The Arctic Council Indigenous Peoples’ Secretariat (IPS) is a support Secretariat for the International Indigenous Peoples’ Organizations that have Permanent Participant status in the Arctic Council.
IPS creates opportunities for the the Permanent Participants to present their causes, and helps provide them with necessary information and materials by:
- Ensuring that Permanent Participants are sent documents and reports connected to the work of the Arctic Council and its working groups.
- Helping Permanent Participants to present their views to the Arctic Council and its Working Groups.
- Collecting and communicating information about the Arctic Council and its results to the Indigenous Peoples in the various parts of the Arctic.
- Providing co-ordination for the Indigenous Peoples’ Organizations to meet with each other, and to participate in the Arctic Council Working Groups.
IPS is overseen by a board of nine members. Board members are made up of a representative from each of the six Permanent Participants (of which GCI is one), plus a representative of the current chair of the Arctic Council, the host country of IPS, and a representative from the previous Arctic Council chairmanship. The board meets at least once a year in person, but generally meets in conjunction with the SAO meetings.
The IPS chair rotates between the PP organizations every two years. GCI served as chair between 2015 and 2017.
For more information see: http://www.arcticpeoples.org/