Global warming has brought urgency to the study of the polar regions. The Arctic and Antarctic are at the forefront of climate change worldwide. Over the past decade, it has become increasingly apparent that polar scientific research is highly relevant to everyone on the planet.
IASC not only stimulates and supports research that will help increase global understanding of the global warming process, but also initiates activities that enable the research outcomes to reach a broad public audience, attempting to close the gap between science and society.
IPY Outreach Assessment and Database
One year after the launch of the International Polar Year (IPY) Education, Outreach and Communication (EOC) Assessment Project the task of inventorying and investigating the hundreds of IPY EOC programmes that occurred during the IPY 2007-08 was completed. Supported by APECS, IASC and SCAR, this ICSU funded project is the only global examination of what happened in outreach during IPY. The latest IPY event was one of the most ambitious polar research programmes to date, tens of thousands of scientists and students participated, but IPY also set out to involve members of the general public in active polar science endeavours on a global scale. How successful was this part of the IPY plan?
With over 550 IPY EOC activities, from more than 70 countries in 25 languages IPY EOC is one of the largest global investments in science outreach to date. The IPY EOC Assessment brought together educators, communications personnel and researchers and the resulting report examines the success of IPY EOC efforts, and discusses why IPY EOC was able to reach its goals and beyond. From the experience of IPY, the report also outlines a set of lessons learned on how to improve science outreach across a variety of disciplines. These lessons will be useful for other science outreach projects - large or small - regional, national or international.
IPY EOC went to new heights, depths and extremes to take people to the poles and to take the poles to the people. Now the legacy of IPY outreach is helping to shape the future of science education and outreach. Read the report or search the online Polar Outreach Catalogue - a growing inventory of these IPY projects and new outreach efforts to help educate the world about the global importance of the polar regions. For the searchable database, please visit the APECS website.
Provencher J, Baeseman J, Carlson D, Badhe R, Bellman J, Hik D, Huffman L, Legg J, Pauls M, Pit M, Shan S, Timm K, Ulstein K, Zicus S (2011) Polar Research Education, Outreach and Communication during the fourth IPY: How the 2007–2008 International Polar Year has contributed to the future of education, outreach and communication. Paris: International Council for Science (ICSU).
An information flyer is available for students and young researchers who are interested in a career in polar science. The flyer introduces some of the major players in polar research and offers contact information. The publication was initiated by the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists and IASC and was published in cooperation with the University of the Arctic, the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research and the International Arctic Institute.
At the COP15 in Copenhagen 2009 IASC and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research opened up a live connection to the poles and gave the media and public the chance to directly ask polar scientist how they were witnessing climate change. Two researchers from the British Antarctic Survey and several from the joint French-German Arctic research base, AWIPEV, informed the public about what they were experiencing first hand in the Arctic and Antarctic first hand.
Tamsin Gray, a meteorologist based at Rothera on the Antarctic Peninsula. ‘‘In climate change research the link between collecting an air sample and monitoring global warming is refreshingly direct. The consequences of the results immediately reach way beyond the scope of academic interest straight into the lives of everyone around us.’’
Marcus Schumacher, researcher in environmental sciences and station manager based in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. ‘‘The real challenge mankind has to face in the future are the challenges due to changes in the complex natural system. I hope that our work provides a contribution to set the course for the necessary political, social and economic actions.’’
During the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008 film proved a strong instrument to explore new frontiers of polar science and mesmerized and informed the public. Fiction films, documentaries, TV-series and Internet broadcasts all helped translate polar science to the screen, and portrayed a rich history of exploration, culture and contemporary life and investigated peoples' and natures' responses and adaptations to a changing climate.
The PolarCINEMA held during the IPY Science Conference in Oslo, Norway, showcased and celebrated for the first time on a huge scale, media productions that were inspired by, and increased the awareness of the Polar Regions. The film festival was chaired by the IASC secretariat and turned out to be a successful mix of screenings, lectures and discussions with filmmakers, educators and scientists.