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International Polar Year 2007–2008 - WMO

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Fig.1.6-3. IPO staff<br />

members Nicola<br />

Munro (left) and<br />

Rhian Salmon (right)<br />

with JC member<br />

Jerónimo López-<br />

Martínez at the<br />

IPY Open Science<br />

Conference in St.<br />

Petersburg, July 2008.<br />

(Photo: Jerónimo López-<br />

Martínez)<br />

124<br />

IPY 20 07–20 08<br />

IPO staff interacted with and provided high-level<br />

support to the Joint Committee (DC, CEE, NM), Project<br />

Coordinators (DC, NM), National Committees (DC, NM,<br />

CEE, RS), IPY Subcommittees (DC, RS) and external<br />

stakeholders (DC, NM, CEE). Routine administrative<br />

tasks included responding to about 140 emails/day<br />

that required some kind of action (ALL); responding<br />

to media requests (ALL); tracking national and<br />

project funding (DC); fortnightly reports to JC and<br />

National Committee contacts (DC) and May and July<br />

Newsletters to a much wider community (NM); writing<br />

science outreach articles (DC) and revising IPY leaflets<br />

in several different languages (DC, NM); work with the<br />

Media Working Group and the Education Working<br />

Group and teachers (RS, NM); and archiving IPY IPO<br />

materials at the Scott <strong>Polar</strong> Research Institute (RS, NM).<br />

The www.ipy.org website was regularly maintained<br />

(under oversight from RS). This included continually<br />

adding and updating blogs, news, events and<br />

educational resource content (RS, DC, NM, CH);<br />

improving press, education and participants sections;<br />

developing a Google Earth component; and providing<br />

more materials and presentations for download.<br />

IPO staff also participated in a number of<br />

international meetings during this period. In May,<br />

these included ATCM in New Delhi (DC) and a Royal<br />

Geographical Society Ice-EDGE Competition in<br />

London (CEE). In June there was an <strong>International</strong><br />

Conference on Digital Earth at the University of<br />

California, Berkley and in July the <strong>International</strong> Science<br />

Summer School, in Sydney and World Science Teachers<br />

Conference in Perth (all attended by RS). In August,<br />

IPO was represented at the Societé <strong>International</strong>e de<br />

Limnologie Symposium in Montreal (CEE).<br />

Overview of IPO accomplishments<br />

IPO was much more than an administrative support<br />

centre for IPY <strong>2007–2008</strong>. It provided a tangible focus<br />

of action and momentum, and established a vital link<br />

among researchers in different countries with common<br />

interests. It gave evidence that IPY was a substantial<br />

international research effort rather than a “science<br />

promotion year” and served as an easily identifiable<br />

information source and effective contact point for IPY.<br />

IPO provided effective advocacy for IPY through the<br />

numerous presentations given at scientific meetings<br />

and to international organizations through the global<br />

networks it initiated and coordinated, through the<br />

special events such as <strong>Polar</strong> Days, and its website. This<br />

advocacy championed the broad multidisciplinary<br />

objectives and international collaboration of IPY<br />

and provided important validation of the status and<br />

vitality of national scientific programs to their home

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