Future of the Arctic discussed in Portugal

Portugal is the host country for the 2021 edition of Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW), an international conference that has been held since 1999 on the initiative of the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), which currently has 23 countries represented on its board. Every year, this conference brings together scientists from all nationalities who conduct research on the Arctic, to share studies and experiences on the research carried out in this ecosystem in all fields of knowledge, as well as to define priorities for future work. This year, "The Arctic: regional changes, global impacts" is the main theme of the meeting.

This conference, which is being held online from Lisbon due to the COVID-19 pandemic, starts tomorrow (March 19) and runs until March 26, and consists of two blocks. From March 19 to 23, the "business meetings" will 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 areas of study (terrestrial, marine, cryosphere, atmosphere, social and human), and also meetings of the various IASC partner organizations, 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. From March 24 to 26, the "science conference" will take place, which is the scientific part of the meeting, with the participation of the world's scientific community researching the Arctic. The programme includes more than 250 scientific posters and 450 papers spread over 57 thematic sessions, organized around the following themes: "dynamics and impacts of change 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 the Arctic and observing the Arctic".

ASSW has confirmed the participation of a panel of important keynote speakers, namely 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. The IASC 2020 and 2021 Medalists, Sue Moore, from the University of Washington and Atsumu Ohmura, from 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 her welcome to the event's participants, says that "Although disappointed that the COVID-19 pandemic prevented us from hosting this major Arctic conference in Lisbon, we are very excited to bring this initiative to a wider audience, without limits and around the world, expanding the Arctic Research community. It is essential to strengthen the scientific cooperation of all, Arctic and non-Arctic states, in order to understand the changes and impacts on the region and the world that will allow us 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 the Ciência Viva Agency, the AIR Center, the Portuguese Arctic Community and the institutional support of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education (MCTES).

Annex: Press release