The biggest surprise of Ban Ki-moon's visit

Working on a couple of articles about U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's trip to Svalbard that should be posted shortly, but a few quick impressions that may or may not make it into the "real" stories:

- The biggest surprise wasn't anything Ban said or did, but rather what he didn't get to say. There was time for three questions from the public at the end of a public forum Wednesday at The University Centre In Svalbard. In a room packed mostly with students and scientists that Ban had just called the future leaders of the world due to a unique situation where science is driving much of the important issues on the global agenda, only one question was asked. It was literally a Ferris Bueller moment with the moderator saying "Anyone...don't be shy." Silence. Unbelievable.

- The best question that did come from that meeting was at the end from one of the four panelists (including Ban). Sheila Watt-Cloutier, a prominent Canadian Inuit activist who delivered a wallop of a five-minute speech about the hardships of her people and unacceptable compromises being reached, used her closing statement to basically get herself invited to the U.N. General Assembly meeting next month in New York. "Not to put you on the spot Mr. Secretary-General, but it would be a wonder for the Arctic people to have a voice as well." Afterward, she said, "he just said 'I'm on it,'" meaning he's doing what he can to get her an invite. Safe to say that if she makes it to New York that, even in that distinguished crowd, her voice is going to be heard.

- The progression of first-hand observations of Ban from the entrance of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault to the -16C storage facility 140 meters inside the mountain: "It's cold" (just inside the door to the outer world); "This is all frost? Oy! Hold your breath." (touching the frost-covered door at the entrance to the storage room); "It's very cold" (waiting to get out of the room after perhaps a five-minute look at his country's deposit of seeds); "If you have any questions, I have to go out" (to the press pack as everybody finally escaped the room).

- The second-biggest surprise? Turns out this is only Svalbard Gov. Per Sefland's first trip into the seed vault since it opened.