international
polar
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During the last week of December 2024 at the Lotto Arena in Antwerp, participants in the "Nerdland for kleine nerds" (Nerdland for small nerds) events were treated to videos of IPF #engineer Johan De Muylder talking about life in #Antarctica and doing experiments at the #PrincessElisabeth station such as throwing hot water in the air and freezing soap bubbles. The audience of families at the Lotto Arena were fascinated by the experiments, as you can see from the video here. We're always happy to do our part get young people interested in #STEM subjects!

In late December, members of the BELARE team headed to the coast to prepare the site where members of the NISAR and PASPARTOUT projects will install instruments.

Here we see IPF engineer Mathilde Renard and IPF Founder and BELARE Team Leader Alain Hubert inaugurating the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica's new hydrogen production facility, which will be used to supply weather balloons with gas to float up into the atmosphere as they take measurements and eventually the backup generators for the station. Mathilde explains how the process of electrolysis works in the machine.

Planes including the Alfred Wegener Institute's Polar 6 aircraft at the PEA Airfield getting ready to take off to conduct aerial surveys of the the ice margin at the coast for the international RINGS project. Each year the International Polar Foundation assists scientists working on this project managed by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR).

Etienne Legrain from the VUB was interviewed before heading out to the Nansen Blue Ice Fields to to do fieldwork for the FROID project in December 2024 and January 2025. The project is hoping to find million year-old ice that will give clues about past climates.

Dr. Maaike Izeboud from the VUB was interviewed before heading out to the Nansen Blue Ice Fields to to do fieldwork for the FROID project in December 2024 and January 2025. The project is hoping to find million year-old ice that will give clues about past climates.

Two keynote speeches opened the second day of the Arctic Futures Symposium.

This panel highlighted key challenges and smart initiatives that allow the High North to build and maintain a well-trained Arctic workforce and resilient communities. The panel discussed the situation for young people across the Arctic, the role of education and skills, health and wellbeing, and what the EU can do to support Arctic communities.

This panel examined the current European and North American security landscape with regard to the Arctic and whether or not “low tension” continues to be a characteristic of security in the Arctic. The panel will discuss measures that can be taken to try and keep the Arctic an area of low tension in spite of the current geopolitical situation and increased military activity along the new NATO-Russia border in the Arctic. At the same time, it is important not to ignore the threats the Arctic 7 face in light of the new geopolitical situation. Can the right balance be struck?