On August 23, 2008, to commemorate IASSA's 18th 'birth' day, the first three Honourary Lifetime Membership Awards were bestowed in Nuuk, Greenland during the Sixth International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences (ICASS VI). The IASSA Award is granted in recognition of sustained and significant contribution to Arctic Social Sciences and Humanities, and is presented at the triennial International Congress of Social Scientists (ICASS).