The ASSW2020 Scientific Summary Report, published thanks to the support of the Northern Research Forum at the University of Akureyri and Rannís - The Icelandic Centre for Research, is now available on the IASC website (click here to download).
The Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW), organized annually by the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), is the most important annual gathering of Arctic research organization. It provides a venue for coordination, cooperation, and discussions on key Arctic issues, attracting scientists, students, policymakers and other professionals from all over the world. During ASSWs, several Arctic-focused workshops take place, scientific proposals are discussed, and new ideas come to be. It is with this in mind, that the convener and hosts of the Arctic Science Summit Week 2020, namely IASC, The University of Akureyri and Rannís introduced the suggestion to compile for the first time a summary report that would keep a record of scientific discussions at ASSW and present them to the Arctic community at large.
The first part of the Report, Science for a Sustainable Arctic gathers the integral transcripts of welcoming remarks, key-note speeches and closing statements given during the Science Day symposium. In addition, the section features analysis authored by IASC Fellows of the panel discussions taking place that day, including scientific highlights. The speeches and panel discussions are also available on YouTube.
In the second part, Business and Community Meetings, an overview of the scientific works of the five IASC Working Groups is presented. These contributions have been prepared by Working Groups Chairs with the assistance of their WG secretaries. The section continues with summaries of selected meetings, addressing outcomes, ways forward, and knowledge gaps regarding a vast variety of topics ranging from gender issues, the Russian Arctic, and remote sensing. In this overview, the editors also included a summary of the high-level experiential learning exercise Model Arctic Council (MAC), hosted by the University of Akureyri in cooperation with the UArctic Thematic Network on Model Arctic Council that took place at ASSW2020.
The report concludes with an overview on the Arctic Observing Summit (AOS), a biennial event convened by the Sustaining Arctic Observing Networks (SAON). One of the main goals of AOS is to guide the design, coordination, and long-term operation of an international network of observing systems that improves our understanding of and response to Arctic change.. The theme of AOS 2020 was Observing for Action.
ASSW2020 was hosted by Rannís – The Icelandic Centre for Research and the University of Akureyri, and was an important part of the Icelandic Chairmanship of the Arctic Council. ASSW2020 was originally scheduled as an in-person meeting in Akureyri (Iceland) from 27 March to 2 April 2020. As the circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic worsened both locally and globally, ASSW2020 was one of the first large Arctic gatherings that moved online. After ASSW2020 was over, the organizers also published a short report with lesson learned and best practice on how to move a conference online Moving a Conference from Iceland to Zoom Best Practices and Lessons Learned from Arctic Science Summit Week 2020.
For questions and feedback, please contact the IASC Secretariat at