22-27 April 2012, Montréal, Canada

From Knowledge to Action

Aqqaluk Lynge, Keynote Speaker, delivers talk on the future of the Inuit at Dartmouth College

Mr. Aqqaluk Lynge, a Keynote speaker at the International Polar Year 2012 Conference this April in Montréal, last week delivered a speech at Dartmouth College that illustrated the tough decisions Inuit people have to make between further resource development and environment conservation across the North.

The lecture – titled "Inuit in the Changing Arctic: A Bright New Future or a Fight for Survival," highlighted that Inuit people in Greenland particularly welcomed the economic opportunity that comes with growing international interest in regional oil and mineral resources, but worry about the effects it may have on their environment and traditional lifestyle.

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Announcing the Chair of the Indigenous Knowledge Exchange

International Polar Year 2012 is delighted to announce that Nancy Karetak-Lindell has recently been confirmed Chair of the Indigenous Knowledge Exchange. Nancy was a Canadian Member of Parliament for the territory of Nunavut from 1997 to 2008, and is currently Director of the Jane Glassco Arctic Fellowship Program at the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation, which is devoted to engaging, training, and inspiring the next generation of Northern Leaders.

"I am very excited and honoured to chair and be part of the Indigenous Knowledge Exchange Program Committee," Nancy said. "There are so many ways our traditional knowledge from the circumpolar world can complement science and put a human face to the challenges facing us in our Arctic world, and I believe the International Polar Year conference can highlight these opportunities."

The IPY 2012 conference will feature an Indigenous Knowledge Exchange (IKE) with programming developed by Indigenous peoples to highlight issues of interest and importance to community members of the circumpolar Arctic. The IKE welcomes all conference participants to discuss critical topics including: Food Security and Health, Changing Environment – Climate Change, Wildlife and Management, Youth and Capacity Building and Knowledge Transfer.

The International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) has announced that the IASC Medal 2012 will be awarded to Dr. Igor Krupnik

Dr. Igor Krupnik is one of our most diverse Arctic scientists. The reasons for awarding him are multifold, each of them worthy to be awarded by themselves. Igor is awarded the IASC medal for making scientist, decision-makers and the general public aware that the Arctic is not only about ice and polar bears but also about its inhabitants, for bridging between natural and social sciences as well as to the knowledge of the indigenous Arctic residents, and for invaluable contributions to the success of the International Polar Year.

The medal will be presented by the IASC President on Thursday 26th April 2012 at the IPY 2012 Conference in Montreal (Canada). The award ceremony will be followed by a 30 minute lecture given by the awardee.

Responding to Arctic Environmental Change: Translating a Growing Understanding of Change into a Research Agenda for Action

An International Study of Arctic Change Workshop (events.sps.queensu.ca) that will take place BEFORE THE CONFERENCE on January 30-31, 2012.

The Arctic needs a concisely designed program to respond to environmental change. It needs to turn knowledge into action. The International Study of Arctic Change (ISAC, www.arcticchange.org), in partnership with the School of Policy Studies at Queen's University, announces a Responding to Arctic Change Workshop, January 30-31 2012, to be held at Queen's University in Kingston, Canada. This workshop is the first in a planned series of meetings that aim to collectively shape and coordinate initiatives for research that directly addresses the needs of stakeholders affected by or who are addressing arctic environmental change. The long-term objective is to enable local people, the arctic nations and the wider global community, including the scientific community, to better respond to a changing Arctic. This workshop is a pre-IPY 2012 event that is intended to develop a science plan that will feed into and further evolve at IPY 2012. READ MORE

International Polar Year 2012 photo contest « COLD SNAP »

Show us your best pictures of wildlife, landscapes and exploration of the Arctic and Antarctic territories.

IPY 2012 in collaboration with the Royal Canadian Geographical Society is proud to present its polar photography competition. READ MORE

Polar Film Festival Call for Entries

Canadian Film Institute and International Polar Year Seek Films that Focus on Arctic and Antarctic Regions

OTTAWA, Ontario (November 30, 2011) — The Canadian Film Institute (CFI), in partnership with the International Polar Year (IPY) 2012 Conference Secretariat, is offically seeking entries for the Polar Film Festival. The two-day moving image event is a featured presentation of the IPY 2012 Conference: From Knowledge to Action, held April 22-27, 2012, in Montréal, Quebec, Canada. Read the full press release.

Looking for volunteers

To support this important Conference, we are looking for bilingual volunteers. In exchange for 25 hours, volunteers will receive: a free registration, all delegate materials plus a conference t-shirt, special volunteer party and an official letter of recognition and thanks for your efforts on behalf of the IPY 2012 Conference. READ MORE

The abstracts are in - IPY 2012 on track to become one of the largest polar conferences in history

The call for abstracts for the IPY 2012 From Knowledge to Action Conference closed on October 7 and the final tally is complete. In total, IPY 2012 Conference received (drum roll, please) 2134 abstracts with contributions from over 45 countries. This represents a significant milestone for the IPY 2012 Conference, which is on track to become one of the largest polar conferences in history.

