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Notes from the SCAR President, number 3 (17 September 2008)
Broader Engagement of SCAR Member Antarctic Science Communities
Colleagues,
One of the issues I raised in Moscow was the need to more broadly engage the diverse Antarctic communities that exist in SCAR member nations. The SCAR Secretariat has been effective in recruiting new member nations to SCAR and establishing an extensive network of organizational partnerships. SCAR aspires to be the focal point for all international Antarctic science. To fulfill its missions, SCAR relies on the scientific communities within each nation to be engaged and involved. In many instances participation in SCAR does not reach beyond the enthusiasts that have been the chief supporters of SCAR for years. Communication of SCAR activities and opportunities do not always reach the much wider audience of Antarctic scientists. While the Secretariat provides much information directly to each SCAR member, by itself these activities are insufficient to ensure that we reach all interested parties.
I urge SCAR Delegates and National Committees to actively consider how they can more effectively promote SCAR within their countries and recruit all potential participants, whatever their interests.
Broader engagement of the international Antarctic scientific community at a national level is important for several reasons. Primary amongst them being that, for SCAR to maintain its position of pre-eminence as a leader in Antarctic science, SCAR must engage the best and brightest. We can only do this if we actively encourage participation in SCAR at all levels. Secondly, as an outflow of the success of the restructuring of SCAR, the work load of SCAR is dramatically increasing. SCAR depends on a voluntary workforce and we run the risk of exhausting our hard-working, loyal supporters that carry most of this burden. We must spread the workload by increasing the "pool" of volunteers by reaching out to all interested persons. The "working" scientific community is the "well" that we go to, to generate the new ideas that keep SCAR relevant and evolving. So it is critical that we value, nurture and grow the SCAR community. On a more practical note, in these difficult budget times, the broader and the deeper the community engaged in SCAR, the better the justification for continued participation.
SCAR has adopted a Communications Plan in 2004 to assist nations in "getting the word out". You should read this and be familiar with it. The plan states: "... that the task of communicating SCAR's message has to be shared between the SCAR Secretariat acting centrally and at the international level, and the National SCAR Committees acting nationally and at the local level...". The first of several audiences identified was the scientific research community. The report concluded that many in this community are unfamiliar with SCAR.
The Secretariat has developed brochures and a poster that will be widely circulated and we ask that you use your in-country networks to effect further distribution. The Secretariat maintains an active and comprehensive website that people should be directed to. There are quarterly electronic newsletters and a calendar of forthcoming events. Presentations are available for download that can be used to educate people about SCAR and what it does. An essential element is that each of us must act as ambassadors for SCAR to ensure that the information is communicated beyond our own desks.
The World Wide Web and electronic communication provides access as never before. As one example, I point you to the newly launched US SCAR Office website as a possible model for national SCAR websites. By design, "original" material is kept to that which is US-centric, with most other content being directly linked to the SCAR Secretariat site. This allows for minimal maintenance and uniform communication of what SCAR is all about. This also keeps the site current since the Secretariat continually updates their website. I encourage all SCAR members to establish a national SCAR website that can serve as a focal point for communication about SCAR. The main SCAR website can also direct interested parties to in-country sites. In this way, a network of interlinked sites will be created that can serve as the backbone of a communications network that allows easy access to SCAR. I recognize that resources are limited, but in most instances websites can be developed and maintained within existing systems and, as above, actively linking them to the main SCAR website minimizes local maintenance of the site.
On a closing note, we are moving forward with planning for the XXXII ATCM in Washington D.C/Baltimore MD in April 2009, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Antarctic Treaty. This will be an exciting and very high profile ATCM. SCAR will be prominently featured in many of the scheduled events. We will keep you informed as the planning continues and call for your assistance as we develop the SCAR contributions to the XXXII ACTM.
As always please contact me with any issues, questions, or ideas you might wish to discuss.
Chuck K.
President of SCAR
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