Activities carried out from Tierra del Fuego in Argentina for the IPY 2007-2008
1) In accordance with chapter 3.3.4 of the IPY Framework, a group of students from the National University “Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia “San Juan Bosco” has been stationed at an Argentinean Station in Antarctica, “Camara base”, at Half Moon Island in the South Shetland Islands. The main idea is to help create awareness amongst cruise-tourists about the importance of the IPY and the lines of research proposed. This is carried out by handing out leaflets and giving further information to visitors on the island. For the antarctic season 2007/2008 we foresee to have as well students on other Argentinean stations.
2) The official opening ceremony for the IPY in Ushuaia will be held on February 28th, hosted by the Government of Tierra del Fuego and the Organising Comission for the International Polar Year. While different cultural activities take place, starting from 10 pm we will wait until midnight to start off IPY properly. Local artists will provide dance and music performances, power point and video presentations will help familiarize people with images from both poles and Ushuaia´s children will once more present their demands for a future in environmental awareness and protected nature. One of the highlights of the event will be a videoclip with interviews of local people about their opinion and knowledge about IPY.
3) On 5th of March there will be a videoconference held from “pole to pole”, which will unite the cities of Fairbanks in Alaska with Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego. Students from secondary schools will exchange their ideas, reflections and doubts. They will be joined by school children, who live at an Argentinean Base in Antarctica, at “Esperanza”.
4) Another of our launch activities will be a multimedia installation with experimental music, sound art, video, objects and performance all evolving around the important topics to be developed during the International Polar Year. We hope to help broaden an understanding about the polar areas and there decisive role in worldwide ecosystems and societies in general and problems migrating birds such as Arctic tern, black-browed Albatros and petrels are encountering on their way from pole to pole in particular.
Marcia Alvarado, Adriana M. Dos Santos and Elina García Garrido wish to give their project on top of this an educational angle experimenting with new forms of communicating and exchanging art via the internet, such as “art by e-mail”. This new approach will be carried out with groups of children and youth in workshops hosted by the public library in Ushuaia “Sarmiento”.
We are happy to count so far on the cooperation of the school library in Resistencia (in the Chaco province/Argentina) “Zorilla” as a non-polar participant with architect José inglant, the public metropolitan library of Toronto, the Cultural Centre of the Northern Territories “Prince of Whales”, Yellowknife (Yukon in Canada) with visual artist and teacher Linda Mackey (Polar Artist Group).
5) With the slogan “Imagine from the end of the earth, that another world is possible” we will start the Art Biennial of the IPY from March 30th to April 30th in Ushuaia. We are very proud to be hosting this important international event with internationally recognized artists, who will contribute with their work to bring awareness about the polar alerts.
The week from 23rd to 26th of April we will host as part of the ECO POLAR USHUAIA 2007 debates and discussion rounds, which hopefully will lead to first conclusions and ideas on how to go on working in the future.
For more information please also look up: www.bienalfindelmundo.com
6) As part of the polar alert program XXI century, schools throughout our province will dedicate the week from 23th to 27th of april to enhance knowledge about environmental problems in polar and circumpolar areas.
