Growing up in Oslo but with strong northern roots, Ingrid Eline Barrabés Gørrissen (22) always felt a connection to the Arctic. Her family heritage ties back to Sørfold in Nordland county, where her lulesámi background has shaped both her values and her dreams for the future.

Today, as region secretary for Natur og Ungdom and deputy leader of Oslove Noereh, Ingrid fights for nature, Indigenous rights, and sustainable futures. But her own future — and where she will live it — depends on something more than personal commitment.

Ingrid dreams of working in marine biology, conducting research that strengthens the Arctic instead of exploiting it. She is clear: she doesn’t want her work to depend on funding from large oil companies or industrial salmon farming. But today, many research projects rely on just that — leaving young scientists facing difficult choices.

Ingrid Eline Barrabés Gørrissen was in Tromsø for the Arctic Youth Conference 2025, where this interview took place. Here from Tromsø harbor.

The barriers to staying

For Ingrid and many others, the challenges of building a life in the north go beyond the job market. Weak infrastructure, shrinking healthcare services, and long travel distances make daily life harder, especially outside the main cities.

When hospitals close, when schools disappear, when the nearest health services are hours away — it pushes people south, she reflects.

It’s not just about having a job. It’s about being able to live a full life.

The current political focus on centralizing jobs and opportunities around Oslo and southern Norway frustrates her. She calls for policies that truly support living across the whole country — and that recognize Indigenous knowledge in building sustainable Arctic communities.

Fighting for change

Ingrid’s heart issues are clear: protecting nature, fighting climate change, and defending Indigenous rights. For her, these struggles are deeply connected.

“We have to stop seeing nature only as a resource,” she says.

“We are part of it. And Indigenous perspectives — how we care for land and water — offer lessons decision-makers urgently need to hear.”

Her hope is for a future where young people don’t have to choose between staying in the Arctic and building a meaningful life. Where the Arctic isn’t just a resource frontier, but a living, thriving place for those who call it home.

“The Arctic has so much to offer,” Ingrid says.

“We just need the right conditions to make staying possible.”

This interview was conducted by Markus Thonhaugen from the High North Center, Nord University, as part of the YoungArctic project — an initiative working to make the Arctic a more attractive place for young people to settle, work, and live. Through our Instagram page and this blog, we share stories from young people living, studying, and working in the Arctic, to better understand their perspectives and challenges.