The seminar focused on the rapid changes that increased international attention and climate change, amongst other external factors, bring to the circumstances and livelihoods of the people of the circumpolar Arctic region. It built on the need to redefine cultural heritage, including Indigenous / local (environmental) knowledge, and 'paradiplomacy', as part of 'industrial civilization', given its importance in relations to fossil fuel-based development, such as offshore-drilling and the shaping of the future of the circumpolar North. By focusing on resilience, rather than sustainable development, an emphasis was put on the capability of institutions to learn and fix problems by themselves as they emerge. The consequences of regional and global processes happening in the Arctic directly affect a multitude of actors, including important non-state local and regional ones, such as the scientific community. On every level of Arctic development, one can hear the voices of these actors, but are they given enough attention by policy-makers and researchers? How are the voices of different communities being heard, or not heard, in public and political discussions? It is also important to consider the role of different stakeholders, such as scholars and scientists, their participation in shaping Arctic futures and how, in turn, it influences other actors in the region. The seminar shed light on the importance of maintaining and further developing the interplay between science and politics, between scientific knowledge and Indigenous / local knowledge, as well as between material and immaterial things and values, as it supports and promotes high political stability in the Arctic. Faced with grand challenges and unforeseen problems, the value and validity of an open trans-disciplinary and inter-sectoral dialogue, where participants focus on issues and engage each other, is more important than ever.