Meetings

International congresses

One of the major activities of the Union is the sponsorship of the International Congress on Circumpolar Health (ICCH), which serves as the primary source of information exchange and scholarly communication in issues relating to circumpolar health. More than 750 participants generally register and participate in each Congress, and more than 400 scientific papers or posters are usually presented.

The involvement of medical scientists, policy and decision makers, Native peoples, and others in the triennial congresses is growing steadily. To date, there have been sixteen international symposia/congresses:

• • Fairbanks, Alaska 1967

• • Oulu, Finland 1971

• • Yellowknife, Canada 1974

• • Novosibirsk, Siberia 1978

• • Copenhagen, Denmark 1981

• • Anchorage, Alaska 1984

• • Umea, Sweden 1987

• • Whitehorse, Canada 1990

• • Reykjavik, Iceland 1993

• • Anchorage, Alaska 1996

• • Harstad, Norway 2000

• • Nuuk, Greenland 2003

• • Novosibirsk, Russia 2006

• • Yellowknife, Canada 2009

• • Fairbanks, Alaska 2012

• • Oulu, Finland 2015

• • Copenhagen, Denmark 2018
  • Halifax, Canada 2024

Proceedings have been published for all but one of the Symposia/Congresses. The Fourth Symposia published extended abstracts in English and Russian.

• • The 13th International Congress on Circumpolar Health (ICCH 13) was held in Novosibirsk, Russia from June 12 to 16, 2006. The Congress theme was ‘The North – The Peace Zone.’

• • The 14th International Congress on Circumpolar Health (ICCH 14) was held in Yellowknife, Canada for the second time.

• • The 15th International Congress on Circumpolar Health (ICCH 15) was held in Fairbanks, Alaska, the site of the first meeting 45 years earlier.

• • The 16th International Congress on Circumpolar Health (ICCH 16) was held in Oulu, Finland, site of the second meeting in 1971.

• • The 17th International Congress on Circumpolar Health (ICCH 17) was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, site of the fifth meeting in 1981.

• • The 18th International Congress on Circumpolar Health (ICCH 18) was planned to be held in the days August 4-6, 2022 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. However, the IUCH Board decided to cancel this conference due to the war in Ukraine. Please see the Announcement by the Board. Instead, the 18th International Congress on Circumpolar Health (ICCH 18) takes place in Halifax, Canada, in the days November 3-5, 2024.