Participation in the Polar Symposium: For Sustainability in the Polar Regions!?

After several pandemic-related postponements, the Dutch Polar Symposium entitled ‘For Sustainability in the Polar Regions!?’ took place on 19 May 2022 at the Museon in The Hague. The Polar Symposium was organized by the NWO Netherlands Polar Programme (NPP), the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS-NL), and the Dutch Arctic Circle (DAC).

Four ProAct researchers: Michael Cacciapaglia (WUR; researcher at ProAct Theme 1); Yousra Makanse (WUR; researcher at ProAct Theme 2); Elena-Laura Álvarez Ortega (TiU; researcher at ProAct Theme 3); and Solène Guggisberg (UU, researcher at ProAct Theme 4) participated in the symposium and submitted academic posters.

Yousra and Elena also gave a presentation in the Polar Tourism session, together with representatives from the tourism industry and the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition. Their presentation related to the Proactive Management of Antarctic Tourism, with special attention to the role of the principles and values of the Antarctic Treaty System and some of the ways in which these relate to tourism. They also put forward questions to the attendees and other participants in this session related to tourism in Antarctica.

The symposium ended with a borrel as well as a cultural-scientific evening program inside the Omniversum. Participants could enjoy the presentation of the first edition of the Antarktikos magazine and the screening of the BBC movie Antarctica in the planetarium theatre. All in all, it was a great day and wonderful to connect in person with the wider polar research community of the Netherlands for the first time. The ProAct Team looks forward to many more Polar Symposiums to come!