Morning Report.

For further information, visit www.camdenconference.org.