The High North Hero Award is an annual award established by the High North Center for Business and Governance at Nord University, Norway to honor a person, organization or company who has contributed to highlighting or developing the High North. The 2025 award is handed out during the High North Dialogue Conference in Bodø, Norway on March 25-27. The winner receives 50,000 NOK and is honored at an award ceremony.
Nominations for the 2025 award is now open.
Call for nominations
Every year, the public is invited to nominate candidates. Citizens from any country in the world are eligible to nominate candidates for the prize and to win the prize. You may nominate an individual, a company or an organization that meets at least one of the criteria below.
There is no requirement that the nominee is from the Arctic or resides in the Arctic; the intention of the Award is to highlight the efforts of a person or an organization whose work has a positive impact in the circumpolar north. Self-nominations are also accepted.
Criteria
The nominee must have contributed to an achievement that fulfils at least one of the following criteria:
- The nominee has significantly contributed to business development, societal development, growth, or employment in the High North
- The nominee has significantly contributed to new knowledge about the High North
- The nominee is innovative and uses innovative methods to advance cooperation in the High North
- The nominee has a significant impact in the High North locally, nationally and internationally
- The nominee contributes to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Arctic including, for example, gender equality or indigenous rights
- The nominee contributes significantly to strengthening collaboration in the High North.
Submit your candidate via the link. The nomination period closes February 10th 2025.
Previous Heroes
The first-ever High North Hero Award was awarded in 2016. The previous High North Heroes are:
- 2024 – Lawson W. Brigham
- 2023 – Diane Hirshberg
- 2020 – Felix Henry Tschudi
- 2019 – Robert Corell
- 2018 – Mary Simon
- 2017 – Scott Minerd
- 2016 – Paavo Lipponen
Award and committee
The prize consists of a diploma and 50 000 NOK (equivalent to approximately USD 5 500).
The following international committee will decide and announce the winner:
- Executive Director, Anu Fredrikson, Arctic Frontiers
- Professor Laurence C. Smith, Brown University, USA
- Regional manager North, Siv Dagny Aasvik, Offshore Norge
- Executive Director, Ian Laing, Institute of the North, USA
- Senior Fellow, Jennifer Spence, Harvard Kennedy School, Belfer Center Arctic Initiative
- Secretary-General, Patti Bruns, the Arctic Mayors’ Forum
- Editor in Chief, Arne O Holm, High North News, Norway
- Mayor of Luleå, Carina Sammeli, Sweden