Future of the Arctic discussed in Portugal

Portugal is the host country for the 2021 edition of the Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW), an international conference held since 1999 by the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), currently with 23 countries represented on its board. This conference annually brings together scientists of all nationalities doing research on the Arctic to share studies and experiences on the research carried out in this ecosystem in all branches of knowledge, as well as to define priorities for future work. This year, "The Arctic: Regional Changes, Global Impacts" is the major theme of the meeting.

This conference, which is being held online from Lisbon due to the COVID-19 pandemic, begins tomorrow (March 19) and runs until March 26, and consists of two blocks. From March 19 to 23, the "business meetings" take place, a block made up of 70 working meetings between the delegations of the countries that make up the IASC, the research groups in the study areas (terrestrial, marine, cryosphere, atmosphere, social and human), and also meetings of the various partner organizations of the IASC, such as the European Polar Board (EPB), the Forum of Arctic Research Operators (FARO), the Pacific Arctic Group (PAG), the Indigenous Peoples' Secretariat (IPS), the International Arctic Social Sciences Association (IASSA), the Ny-Ålesund Science Managers Committee (NySMAC), the University of the Arctic (UArctic), the Association for Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS), among others. The "science conference", the scientific part of the meeting, will take place from March 24 to 26, with the participation of the world scientific community that researches the Arctic. The program includes more than 250 scientific posters and 450 communications distributed by 57 thematic sessions, organized in the following themes: "dynamics and impacts of changes in the Arctic", "climate dynamics in the Arctic", "dynamics and impacts of rapidly changing terrestrial environments", "discovering the dynamics of the Arctic ecosystem", "education and training for the polar region" and "living in and observing the Arctic".

The ASSW has confirmed the participation of a panel of prominent keynote speakers, including Sheila Watt-Cloutier, former President of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC); Warwick F. Vincent, from Laval University in Canada; Letizia Tedesco, from the Finnish Environment Institute; Vyacheslav Shadrin, President of the Yukaghir Elders (Russia); and Zita Martins, from the Instituto Superior Técnico of the University of Lisbon. IASC 2020 and 2021 Medalists Sue Moore of the University of Washington and Atsumu Ohmura of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology will also be part of the panel of speakers.

The President of the Foundation for Science and Technology, Helena Pereira, in welcoming the participants of the event, states that "Although disappointed that the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented us from hosting this major conference on the Arctic in Lisbon, we are very excited to bring this initiative to a wider audience, without limits and to the whole world, expanding the Arctic Research community. It is critical to strengthen the scientific cooperation of all, Arctic and non-Arctic states, to understand the changes and impacts on the region and the world to prepare for the future in a coordinated way."

The ASSW 2021 conference in Portugal is organized by the Foundation for Science and Technology, with the collaboration of Agência Ciência Viva, AIR Center, the Portuguese Arctic Community, and the institutional support of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education (MCTES).

Attachment: Press Release