APECS Belgium

19/11/2025

Living in Svalbard: Brave or Naive? APECS Belgium - Association of polar early career scientists Belgium's latest blog post by Carla López Mateo

👉 Read the full post and see what life in the Arctic is truly like:
🔗 https://www.apecsbelgium.com/post/living-in-svalbard-brave-or-naive

What makes someone pack up their life and move to the northernmost settlement on Earth? For Carla, it wasn’t about being brave or naive, it was about passion.

In this personal story, Carla shares what it’s really like to begin a PhD in Svalbard, from the thrill of Arctic fieldwork among glaciers and belugas, to learning polar bear safety, to discovering a warm and welcoming community at the top of the world.

16/10/2025

Join us online on October 29th for An Overview of Polar Organizations for Early Career Scientists, a great opportunity to explore the global network of polar research communities and discover how you can get involved!

🕒 8am AKT | 10am MT | 12pm ET
💻Online
🎯For students, postdocs and early career researchers interested in Arctic, Antarctic or cryosphere science.

Hosted by the Polar Science Early Career Community Office (PSECCO) (https://psecco.org/), this event will bring together representatives from 16 polar organizations to introduce their missions, share opportunities and highlight how you can engage with them.

Organizations you’ll hear from include:
APECS - Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) • CryoCommunity • Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) • The International Glaciological Society Early-career Glaciologists Group (IGS-EGG) • International Arctic Social Sciences Association (IASSA) • International Arctic Research Center (IARC) • International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) • PYRN-Permafrost Young Researchers Network (PYRN) •Polar STEAM • Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR) • United States Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (USAPECS) •United States Permafrost Associationn (USPA) • United States Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (US SCAR) •Women in Polar Sciencee (WiPS) • Women in the Arctic and Antarctic (WiAA) •International Cryosphere Climate Initiativee (ICCI).

Learn more and register here: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/j4cqht7/lp/36ea7f1a-2566-4788-bdd5-fcecc6ff1de4

10/10/2025

18/09/2025

What a day! Last Thursday, the BE-Polar Conference 2025 brought together the Belgian polar science community at Usquare.brussels. It was inspiring to see so many colleagues, early-career researchers and policy stakeholders sharing knowledge, ideas and enthusiasm for the polar regions.

The day was filled with presentations, discussions, posters and networking, creating the perfect space for new collaborations and future projects.

What a great effort by the APECS Belgium team and the BE-Polar Conference 2025 Committee: François Massonnet, David Docquier, Coraline Leseurre, Mieke Sterken, Marie Cavitte, Louise Delhaye.

A huge thank you to our partners and sponsors Belspo - Belgian Science Policy Office, International Polar Foundation, VUB - Vrije Universiteit Brussel, ULB - Université libre de Bruxelles, RESIST Project, Belgian National Committee on Arctic and Antarctic Research (BNCA²R), and Usquare.brussels for making this gathering possible.

It was fantastic to meet and connect with so many of you!

08/09/2025

Want to learn more about glaciers, the challenges they face, and how that will impact our relationship to the mountains? Check out this cool event featuring APECS member Sarah Wauthy!

📍 Salle Lumen, Flagey (Brussels)
🗓️ 23 September 2025 - 19:45
🥂 A convivial drink will follow the discussion
👉 Registration required, seats are limited

Une table ronde captivante croisant des regards variés, pour mieux comprendre les enjeux liés aux glaciers et au climat.

19/08/2025

Learn about Marie's work and perspective on climate change denial and the way forward in this great interview on Tendances Première! ❄️

Marie Cavitte est née en France dans une famille de trois enfants qui ont été éduqués à observer ce qui les...

15/07/2025

Last chance to apply!

GET INSPIRED! Check past Arctic Science to Art (AS2A) comic strips at apecscanada.wixsite.com/ehpecs/as2a, featuring the talented work of early career researchers and artists alike!

