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Arctic stakeholders, including EU and foreign policymakers, scientists, industry representatives, indigenous peoples and academics are gathering this morning in Brussels, for the annual Arctic Futures Symposium.

German glaciologist Dr Reinhard Drews was tonight presented with the prestigious €150,000 InBev-Baillet Latour Antarctica Fellowship, by His Royal Highness Prince Philippe of Belgium, for his proposal to investigate how the potential disintegration of Antarctic floating ice shelves could contribute to increased ice flow from inland glaciers, and a resulting rise in global sea levels.

The International Polar Foundation celebrates ten years of achievement, in the presence of their Royal Highnesses Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde of Belgium, and His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco, at a gala dinner for 300 guests tonight central Brussels.

In just one month’s time, the challenges facing the Arctic - during a time of great change and global warming uncertainty - will be the subject of frank and lively debate in Brussels. On October 4th and 5th. Registration is free, and is now open!

The International Polar Foundation is pleased to announce its membership of the Antarctic Ocean Alliance, a coalition that has identified 19 key areas that warrant protection as a network of designated, no-take marine reserves that would cover 40% of Antarctica’s Southern Ocean.

To mark UN World Environment Day on June 5th, International Polar Foundation president Alain Hubert presented the City of Gent with our annual award for initiatives making a significant impact against climate change, for its project 'From aerial thermography to roof insulation', as part of the 7th Belgian Energy and Environment Awards, held in Brussels landmark venue Tour & Taxis.

Three years after the official end of the Fourth International Polar Year (IPY) in 2009, this week will see over two thousand polar researchers, policy-makers, and other interested parties from industry, education, non-government organizations, and circumpolar communities descend on Montreal for the third and final IPY conference. The International Polar Foundation (IPF) will be actively taking part in this gathering through our active participation in two of the highlights of the conference: the PolarEDUCATORS Workshop, and the Public Engagement strand, during which Sandra Vanhove and Isabelle Dufour from the our education team will make a number of presentations, as well as facilitating panels and events.

The need for enhanced Arctic search and rescue (SAR) capabilities and environmental protection measures are among the main messages of the proceedings of the 2011 Arctic Futures Symposium, now available for download. Cooperation and dialogue among Arctic States, inhabitants and other stakeholders of the unique and environmentally fragile region, are also highlighted.

However much you have travelled the world, nothing can prepare you for the grandeur and spectacle of the Antarctic with its diverse abundant wildlife, the often tragic history of its exploration, the remnants of man’s abuse of the natural environment and something that one takes for granted when looking from afar: the ice. The ice, particularly where it collides with the sea, is simply “awesome”.

What is a Belgian Teacher doing in Antarctica? Well, Koen Meilaen and his students won the PolarQuest contest by creating the AHA project to increase the awareness of teachers, parents and students alike towards sustainable development.