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Arctic Futures Symposium 2025 Dates Announced

The 16th annual Arctic Futures symposium, which gathers a variety of Arctic stakeholders experts in Brussels, will take place December 2nd-3rd at EFTA House in Brussels' EU Quarter.

Aerial View of Greenland

The 16th annual Arctic Futures symposium, which gathers a variety of Arctic stakeholders experts in Brussels, will take place December 2nd-3rd at EFTA House in Brussels' EU Quarter.

The theme for this year's symposium will be "Sustainable Economic Development in a Changing Arctic Landscape".

As always, the highly anticipated event will feature several high-level speakers and topical panels chosen by our Arctic stakeholder partners. These will include:

Sustainable Economic Development Priorities of the Kingdom of Denmark Arctic Council Chairship
European Arctic Investment Scenarios 2040
Cross-Border Collaboration on Renewable Energy
The Power of Culture in the Arctic’s Future
Arctic Resources on the Terms of Arctic Peoples
Arctic Monitoring and Local Community Engagement

There will also be several side events, including an Arctic Futures Scenarios workshop for graduate students, and event on Arctic security issues, and as always, the very popular Arctic shorts film evening, which features short films by creative Arctic filmmakers.

More details about confirmed speakers, registrations, the venue and the draft programme will be published on the Arctic Futures Symposium website in the coming months. Make sure to check the website regularly for updates!

Aerial View of Greenland

Arctic Futures Symposium 2025 Dates Announced

The 16th Arctic Futures Symposium, an annual event that gathers a variety of Arctic stakeholders experts in Brussels, will take place December 2nd-3rd at EFTA House in Brussels' EU Quarter. 

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Alain Hubert interviewed by Ahmetcan Uzlasik from REVOLVE media

IPF Founder and President Alain Hubert Featured on REVOLE Media Podcast, Everything is Changing

IPF’s Founder and President Alain Hubert was interviewed for the most recent edition of the REVOLVE Media podcast, Everything is Changing.

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IPF Board Member Piet Steel Honoured with Japan's Order of the Rising Sun

Piet Steel, a distinguished Belgian diplomat, International Polar Foundation (IPF) Board Member, and Honorary Consul of Japan in Flanders, was awarded the prestigious Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, on Tuesday, July 1st. The esteemed decoration recognizes his dedicated efforts over many years to foster exchange and deepen the friendship between Japan and Belgium.

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Wim Dejonghe portrait

International Polar Foundation Welcomes Global Legal Innovator Wim Dejonghe to Board of Directors

The International Polar Foundation (IPF) is pleased to welcome Wim Dejonghe, a globally recognized leader in the legal and business spheres, to its Board of Directors.

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BE Polar Day Hero image

BE-Polar Conference 2025: Registration and Call for Abstracts Open!

Belgian Polar Day will take place on Thursday, September 11th! The day-long event, hosted at Usquare in Brussels, will bring together researchers from many different scientific disciplines to celebrate the diversity and richness of Belgian polar science, explore its relevance in global environmental and geopolitical contexts, and foster new collaborations across fields.

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Alain in front of PEA - teaser for Cryosphere Pavillion at UNOC3

Alain Hubert to speak at Cryosphere Pavillion in Lead Up to UN Ocean Conference in Nice

On Thursday, June 5th, IPF Founder and President Alain Hubert will give a presentation at the Cryosphere Pavilion in the lead-up to the start of the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France.

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LTAFA winners 2022-24

Announcing the 4th Annual Laurence Trân Arctic Futures Award Call for Submissions

For the fourth consecutive year, the International Polar Foundation and the Trân Family Foundation are pleased to announce that the call for submissions for the annual Laurence Trân Arctic Futures Award has opened.

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Craig Masson at PEA

IPF Mourns the Loss of Nine-Year Veteran of BELARE Missions

It is with great sadness that we must communicate with the BELARE community that one of our team members, Craig Masson, passed away on Friday the 16th of May, following an accident at work.

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Ratnakar Gadi and Eric Rignot from UC Irvine pose with a radar seldge they used to image the King Baudoin Ice Shelf

Eric Rignot: Investigating the Melt of the King Baudouin Ice Shelf

Prof. Eric Rignot from UC Irvine discusses his work following a successful field campaign on the King Baudouin Ice Shelf in East Antarctica during the 2024-25 BELgian Antarctic Research Expedition (BELARE).

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Ratnakar Gadi, a doctoral student in Earth system science, was the first to defend a dissertation at the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica research station

Defending a Doctoral Thesis in Antarctica

Graduate student Ratnakar Gadi from UC Irvine’s Department of Earth System Science made history by successfully defending his Ph.D. dissertation in an extraordinary setting—Belgium’s Princess Elisabeth Antarctica. It was only the second thesis defense ever conducted from Earth’s southernmost continent.

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