About the Arctic Portal

About Arctic Portal

Written by Administrator

The Arctic Portal is a comprehensive gateway to Arctic information and data on the internet, increasing information sharing and co-operation among Arctic stakeholders and granting exposure to Arctic related information and data.

It is a network of information and data sharing and serves as host to many web sites in a circumpolar context, supporting co-operation and outreach in science, education, and policy making.

The Arctic Portal was established originally in 2006 as an IPY-project operating in cooperation with the Arctic Council Working Groups CAFF and PAME, but is today comprehensive gateway to Arctic information and data with cooperating partners ranging from international organisations and research centres to international projects, indigenous peoples associations and other Arctic Stakeholders.

The Arctic Portal hosts various websites for Arctic related organizations and affiliations. The websites are around 40 and the list is constantly growing. This Arctic online community gives the organizations and affiliations a common venue to be visible on the web and increases synergy, making information more accessible for all.

The Arctic Portal is located in Akureyri in Iceland.

IPY Legacy

The Arctic Portal has a strong relationship with IPY, the International Polar Year organization. An agreement was made with the IPY International Programme Office on using the Arctic Portal as a venue for IPY activities and projects providing integrated calendar, web-casting, project websites and workspaces, data management, mapping portal and other functions.

The results of various IPY projects are introduced on the Arctic Portal, keeping it open as an interactive instrument for follow-up IPY-activities, education and outreach. The aim is to create a venue in hyperspace at the disposal of the Arctic Community, as a part of the IPY legacy. As a result some important IPY projects have set up their internet presence on the Portal, including: Arctic Hydra; Elat; Kuuvik River Expedition and APECS. Teachers within IPY are currently in the process of being incorporated and more have requested assistance.

The Arctic Portal was the host for web-casting from numerous IPY opening ceremonies on and around March 1. 2007 and recordings from these events can be accessed and viewed on the Portal.

New Websites on the Portal

In the past months some important partners have joined the Arctic Portal, establishing their web presence through the Portal. These include the European Commission through the PAGE21 project, the Biodiversity in Arctic Waters website Vistey, new websites for both CAFF and PAME, workgroups of the Arctic Council, the Arctic Yearbook and the European Arctic Information Center Preparatory Action.

Many other projects and groups are in the process of creating a presence on the portal including IPY projects, as well as the Teachers within IPY, and last but not least the Northern Forum.

In the process of enabling partners to utilize fully the opportunities of the Portal staff from ICR in Norway, Yukon First Nations in Canada, IASC Secretariat in Sweden and APECS office in Norway have been to Akureyri for training and sharing of knowledge.

This has proved highly valuable for better co-operation and has in both cases helped speed up the setup face and helped the Partner increase the value of their website. Similar training sessions have taken place with the co-ordinators of APECS at their meeting in Stockholm and by using virtual tools.

Special events on the Portal

Web-casting is becoming and important venue for communicating special events to the wider audience. The Arctic Portal has facilitated numerous virtual events over the past months which are now available on the Portal for viewing.

These include: numerous events in co-operation with ICR and the Saami Council; Breaking the Ice conference in Akureyri; APECS workshop in Stockholm and now most recently the Arctic Energy Summit. Upcoming is web-casting the major IPY event in Oslo 2010.

ICR has recently signed an agreement in Russia which grants access to mapping data throughout the Russian north. The Arctic Portal interactive mapping tool will be used for the presentation and interpretation.

The first map, covering the district of Yamal, is already up on the Portal. Further data covering Northern Norway and Finland, which has been identified and adapted, is to be included soon.

The Northern Forum has provided the Arctic Portal very valuable mapping data, especially from its Russian partners, which is currently being adapted for us in the Mapping Portal. Co-operation is being established directly with the Russian partners, through the initiative of the Northern Forum.

Development

Arctic Portal has designed, programmed and hosted websites for many established organizations. IASC - International Arctic Science Committee; ICR - The International Centre for Reindeer Husbandry; APCES – Association of Polar Early Career Scientists; CBMP – The Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program, AMSA – Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment, NRF - Northern Research Forum, IPA - International Permafrost Association and many more.

Many other projects and groups are in the process of creating a presence on the portal including IPY projects, as well as the Teachers within IPY, and last but not least the Northern Forum.

In the process of enabling partners to utilize fully the opportunities of the Portal staff from ICR in Norway, Yukon First Nations in Canada, IASC Secretariat in Sweden and APECS office in Norway have been to Akureyri for training and sharing of knowledge. This has proved highly valuable for better co-operation and has in both cases helped speed up the setup face and helped the Partner increase the value of their website. Similar training sessions have taken place with the co-ordinators of APECS at their meeting in Stockholm and by using virtual tools.

Websites to more IPY projects will be provided with Web-casting from IPY venues and enhanced use of the Interactive Mapping Portal contributing to the success of the International Polar Year. Tools will be further developed to post and present interactive data with emphasis on IPY projects as well as Arctic Council projects making them accessible and visible throughout and thus aiding their scope of education and outreach.

A "Virtual Classroom" will be developed, creating a tool for Education and Outreach in the Arctic, focusing on interactive communication, Web-casting and Internet based Conferencing and interactive graphical tools and maps in education in co-operation with the UArctic, the Teachers of IPY, the Northern Forum, Indigenous Groups and others.

• Development of an IPY Hyperspace Venue

• Web Cast, Web Conferencing, Web Presentations, Forums, etc.

• Language conversions

• Coordination and content retrieval from low-tech websites

• Dissemination of information on Global Warming

• Development of an educational and outreach tool

• Interactive Mapping with accumulating data

The Arctic Portal will assist and enable groups with limited financial capabilities to make information available to others across the globe.

The Company

The board of the company is:

• Jon Haukur Ingimarsson, Stefansson Arctic Institute, Iceland.

• Lars Kullerud, President of University of the Arctic, Norway.

• Dr. David Hik, Executive Director, Canadian International Polar Year Secretariat, Canada.

• Kristján Kristjánsson, Chairman of IASC.

• Rasmus Gjedssø Bertelsen, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

• Halldór Jóhannsson, Arctic Portal Project Manager, Iceland

Funding

The Arctic Portal has received funding to date from:

Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Icelandic Ministry of Industry, The Township of Akureyri; The University of Akureyri, the Eyjafjörður Regional Growth Agreement, The Nordic Ministerial Fund, CAFF, PAME, IASC and Statoil.

The Arctic Portal is looking for long-term sponsorship which provides the means to establish it as a major venue for Arctic affairs on the Internet.