Soccer and Ball Hockey — Connecting Through Sport
Stories of Community Engagement
To allow staff and passengers to come together with Northerners, Quark has organized friendly sporting events in Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland) and Nunavut. In Kalaallit Nunaat, soccer is the national sport, and it is popular with people of all ages in the communities we visit. During visits to Itilleq, soccer matches are held to promote friendly competition and cultural exchange. This event is beloved by locals, passengers, and staff alike, and we hope to hold similar events more frequently and in more communities in the future. In Nunavut, the sport of choice is hockey. To replicate the success of our Greenlandic soccer matches, a ball hockey match was held in Ikpiarjuk (Arctic Bay) during the Arctic 2023 season. The event was well-attended by locals and particularly enjoyed by kids. As with our soccer events, we hope to grow this event and expand to new communities during Quark’s 2024 season. Honoring our Community Commitments Weather and ice conditions are unpredictable in the Arctic, which can lead to last-minute changes to our planned itineraries. This was particularly prevalent during our Arctic 2023 season when scheduled Nunavut visits were severely disrupted by not only weather and ice but also forest fires in Northern Canada. When Quark Expeditions visits a remote Northern community, locals set aside time to provide programming for passengers, landing sites are cleared for arrival, and community spaces are set up to receive our passengers. In recognition of the work that goes into preparing for a visit, Quark Expeditions has instituted a cancellation policy to minimize the negative impact of canceled visits to communities. The cancellation rate was set in line with the fees charged by larger communities that have their own cancellation policies to ensure individuals are compensated for their time and effort spent preparing for a community visit. In 2023, cancellation payments were made to the Hamlets of Qikiqtarjuaq and Ikpiarjuk (Arctic Bay). These funds were provided directly to the hamlets and have helped to cultivate strong connections so that we will be welcomed to these communities in future seasons.
Communication Strategy — Meeting People Where They Are A complaint heard frequently from local officials in Northern communities is that ships visit with minimal notice, catching community members by surprise and overwhelming infrastructure. To prevent this, Quark Expeditions instituted a multi- faceted communication strategy in 2023 to ensure communities are aware of our visits and notified of any changes as quickly as possible. Initial arrangements for community bookings are made months in advance, as soon as our itineraries are scheduled for the Arctic season. Once confirmation of a visit is received from local authorities, social media posts are made on all active local groups to notify the larger community. Contact information for a company representative is provided by Quark Expeditions, and if any concerns about the visit are raised by community members, they are escalated to the onboard team to ensure our visits are conducted in a responsible manner. The Arctic 2023 season in Nunavut posed many operational challenges due to ice and wildfires, resulting in cancellations and last-minute changes to community visits. Quark Expeditions’ engagement strategy ensured that communities were aware of our changing plans, thereby improving the experience for the communities.
To support this social media strategy, an official flyer has been created in both English and Inuktitut. In Arctic 2023, these were used as part of the social media strategy. Going forward, we plan to post these physical flyers on community bulletin boards to ensure as many community members as possible are aware of our planned visits.
40 | For more information, contact Quark Expeditions at Sustainability@QuarkExpeditions.com
Polar Promise 2023 |
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