28 March 2026 | 13:30 - 18:00 CET
Open Session - HYBRID
Room: Mødelokale 1
Organiser: Annette Scheepstra (Arctic Centre - University of Groningen, The Netherlands)
Session Description:
The next International Polar Year 5 (2032-33) is fast approaching, and ambitions are high. This workshop aims to discuss the outcomes of a survey, aimed at all polar researchers in academic institutions. The survey is part of the preparations for the 5th IPY and will also feed into the ongoing ICARP IV process. This initiative is intended to reflect current conditions, institutional structures and practices of the Arctic and Antarctic academic enterprise. We propose to contribute to the planning for the 5th IPY by reflecting on where we, i.e., the Arctic and Antarctic scholarly communities, are at right now, what institutional and funding structures we operate in and what equitable, ethical and inclusive research approaches and best practices we would like to be followed during the 5th IPY. In short, the main goal of our initiative is to suggest improvements to the status quo. In other words, the IPY 5 program should be drawing on best practices and IPY 5 objectives that must be consistent with the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion and promote collaborative, co-productive, culturally sensitive and sustainable approaches to research. The co-organisers of this workshop are an international and highly interdisciplinary group of polar researchers from different countries and contexts, including diverse genders and age groups, early career and senior researchers, and Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers. The disciplines covered by the co-organisers include among others social sciences, anthropology, psychology, climate science and air quality, thus bridging the social and natural sciences. The issues we will address in the workshop are common to all polar researchers, although they may raise slightly different questions depending on the discipline considered.