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The Alaska Alliance for Community Engagement - Climate and Health held their Second Annual meeting in Anchorage, Alaska on May 30th-31, 2024 The meeting brought together tribal, academic, and agency partners with the intent to: 1) convene the AK ACE-CH and engage new community partners in the Alliance; 2) learn about climate and health impacts in Alaska Native communities; 3) engage in an interactive research activity to assess climate change and health priorities; 4) to plan out AK ACE-CH data collection activities and community strategic plan development.

Nearly half of the meeting’s 35 participants were Alaska Native representatives from the rural communities that the Alliance will be working closely with to identify climate change and health priorities. In true co-production of knowledge fashion, the Alliance provided time for both community members and departments/agencies to share about what they are witnessing related to climate change and health and ongoing projects. Village representatives discussed the landscape of their communities, changes they have seen over time, and how these changes have impacted the health of their community. Department and agency representatives shared about climate and health projects and programs that are in place across the state. There were major discussions surrounding potential collaborations to support communities.

A primary output from the meeting was the solidification of the assessment plan that the AK ACE-CH team will be carrying out with the communities of Arctic Village and Tanana in Interior, Alaska and Emmonak and Toksook Bay in the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta. Participants engaged in interactive focus groups and Q-Sort activities. Feedback was provided from partners to the AK ACE-CH  team regarding the feasibility, timing, and impact of carrying out these activities in the upcoming months.  

The Alaska Alliance for Community Engagement- Climate and Health (AK ACE-CH) has the goal to promote health equity and climate justice by bringing together diverse community, state and scientific stakeholders in network to assess climate change and health impacts in remote and rural regions of Alaska and implement strategies that foster mitigation, adaptation and resilience at the community level.

The first annual AK ACE-CH stakeholder meeting took place in Anchorage on July 25th-26th and brought together Tribal leaders, researchers, federal agencies, and state agencies from across Alaska. Partners gathered with the intent to: 1) develop shared understanding of the AK ACE-CH project goals; 2) recognize each other’s strengths and interests; 3) come to an understanding of their role in the alliance; and 4) develop a plan for assessment of rural Alaska Native community priorities in relationship to climate change and health.

The 23 participants engaged in interactive activities that included a roundtable discussion of the personal impacts of climate change for everyone in the alliance that initially brought out group anxieties and worries for the current and future generations of young people. However, at the end of the meeting, these initial reflections transformed into one-word statements of “hope,” “motivation,” and “excitement.”

A primary output from the meeting was the co-production of the AK Alliance Agreements. Alliance Agreements describe how the AK ACE-CH will engage with each other and with communities.

AK ACE-CH First Annual Meeting