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Arctic Futures Symposium 2024 Fast Approaching!

The high-profile Arctic Futures Symposium, an annual event that brings together a wide variety of Arctic stakeholders in Europe's capital to discuss issues of importance to them, will take place at the Residence Palace in Brussels’ EU Quarter on December 2nd and 3rd.

A view of Bodø, Norway from above.

The high-profile Arctic Futures Symposium, an annual event that brings together a wide variety of Arctic stakeholders in Europe's capital to discuss issues of importance to them, will take place at the Residence Palace in Brussels’ EU Quarter on December 2nd and 3rd.

The topical themes of this year’s symposium will include:

The Arctic Council: A Practical Vision Moving Forward
Transatlantic Cooperation in the Arctic in 2025 and Beyond
Keeping the Arctic an Area of Low Tension
Building and Maintaining an Arctic Workforce and Resilient Arctic Communities
Innovation and Regional Collaboration to Meet Arctic Challenges Sustainably
Critical Raw Materials and Resource Supply Chains: Tensions and Trade-offs

A draft programme for the symposium will be released in the coming weeks. Please keep checking the symposium website regularly for updates.

The symposium is free of charge, which allows anyone including students, teachers, experts and anyone with an interest in the Arctic to attend.

Registration for the event is now open and can be done via the symposium website.

Several side events to the symposium will also take place this year, including the annual Arctic Shorts film evening on December 3rd, a half-day event on coastal management hosted by Arctic Frontiers and the University of Bergen on December 4th, and a screening of the feature-length Greenlandic film “Twice Colonized” the evening of December 4th. Please note that registration for the symposium does not automatically register you for all side events. Registrations for side events are managed separately from the registration for the symposium by the organisations managing the side events.

In the meantime, if you would like to be put on our distribution list to receive updates about the symposium and its side events, please don't hesitate to contact us via email at events@polarfoundation.org and ask to be added.

We look forward to seeing everyone in early December!

Photo © Nordland County, Norway

Testing radar

A Strong Start for Science This Season

Field expeditions for the FROID and ULTIMO projects are off to a strong start, with other scientific projects stopping by the station this week.

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LTAFA 2024 award ceremony Siu-Tsiu winner

Third Laurence Trân Arctic Futures Award Goes to Greenlandic Social Enterprise Supporting Youth

On December 3rd, on the second day of the annual Arctic Futures Symposium, the International Polar Foundation (IPF) and the Trân Family handed out the third Laurence Trân Arctic Futures Award to Siu-Tsiu, a non-profit social enterprise based in Greenland that employs and upskills marginalised young people to help them find work, pursue further education, give them a sense of community and give them a sense of purpose in life.

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Arnoux Beaked Whale in Queen Maud Land, East Antarctica.

IPF Team Sights Rare Arnoux Beaked Whales While on Mission at the Coast

The Unicorn of the Ocean, Arnoux Beaked Whales spotted by 2 members of our team.

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AFS 2024 banner better

Arctic Futures Symposium and Many Side Events Coming to Brussels Next Week!

From December 2nd until December 4th, the International Polar Foundation and its many Arctic stakeholder partners will host the 15th annual Arctic Futures Symposium at the Residence Palace in Brussels’ EU Quarter, along with several interesting Arctic side events at other locations.

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Scientists from the VUB and ULB collecting meteorites in the field

VUB and ULB Mission to Antarctica: Unveiling the Secrets of Climate History and the Solar System

The Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), in collaboration with the International Polar Foundation (IPF), are launching two ambitious scientific expeditions to Antarctica. Their mission: to gain new insights into Earth’s climate history and the evolution of our solar system by studying ancient ice layers and meteorites.

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The Princess Elisabeth Antarctica a few days after opening for 2024-2025 BELARE campaign.

The 2024-2025 BELgian Antarctic Research Expedition (BELARE) has officially begun with opening team hard at work!

The first 14 members of the BELgian Antarctic Research Expedition (BELARE) are off to a strong start opening and preparing the station for the arrival of scientists in the coming days. 

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Part of the contemporary portion of the MAS exhbition 'To the Antarctic'.

"To the Antarctic" Exhibition at MAS Closes but Leaves Behind Great Memories and Many Successes

The MAS exhibition 'To the Antarctic' welcomed more than 45,00 visitors over the 4.5 months that it was open to the public. 

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Aymar de Lichtervelde presenting about the water treatment system at the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica zero-emission polar research station

Another Successful Trip to the Arctic Circle Assembly

The International Polar Foundation was again present and active at the annual Arctic Circle Assembly and accompanying Arctic Circle Business Forum in Reykjavik, Iceland from October 17th-19th.

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A view of Bodø, Norway from above.

Arctic Futures Symposium 2024 Fast Approaching!

The latest edition of the annual Arctic Futures Symposium organised by the International Polar Foundation and its many Arctic stakeholder partners will take place in early December. Register to secure your spot!

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Alain Hubert receiving the 2024 Belgica Prize from Prof. Roland Souchez

Remembering Roland Souchez

IPF is sad to learn of the passing of glaciologist Professor Roland Souchez, who made important contributions to the fields of glaciology and climate science during his decades-long career.

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