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HIGHLIGHTS
International Polar Year 2007-2008:
A Valuable Opportunity for Canada
International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008 marks the largest-ever international program of scientific research focussed on the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Thousands of scientists and researchers from more than 60 nations around the globe are expected to participate in IPY during the 24-month period beginning March 2007.
In addition to presenting Canada with a valuable opportunity to work together with researchers from around the world, IPY will also create a more complete scientific understanding of the North that can be applied to address issues related to our environment and the well-being of our communities.
IPY News
Winners of Students on Ice – International Polar Year Scholarship
Congratulations to Alisha Sunderji (Toronto, Ontario), Taryn McKenzie Mohr (Fredericton, New Brunswick), Vinobharath Jeyapalan (Markham, Ontario), Anthony Arreak (Kuujjuaq, Québec), Charlie Awa (Iqualuit, Nunavut), Zuneza Cove (Watson Lake, Yukon), Pete Enoogoo (Pond Inlet, Nunavut), Eden Full (Calgary, Alberta), Dina Koonoo (Pond Inlet, Nunavut) & Nicole Labine (Fort Smith, Northwest Territories), recipients of the 2009 Students on Ice International Polar Year Arctic Expedition Scholarships!
Students on Ice provides youth aged 14 to 19 with the opportunity to learn in the Arctic and Antarctica with a team of scientists, educators, polar experts, leaders, artists, journalists, musicians and environmentalists.
Funding from the Governments of Canada’s Federal IPY Program is supporting the participation of 10 Canadian high school students a year to join these educational expeditions and learn first-hand about the Arctic’s environment, peoples and history. See Students on Ice 
for more information.
IPY Funded Radio Show Wins National Award
On June 15, 2009, CKLB Radio in Yellowknife received an award for outstanding achievement in programming from the National Community Radio Association for its International Polar Year radio show "Ends of the Earth". Congratulations to Dane Gibson, the Executive Director at CKLB and his staff for their hard work making this weekly radio program focusing on IPY science and research a success. Each program features a different IPY research project and highlights some of the fascinating stories behind the science going on in the Arctic. The show is currently being rebroadcast on CJLY in Nelson, British Columbia and is available to Canadian and international listeners and broadcasters on the CKLB website. The "Ends of the Earth" program is part of the Native Communications Society of the NWT’s IPY Arctic Radio project. This project was supported by the Government of Canada Program for International Polar Year as part of a training, communications and outreach call for proposals issued in 2007.
Tune in online to "Ends of the Earth".
Securing a Sustainable Future in the Arctic: Engaging and training the next generation of northern leaders
This paper, published in May 2009 by the International Institute for Sustainable Development, focuses on the need to empower and train young northern people to be vehicles of change in order to secure the future of the Arctic. With the majority of the population in Canada's North being under the age of 30, they have an enormous stake in the present state of the North as they will ultimately be responsible for shaping the future of the region. This paper provides an overview of capacity building programs for northern youth; examines what has worked up to now; identifies the existing gaps and barriers; and makes recommendations on what will be needed in the future. This project was funded in part by the Government of Canada Program for International Polar Year under the Training, Communications and Outreach Call for Proposals.
For the executive summary 
For the full paper
The International Polar Year Canada Award for Excellence in Northern Science Journalism
On Saturday, May 23, at the Annual Conference of the Canadian Science Writers’ Association in Sudbury, Ontario, Lisa Gregoire was named the first recipient of the International Polar Year Canada Award for Excellence in Northern Science Journalism. Ms. Gregoire won the award for her article “Cold Warriors," published in the October 2008 edition of Canadian Geographic.
Ms. Gregoire’s article looks at the impacts of climate change in Grise Fiord, Canada’s northernmost community. The people, sea ice, and polar bears are all facing rapid change as scientific researchers and traditional knowledge-holders struggle to understand the forces at play.
The IPY Canada Award for Excellence in Northern Science Journalism was created to recognize the best Canadian writing on Arctic science issues. The Canadian Science Writers’ Association administers the award which will be issued again in 2010 and 2011. The award is made possible with support from the Government of Canada Program for IPY. More information can be found on the CSWA website
Polar Research Reveals New Evidence of Global Environmental Change
Multidisciplinary research from the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008 provides new evidence of the widespread effects of global warming in the polar regions. Snow and ice are declining in both polar regions, affecting human livelihoods as well as local plant and animal life in the Arctic, as well as global ocean and atmospheric circulation and sea level. These are but a few findings reported in “State of Polar Research”, released today by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the International Council for Science (ICSU). In addition to lending insight into climate change, IPY has aided our understanding of pollutant transport, species’ evolution, and storm formation, among many other areas.The Report is also available in Inuktitut .
