Peoples Day Today

The spotlight will especially be on community and cultural well-being, health issues, and the role of the Arctic in the global economy, on this Polar Day.

During the week of September 24th, radio events streamed from the Arctic will connect researchers, communities, and classrooms from Canada and Greenland to Zambia, Brazil and Australia. 

The week's events will also include global on-line discussions about communities, local classroom discussions and activities, and a global Polar Day virtual balloon launch.

Have adapted
The Polar Day occurs at the time when combined effects of modern climatic, environmental, economic, and social change challenge the resilience of many Arctic communities and when polar residents, IPY researchers, and public at large address the future of the polar regions from new societal, humanistic, and environmental perspectives.

People have lived in the Earth polar regions-in the Arctic, and across the sub-polar fringes of the Southern Ocean-for many millennia, developing skills, strategies, and community knowledge to survive polar conditions. 

They have succeeded by learning to use local foods from land and sea, by learning to move safely across land, ice, and ocean, by circum-Arctic trade, and by passing their knowledge to the next generations through language, culture, arts, and worldviews. 

Foto: Morguefile


Exploitation
In recent centuries resource exploitation and political activities imposed from outside the polar regions have changed the livelihoods and well-being of polar residents in many ways. 

Today, rapid environmental change and renewed resource exploitation also present urgent challenges to polar people. IPY researchers, many of them from Arctic communities, address these and other social/human issues through their IPY science projects, education and outreach activities.

Connecting people on the Radio
Numerous activities will be going on during todays Peoples day. One is connecting people around the world through an Internet Radio stream.

The Native Communications Society of the Northwest Territories is a non-profit Society operating CKLB Radio - an independent aboriginal community radio station based in Yellowknife, NWT, Arctic Canada.

For 24 hours CKLB Radio will be connecting people around the world through an Internet radio stream that can be found at http://www.ncsnwt.com/.

Foto: Trym Ivar Bergsmo


There will be three opportunities for the public to speak, live, with the radio show announcers and IPY experts. These occur at accessible times in Europe, the Americas, and Australasia. Classes in Zambia, Brazil, Australia, and Arctic Canada have already confirmed phone-in participation in these events.

There will also be an opportunity to ask questions via the internet. An additional special programme scheduled on Canberra Community Radio's weekly science program, Fuzzy Logic, will be broadcast on Sunday September 28th.

For more information

Global and Local Discussions
During the week of September 24th, students from polar and non-polar communities around the world will also compare their lives and the influences of local cultural and environmental factors.  Discussion flyers are available in eighteen languages, having been translated by volunteer teachers around the world who are excited about participation in this event.

To enable a global discussion, Taking IT Global have developed a special webpage, http://polarday.tiged.org/, where classes internationally can share ideas, discussions, images, videos, and artwork around this theme. IPY Experts will also be on-line to answer questions from students.

For more information

Foto: Pål Hermansen / NN / Samfoto
Same i lyset fra bål i lavvo. Kautokeino.International Polar Days
During IPY, a regular sequence of International Polar Days will raise awareness and provide information about particular and timely aspects of the polar regions. These Polar Days include press releases, contacts to experts in several languages, activities for teachers, on-line community participation, web-conferencing events, and links to researchers in the Arctic and Antarctic.

A special webpage has also been prepared with information for Press and Educators, details of current projects, radio events, profiles and contacts for researchers around the world, images, background information and useful links and resources. 

For more information