Written by Hugues Lantuit
One of the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists greatest and most unexpected achievements during the IPY Oslo Science Conference, was the level of consideration it gained among a wide variety of communities, including participants and session conveners, but also political and scientific figureheads.
During his opening speech at the workshop preceding the conference and during the closing ceremony, the director general of the Research Council of Norway, Arvid Hallén, made clear references to APECS in citing its dynamism and its key role in the polar research landscape.
During the closing ceremony of the International Polar Year, APECS was widely cited as the heir of the legacy of the IPY and acknowledged as such by the chair of the IPY Joint Committee of WMO and ICSU, and by SCAR and IASC, the two major polar organizations.
Finally, and probably most stunningly, APECS was quoted twice by the Norwegian Foreign Minister during the closing ceremony of the Conference, citing the need for greater efforts to support early career scientists in the post-IPY period.
APECS sees these references as a sign that early career scientists have been given a role in the IPY that is acknowledged at the highest levels, but it also sees these references as strong incentives to enjoy this responsibility with both a long-term sustainable vision and a sense of duties.
