Editorial

In the beginning the bird was flying above the dark ocean of origin. The Mother, or Goddess, of Air raised her knee from the ocean, and the bird landed and lay its golden eggs on the mother’s knee. As she moved, one of the eggs fell and cracked. The eggshell pieces became the world, the earth, and the sky, as well as the sun, the moon, and the stars.

We all share the sky, the stars, the moon, the sun. We also share the origin story. It is told in many formulations around the world, but at its core it is basically the same.

UArctic’s Strategic Plan 2030 is built around the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which help us in mapping the steps we need to take for a sustainable future. But where the SDGs are perhaps lacking is the role of cultural understanding and the necessity of various expressions of this understanding through different means and modalities. Many of the stories in this edition of the Shared Voices Magazine stress the importance of mutual understanding. We are not the same, but we need to work together to understand and respect each other as a part of the same globe and the Milky Way. 

The goldeneye is a special bird, because it has the ability to fetch things from the bottom of a lake. It is able to fetch tears that have been shed to mourn loved ones; tears that have fallen into a lake and transformed into pearls.

This year the goldeneye is busy.