The last International Polar Week – "What happens at the Poles affects us all" - in Brazil was a great success!!

In Rio Claro, SP, we had the pleasure of having Rotary Club Rio Claro Sul celebrating with us.

Professors Alexandre Perinotto and Luiz Simões, both geologists at the São Paulo State University at Rio Claro, gave a very interesting lecture on the Arctic, where Brazil's got a research station, to the members present on their 06 October meeting. It was such a great opportunity to learn about how the polar regions are linked to the rest of the world.

More information (in Portuguese) about the lecture can be found at: http://www.rioclarosul.com.br/portalrcrcs/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.22

At Colégio Puríssimo Coração de Maria, also in Rio Claro, the students celebrated in so many different ways. Many projects were developed (poem and song writing, painting, seminars, among others) through which everybody had the chance to learn a bit more about the polar regions.

Some of the students also took part in the radio programme broadcasted by CKLB Radio on 8 October. It was a very vivid discussion about the development of the Arctic and they were eager to learn from the panelists.

Scientists from British Antarctic Survey, National Institute of Polar Research, Tokyo, and Hokkaido University, Japan, have recorded the first observations of how albatrosses feed alongside marine mammals at sea.

For the full story, please visit: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091006201350.htm

Submitted by Romina Abachi

Romina Abachi, a student at Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute in Don Mills Ontario, organized an opportunity for her class to have Dr. Hayley Hung speak about her IPY research on how global emissions affect northern communities and how exploitation of the environment in the South has caused tremendous change in the North. Students were interested and surprised by the issues raised by Dr. Hung and were truly able to consider how we are all connected to the changes happening at the poles.

Polar Week in Malaysia took place through a talk show on the Breakfast Show, hosted by The National Television Channel, NTV7.  Dato' Prof Dr Azizan Abu Samah of the Malaysian Antarctic Research Programme and Khadijah Abdul Rahman, President YAWA and Committee member of the IPY Education, Outreach and Communications were interviewed by Aishah Sinclair and Daphne Iking.  Dr Azizan gave a clear explanation about IPY and an understanding about the Polar regions.  He further explained how important it is for all of us, especially living in the non-Polar countries, to understand the changes that are happening over there. Khadijah stated that we are all connected and doing something during the Polar Week may help us learn to understand more about Polar sciences and how we are all connected and involved in the changes to the Polar regions.  The interviewers both wanted to know how the public can get involved in the next Polar Week.  We said they can visit the IPY website at www.ipy.org and send an e-mail to Khadijah Abdul Rahman to register their interest at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Over the course of Polar Week (Oct 5-9^th) Dr. Teodor Negoita of the Romanian Polar Research Institute spearheaded a number of public polar outreach activities including radio shows, lectures at the Metropolitan Library in Bucharest, and school based outreach activities in Sascut Gymnasium, Bacau County. He spoke of Romania’s strong leadership in Antarctic research and encouraged participants to consider the impacts that polar changes will have on the rest of the globe and how their actions play a part in the global ecosystem change we are seeing and will see in the future. We thank Romania and Dr Negoita for a strong presence in October Polar Week!

On October 7, Janet Waldon of the Royal Alberta Museum, Edmonton, Alberta Canada talked about her new found passion for the polar regions as a follow up to her participation on a Students on Ice expedition this past summer. Janet was instrumental in the Students on Ice International Youth Polar Forum and Lecture that was held at the museum last March and served as an ambassador for the Royal Alberta Museum on this expedition. Janet‘s talk was part of the worldwide lecture series organized by APECS. Thank you Janet for your contribution!

Content:  

1. Oslo Science Conference, 8-12 June 2010
2. Polar Week Underway!
3. Polar Information Commons
4. Canadian Workshops and Conferences
5. APECS Update

Report no. 30, October 2009
From: IPY International Programme Office  
To: IPY Project Coordinators  
cc: IPY Community Google Groups

At Ohio State University, POLENET is celebrating Polar Week with a series of engaging polar activities and the launch of a brand new website. The website will feature a new podcast series, photo collection, interactive maps, and a chance to meet the OSU expedition team headed to the ice for the 2009-2010 season.

On campus, POLENET is hosting a series of activities in the foyer of the Earth Sciences Mendenhall Laboratory. Stop by to see a full-size POLENET GPS station set up, guess your weight in Antarctic gear, take your photo as an Emperor penguin, and enter a competition to win a POLENET t-shirt.

Others around the world can log on to www.polenet.org to enter our Polar Challenge. Answer a question about Earth's poles and you'll be in for a chance to win a POLENET t-shirt! Be sure to enter before Friday, as the Polar Challenge will end. In its place, you can check out our new website- live on Friday, October 9th!

Celebrate the International Polar Week and join us for a real-time live event with PolarTREC teacher, Cristina Galvan and the University of Wyoming scientists led by Dr. Merav Ben-David. The team is currently studying polar bear response to sea ice loss in the Arctic Ocean.

This event is free, open to the public, and hosted by ARCUS through the PolarTREC program. Participants will have a chance to ask questions and chat with others during the presentation.