The Sixth Continent Initiative presented at The SCAR XXIX / COMNAP XVIII

The Sixth Continent Initiative IPY project, which is being coordinated by the IPF, the SCAR and the International Antarctic Institute, was presented at the IPY Education and Outreach Meeting held in the lead up to the Open Science Conference held in Hobart, Tasmania, in July 2006.

 

The project was well received by all present, and is on the way to completing the full complement of committments required to be able to begin the implementation phase.

The 6CI, as it is called for short is a capacity building project on Antarctic science, and the number of natioanl Antarctic operators who have given firm commitments to provide logistical support and station accomodations for the Fellows, beneficiaries of the programme, has risen to six, including the three symbolic gateway countries giving access to the Sixth Continent: thus for the Pensinsula, the Chilean Antarctic Institute has agreed to host one fellow, as has the South African National Antarctic Programme (SANAP) for East Antarctica, and Antarctica New Zealand for the Ross Sea Area.

In addition, The Alfred Wegener Institute, the Belgian Science Policy Office, and the Japanese National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR) have all agreed to provide support for one fellow each per season. The Malaysian Antarctic Programme has offered valuable advice and support to help to attract high calibre candidates to the programme.

The updated project document will soon be available for download.