Over 63% of the abstracts were received in Area 1 (Science Highlights), which is a strong indicator of the robust polar scientific community that is expected at IPY 2012. Areas 2 (Synthesis and Integration), 3 (Knowledge to Action), and 4 (Public Engagement) received a combined total of 37% of the abstracts, with significant contributions from policy- makers, social scientists, indigenous communities, non-governmental organizations and more.

The top 5 contributing countries were: Canada, USA, Russia, Norway, and Germany, in that respective order.

Antarctica and the Global Climate System

The ozone hole over Antarctica has intensified a ring of winds around the South Pole, known as the polar vortex, causing an increase in westerly winds over the Southern Ocean in summer and autumn and altering weather patterns around the Earth's southernmost continent. As a result, most of the Antarctic has been shielded from "global warming" to date, a situation that won't continue, says the landmark report Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment (ACCE). As ozone concentrations above the region recover over this century, ... READ MORE

Changes to and Implications of Changing Arctic Coastlines

"The circumpolar Arctic coast is arguably one of the most critical zones in terms of the rapidity and the severity of environmental change and the implications for human communities dependent on coastal resources," says the international report State of the Arctic Coast 2010 – Scientific Review and Outlook. The interdisciplinary 170-page report, published in April 2011, examines the far-reaching impacts of climate change on the physical, ecological, social, economic and institutional states of Arctic coasts. READ MORE

Antarctica Holds Clues to Future Global Changes

Climate-related changes underway in the Earth's coldest, driest, windiest and southernmost continent, Antarctica, will inevitably have impacts around the world. Finding ways to address the regional and global consequences of such changes will be on the agenda at the IPY 2012 Conference From Knowledge to Action, taking place in Montréal, Québec, Canada from April 22 to 27, 2012. READ MORE

SWIPA

May 2011 – The impacts of climate change in the Arctic are becoming increasingly evident in the cryosphere, the part of Earth's surface that is seasonally or perennially frozen, including snow, frozen ground, ice on rivers and lakes, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets and sea ice. In May 2011, the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), one of six working groups under the Arctic Council, released a major new assessment on Snow, Water, Ice and Permafrost in the Arctic (SWIPA). The assessment details the latest scientific knowledge about ... READ MORE

Global Framework for Climate Services

As global climate change and variability creates new challenges and opportunities for all sectors of society around the world, the need for accurate, up-to-date climate information and predictions has never been more pressing. Many socio-economic sectors including agriculture, fisheries, health, forestry, transportation, tourism and energy, are highly sensitive to weather and climate extremes, which are already becoming more frequent as the global climate warms. The findings of International Polar Year (2007-2008) and other recent polar science has increased understanding of how the changes taking place in polar regions are influencing ... READ MORE

IPY Report

March 2011 (WMO/ICSU) - The largest coordinated research project ever undertaken into the Arctic and Antarctic regions yielded a treasure trove of information which will shape our understanding of the polar regions, global oceans, climate and climate change for decades ahead, according to a summary of the research.

"Understanding Earth’s Polar Challenges," was presented to the Arctic Science Summit Week in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The summary prepared by the International Council for Science (ICSU) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Joint Committee presents the findings from International Polar Year – a massive research effort involving some 50,000 participants from more than 60 nations between March 2007 and March 2009.

The volume of 38 chapters covers the development of IPY 2007–2008 for almost a decade, from 2001 till summer 2010. It has engaged almost 300 contributing authors and reviewers from more than 30 nations. This broad overview of IPY 2007–2008 demonstrates ... READ MORE

Consult the full report (in English)

Changing Arctic Sea Ice

One of the most visible signs of climate change in the Arctic is a significant loss in the aerial extent and thickness of sea ice. Along with other components of polar ecosystems, sea ice is part of the global climate system and plays a crucial role in its regulation. The loss of sea ice, its impacts and policy implications will be among the issues explored at the IPY 2012 Conference From Knowledge to Action, taking place in Montréal, Quebec, Canada in April 2012. The area covered by sea ice grows in the winter and shrinks ... READ MORE

Passing the Torch

At the conclusion of the IPY Science Conference in Oslo, Norway in June 2010, the conference chair, Dr. Olav Orheim handed over a traditional Viking buddstikke to the organizers of the third and final International Polar Year conference to be held in Montréal, Canada from April 22-27, 2012. The buddstikke, which has a spike on one end, was used in medieval times to deliver messages. It was a fitting symbol.

Canada announces that Montréal will host the IPY 2012 Conference

December 2009 – The Government of Canada is pleased to announce that the International Polar Year (IPY) From Knowledge to Action Conference will be hosted in Montréal, Quebec, April 22-27, 2012. This conference will be the final event to wrap-up IPY. It is expected that the meeting will attract as many as ... READ MORE