During the last evening of the UArctic Assembly 2023, a gala banquet was held in which the 25th anniversary of the Iqualuit Declaration was celebrated. 

In September 1998, the Arctic Council’s Iqaluit Declaration announced the "establishment of the University of the Arctic, a university without walls". Since then UArctic has grown into an international network with more than 150 member organizations, all concerned with education and research in and about the North. Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, was vital in the establishment of this network, as she championed the original idea of a University of the Arctic within the Arctic Council. During the UArctic Assembly 2023 she gave a video address, commemorating this significant milestone. 

You can watch her full address in the video below.