This year’s contest is now live, for which we’re partnering with ArcticNet, the Centre for Northern Studies (CEN) and the Arctic Research Foundation (ARF). If you are an early-career researcher conducting research in Arctic Canada and want a cool way to illustrate and share your work, consider applying to the AS2A contest. Additional prizes include a feature on the ArcticNet podcast and/or blog, the ARF’s blog, and paid registration to ArcticNet Annual Scientific Meeting 2025! The deadline for submissions is coming up quickly on July 15, 2025, so don’t delay!

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INSPIREZ-VOUS ! Consultez les bandes dessinées du concours Arctic Science to Art (AS2A) à l'adresse apecscanada.wixsite.com/ehpecs/as2a?lang=fr, qui mettent en valeur le travail talentueux de chercheurs en début de carrière et d'artistes !

Le concours de cette année est désormais en ligne, et nous nous sommes associés à ArcticNet, au Centre d'études nordiques (CEN) et à la Fondation pour la recherche arctique (ARF). Si vous êtes un chercheur en début de carrière qui mène des recherches dans l'Arctique canadien et que vous souhaitez illustrer et partager votre travail, pensez à vous inscrire au concours AS2A. Les prix supplémentaires comprennent une présentation sur le podcast ArcticNet et/ou le blog, le blog de l'ARF, et une inscription payée à ArcticNet Annual Scientific Meeting 2025 ! La date limite pour les soumissions arrive rapidement, le 15 juillet, 2025, alors ne tardez pas !

11/07/2025

Gallery Blue Earth Explorers and the Society for Environmental Awareness are pleased to invite you to the new photo exhibition by Christian Clauwers: FROM KINGS TO EMPERORS

❗️ RSVP REQUIRED at 📧info(at)BlueEarthExplorers.com

Join photographer and explorer Christian Clauwers at his latest exhibition, From Kings to Emperors — an evocative photo essay exploring the fragile beauty and ecological importance of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.

Christian is an ocean and polar explorer, environmental reporter, documentary photographer, and EU Climate Pact Ambassador. Over the course of six polar expeditions, he has captured powerful images that reveal the silent transformation of Earth’s southernmost continent — from retreating ice shelves to the majestic vulnerability of emperor penguins.

During this special evening, Maria de la Fuente, fellow EU Climate Pact Ambassador and postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Biogeochemistry and Modelling of the Earth System (ULB), will share scientific insights into the crucial role of the Southern Ocean in regulating Earth’s climate.

If you want to join some of Christian's future ocean explorations, you can join him on a few selective trips he has planned to the Arctic regions in 2026 and 2027, in collaboration with Inezia Tours.

PROGRAMMA
17 JULY 2025 18:00 – 22:00

18:00 Doors open
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18:30 Welcome speech and launch of the iVZW Society for Environmental Awareness
by Christian Clauwers
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18:40 Presentation by Maria de la Fuente on the importance of the Southern Ocean
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18:55 Join a future expedition INEZIA TOURS
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19:00. Official opening of the photo exhibition, reception
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22:00 End

RSVP: 📧info(at)BlueEarthExplorers.com

The evening is organized in collaboration with:

• INEZIA TOURS, polar expedition specialist;
• Society for Environmental Awareness, officially launched tonight.

We look forward to welcoming you.
The evening will be held in Dutch, with the exception of the talk by Maria de la Fuente, which will be held in English.
Parking Groenplaats, Parking Meir.

27/06/2025

🚨Abstract submission deadline coming up!🚨

Don't forget to register! Places are going fast! ⛄️

👉 https://www.apecsbelgium.com/events/be-polar-conference-2025

27/06/2025

Let the EU know polar research is important and deserves to get dedicated funding! ❄️

The European Polar Board (EPB) and European Polar Coordination Office (EPCO) put out a call last month to urge EU decision-makers to secure dedicated polar research funding in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF 2028–2034) under FP10. The MFF is a seven-year framework regulating the EU.....

17/06/2025

Don't forget to register! Places are going fast! ⛄️

👉 https://www.apecsbelgium.com/events/be-polar-conference-2025