Contents:

1. Report from the JC Meeting
2. IPO announcement
3. International Polar Days
4. Ice Sheet Day: December 13th 2007
5. AGU
6. EGU/SCAR-IASC
7. Call for 2012 Science and Policy Conference Venue

From: IPY International Programme Office
To: IPY Project Coordinators
cc: IPY Community Google Groups


1. Report from Joint Committee Meeting

The IPY Joint Committee held its 6th meeting in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, on two days in late October. For most of one afternoon we joined the Canadian National IPY Committee to learn and discuss the many facets of Canada's IPY programme.

The JC focussed on IPY legacies, and particular on IPY's data legacy. A lack of support for international data coordination hinders IPY's progress toward a complete data inventory and eventual full data accessibility, two basic elements of our free and open data policy. In the longer term, the JC foresees need for substantial new data archive services. The JC will report these concerns as part of a short overall assessment of IPY status. Many IPY national committees provided reports to aid the JC evaluation.

The JC discussed various plans and activities related to observational system legacies and to new scientific partnerships among existing organizations such as IASC and SCAR, and reviewed planning for IPY conferences and events, including a Polar Discovery Conference proposed for 2009 by the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists. The JC agreed to the schedule for IPY science days (see Item 3, below), and received a proposal from Canada for a 2012 international 'wrap up' conference, with substantial focus on the policy implications of IPY (see Item 7, below).

The IPO expresses strong appreciation to Canada, to the Canadian IPY Secretariat and to key local partners for making our stay in Quebec City pleasant and productive!

2. IPO Announcement:

As previously mentioned, the IPO administrator, Nicola Munro, will work for the British Antarctic Survey in Antarctica during the months of December 2007 through March 2008. Kathy Salisbury will be taking over Nicola's duties whilst she is away. Please note, you can contact Kathy at the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it -