Call for Education Partnerships
International Polar Year Posters
UNEP/GRID-Arendal
For further information, please go to:
http://polar.grida.no/ipyposters
or contact:
Hugo Ahlenius
Phone: +46-8-6747564
E-mail: hugo.ahlenius [at] grida.no
UNEP Key Polar Centre at UNEP/GRID-Arendal has received support from the
Research Council of Norway to prepare a set of posters for the
International Polar Year (IPY) and is seeking partnerships with national
IPY and educational committees, secretariats, and other organizations
for distribution and circulation of posters. The partnerships may also
involve translating the posters and associated website into other
languages.
This project supports the education, outreach, and communication efforts
of IPY. The posters will present polar science and issues and also
create awareness of IPY and its research activities. The main objective
is to try to answer why and how the polar regions and polar research are
important to all people on Earth.
Five posters will be prepared, with high school students as the main
target group. Each poster will stand on its own but be recognizable as
part of the series through the common design template consistent with
other international IPY outreach materials. All posters will include
illustrations and text highlighting the human dimension of the poster
theme. The lifespan of these products is not limited to the IPY itself
(2007-2009) but will be useful beyond this period. The posters will be
supported by a companion website with additional information,
references, descriptions, and links to relevant sources.
The themes for the posters are:
- The Polar Regions: Characteristics and location of the poles and polar
regions and topographic base maps highlighting physical and political
geography, infrastructure, and populated places.
- Climate Change: Global impacts and indications of what is happening in
the polar regions, including scenarios for future climate change,
impacts on animals and people, examples of adaptation, and what can be
learned about past climates and the rate of change from studying ice
cores.
- Polar People: The Arctic states, indigenous peoples and other peoples
of the North, Arctic Council, legal regimes (e.g., Antarctic Treaty
System), economy, security issues, and tourism.
- Science in the Polar Regions: Polar research and its importance for
the rest of the world, developments since scientists started visiting
the poles, how expeditions work (i.e., how field workers survive the
extreme climate), polar research from labs and institutions, historic
sites, success stories (e.g., discovery of ozone hole), stations, and
the location of significant activities during the current IPY.
- Biodiversity and Natural Resources of the Polar Regions: Polar flora,
fauna, and ecosystems presented as one of the world's remaining
wilderness regions and displays featuring terrestrial and marine
biology, polar biodiversity in a global context, unique/new/endangered
species, and protected areas.
The goal is to have the posters ready for download and printing in late
2007. More information is available at:
http://polar.grida.no/ipyposters
Individuals and organizations interested in partnering with
UNEP/GRID-Arendal for the distribution of the posters should contact:
Hugo Ahlenius
Phone: +46-8-6747564
E-mail: hugo.ahlenius [at] grida.no