Moses Hernandez has ventured from Yellowknife to Rovaniemi, Finland, to gain a new perspective on the North through the Arctic Studies Program offered by the University of Lapland. The students are made up of people of all stripes, from all around the world, and the course teaches about Northern environment, aboriginal cultures, and other disciplines that focus on the North.

The 27-year-old university student, whose father hails from Nicaragua and his mother from the Philippines, understands the importance of a connection with one's own culture. When he was 13, Moses set off to Nicaragua with his father to visit his grandfather and learn about his heritage. "I met my grandfather, and how he lives was very inspiring to me," said Hernandez, "I felt for the first time in my life a real connection - I didn't have that when I was in Yellowknife."

While spending time with his grandfather, who recently died, he learned about the traditional lifestyle of Nicaragua, which was largely influenced by the conquests of the Spanish, and the integration of the Spanish with the indigenous peoples who lived there - the Mayans.

In Finland, Moses wants to learn new perspectives of how indigenous cultures are preserved, his short-term plan being to work with aboriginal youth in the NWT when he returns. "Among the aboriginal youth (in Yellowknife), what I see in my own eyes is that there is something missing, it could be loss of culture or not really participating in the culture, and I have heard this from other people - elders are saying the kids are not getting involved or taking an interest in their culture." Travelling to another part of the circumpolar world has allowed Moses to see what other communities are doing to keep their culture alive.

He became interested in youth leadership while travelling with his brother, Aaron ‘Godson’ Hernandez, a hip hop artist in the Northwest Territories who travels throughout Canada’s north, putting on concerts and workshops for youth. He first heard about the Arctic Studies Program from a professor at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, Canada, where he earned a B.A. in political science and aquatic studies.

He has taken  time off from his job as a policy analyst with the Government of the Northwest Territories, in order to take part in the program. "I feel like I'm learning about real northern issues, not just proving that I can write an essay," he says of the program, adding that it is important "to have a northern-focused program that keeps you in the north."

In his off-time, Moses maintains an active lifestyle. "I live like five minutes away from cross-country ski trails and I've been training four days a week with a Finnish guy, so he's learning English and I'm getting better at skiing." Finnish people are very active, he says. "A lot more older people here are out skiing or sledding, or walking with ski poles. Very healthy people here. There's not a lot of overweight people here. They have very active lifestyles. The weather is perfect for it."

Though far away, Moses says many Finns know about Yellowknife. "A lot of people watch Ice Road Truckers here," said Hernandez. "They actually know Yellowknife; I was surprised. It's a popular show here. Probably because it's about hardcore Northerners, and they consider themselves hardcore Northerners here as well."

Moses is one of many northern students, from all over the world, who are studying with the University of the Arctic in Finland. UArctic is a cooperative network of universities, colleges, and other organizations committed to higher education and research in the North whose members share resources, facilities, and expertise to build post-secondary education programs that are relevant and accessible to northern students. It was created in 2001.

To create a strong, sustainable circumpolar region by empowering northerners and northern communities through education and shared knowledge, the University of the Arctic promotes education that is circumpolar, interdisciplinary, and diverse in nature, and addresses the region’s unique challenges. The University of the Arctic recognizes the integral role of indigenous peoples in northern education, and seeks to engage their perspectives in all of its activities.

Its north2north student exchange program provides opportunities for northern students to experience different northern regions firsthand, and to share experiences face-to-face by allowing students to study at other UArctic institutions. Its newest program, "GoNorth", makes the same opportunity to learn about the North, from the North, and in the North, available to students who live outside the circumpolar North.

GoNorth's philosophy is that the best way to learn is by first hand experience. By making higher education in the circumpolar world more visible and accessible, the program will have an important function in recruting students from more southern regions of the world to study issues of importance not only for societies in the North but for the world at large.

This story is compiled from several sources: a story entitled Learning about the North in Finland, by Tim Edwards, datelined Somba K'e/Yellowknife March 25, 2009, published by Northern News Services in Yellowknife, NT, Canada; a story about Moses called Student from Canada Discovers Finland, on the UArctic website; and information about the University of the Arctic and its programs from the university's website. The picture of Moses riding a horse-drawn carriage through the streets of Rovaniemi, Finland, was provided by Moses Hernandez and accompanied the NNSL story. The other photographs come from the University of the Arctic website. The poster was created to celebrate UArctic's fifth anniversary in 2006.

For other stories about unique schools and universities, see:

Wrestling school brings new way of life for youth in Senegal

Unique South Africa university provides holistic, low-cost education

Paraguayan school brings agricultural education to low income areas

eGranary Digital Library delivers knowledge to scholars in developing countries

Solar-powered boats bring education, sustainable energy to poor communities

Mobile business school brings information to women in drought-stricken area of India

Yup'ik immersion school brings together aboriginal, western cultures

Creating a sustainable, self-funded vocational school in Tanzania