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International Polar Year 2007–2008 - WMO

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Fig. 4.3-1. Participants<br />

of the meeting in<br />

Stockholm, Sweden,<br />

a key moment in<br />

the development of<br />

APECS.<br />

(Courtesy: APECS)<br />

516<br />

IPY 20 07–20 08<br />

Committee. The Council controls issues related to<br />

APECS governance and structure, and are expected<br />

to act on time scales of months to years. The Council<br />

mandates the Executive Committee and Director<br />

with shorter time-scale decision making and running<br />

APECS on a day-to-day basis.<br />

In addition to the TOR and ROP, key progress during<br />

this early period included forming an international<br />

Advisory Committee of senior researchers and science<br />

administrators to provide guidance and support. A<br />

website was developed through in-kind support from<br />

the Iceland-based Arctic Portal. The website quickly<br />

established a virtual home for APECS and, among<br />

other features, includes study and job opportunities,<br />

meetings, news updates and a discussion forum.<br />

By mid-2008, the increase in APECS members and<br />

activities (detailed below) was recognized officially<br />

at the SCAR/IASC Open Science Conference in St.<br />

Petersburg, Russia where SCAR, IASC and APECS<br />

signed a Memorandum of Understanding recognizing<br />

APECS as the preeminent organization for polar<br />

early-career scientists. This agreement assured the<br />

inclusion of young researchers on all SCAR and IASC<br />

committees and activities, and paved the way for<br />

APECS to continue its efforts with other international<br />

organizations.<br />

As APECS continued to grow, it was necessary to<br />

establish a more permanent office with a full-time<br />

paid coordinator for the association. Attempts were<br />

made to try to secure funding in Alaska, but were not<br />

successful. Through concerted efforts by Kris Rokken<br />

Iversen, Aase Tveito and Olav Orheim, an <strong>International</strong><br />

APECS Directorate office, lead by Jenny Baeseman,<br />

was officially established in January 2009 at the<br />

University of Tromsø, Norway. This provided APECS<br />

with a solid foundation that helped to consolidate and<br />

coordinate APECS’s activities and continue to develop<br />

the organization well into the future. The support<br />

of the IPY IPO and the Joint Committee of IPY were<br />

crucial for maintaining such momentum.<br />

Major APECS Achievements from 2007-2009<br />

The phenomenal level of energy and volunteer<br />

efforts of talented young researchers and the support<br />

of senior mentors around the globe led to the success<br />

of APECS on many fronts. A complete list of APECS<br />

activities can be found in the APECS IPY Final Report<br />

(available at http://apecs.is/publications). A few<br />

activities are highlighted below.<br />

<strong>International</strong> Leadership<br />

Aside from the MoU with SCAR and IASC, APECS<br />

has helped to provide many opportunities for young<br />

researchers to be involved in interdisciplinary and<br />

international science and policy bodies, such as the<br />

ICSU Earth System Visioning Committee, SCAR/IASC

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