The IPY Oslo Science Conference:
Marks the end of the International Polar Year
The Research Council of Norway will host the IPY Oslo Science Conference, which will be opened on Tuesday 8 June by HRH Crown Prince Haakon. More than 2,000 participants from 70 countries will attend.
This is the largest event that the Research Council of Norway has ever hosted, and it is the largest gathering of polar scientists that has ever been held. The conference will sum up the scientific results of The Fourth International Polar Year, which ran from 2007 to March 2009.
The IPY Oslo Science Conference venue
Much of the research carried out during the Polar Year was aimed at the rapid climatic changes that have been observed in the Polar Regions and the global impact of these. This is the first time that researchers from the 160 co-ordinated Polar Year projects meet to exchange results after the fieldwork was terminated last year.
1,200 presentations
The conference has received 2,600 summaries. There will be 1,200 presentations covering six different topics:
1. Linkages between Polar Regions and global systems
2. Past, present and future changes in Polar Regions
3. Polar ecosystems and biodiversity
4. Human dimensions of change: Health, society and resources
5. New frontiers, data practices and directions in polar research
6. Polar science education, outreach and communication.
Prominent guests
HRH Crown Prince Haakon when he opened the International Polar Year in 2007. (Photo: Scanpix)
Among the plenary speakers, we find some of the world's foremost climate and polar scientists. On the opening day, HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco will attend the conference. Minsters from a number of countries and high-ranking representatives of the indigenous Arctic peoples will also participate.
Norway's Minster of Foreign Affairs, Jonas Gahr Støre, will formally bring the conference to a close on Saturday, 12th June.
Much to experience
Very few research programmes have had as much dissemination activity as the International Polar Year. During the conference, emphasis will also be on dissemination that the general public can benefit from, inter alia by way of an outdoor Polar Festival in Oslo's city centre on 9th and 10th June. What is more, several research vessels will be moored quayside in Oslo on these days.
The Norwegian research vessel G.O. Sars.
Cinemas in Oslo and in the conference city Lillestrøm will be showing films from the Polar Year throughout the week. In the Conference area, a fair will be arranged where the Research Council of Norway and other Norwegian institutions will have stands.
Webcasts from the conference
Much of the conference will be available as webcasts on a range of platforms. Sue Nelson, the BBC journalist, will host the popular science sessions (PolarEXCHANGE) in the afternoon starting at 4.45 p.m. All plenary sessions will also be webcasted.
Visit the conference website to obtain more information and a complete programme.
- Published:
- 04.06.2010
- Last updated:
- 04.06.2010
