Ukraine can increase the number of joint international expeditions in the Antarctic - Dykyi
Kyiv • UNN
Ukrainian proposals aroused considerable interest at the COMNAP meeting. International projects at the Akademik Vernadsky station and the Noosphere ship are expected to increase.
Ukrainian proposals have aroused considerable interest, so it is likely that the number of international projects at Vernadsky and Noosphere will increase significantly. This was announced by the director of the National Antarctic Research Center Yevhen Dykyi after a meeting of the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP), UNN reports.
Details
According to the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, new international cooperation projects for the Akademik Vernadsky station and the Noosphere ship and the exchange of experience in popularizing Antarctic research were the key issues that the Ukrainian delegation focused on during the 36th meeting of the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP).
The event took place last week in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The event was attended by 176 representatives from 33 national Antarctic programs, including the specialists of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
At the Working Group on Regional Cooperation (Antarctic Peninsula), the Ukrainian delegation presented a plan of logistics operations for the 30th Ukrainian Antarctic Expedition for the summer season of 2024-2025 and invited other countries to cooperate on the basis of the Akademik Vernadsky station and the Noosphere ship.
Such interaction allows us to optimize material resources for expeditions and use the funds saved and received from partners to expand the research program. We remind you that the successful cooperation of the Ukrainian and Polish Antarctic Programs has been going on for three years, and it is now planned to continue.
The Ukrainian proposals aroused considerable interest, and the working group was followed by a series of bilateral talks with potential partners, which is why COMNAP meetings are held offline. Without their consent, we can't provide details yet, but it seems that international projects at Vernadsky and Noosphere will increase significantly
During a separate seminar, our representatives also shared what Ukraine is doing to popularize Antarctic research. This experience was highly appreciated by other participants, and Ukrainians learned interesting and effective practices of foreign colleagues.
In their free time, the Ukrainian delegation met with the Ukrainian diaspora, the local branch of the Prosvita Society. This organization recently celebrated the 100th anniversary of its work in Argentina. Many of the Ukrainians united by Prosvita are fourth or fifth generation Ukrainians, but they preserve the Ukrainian language and culture, act as advocates for Ukraine in Argentina, and shape a positive image of Ukrainians in Argentine society.
Representatives of the National Academy of Sciences agreed with Prosvita on joint activities, including the dissemination of a photo exhibition about Ukraine in Antarctica in Argentina and the organization of several online lectures from the Vernadsky station for local Ukrainian youth.
We remind you that during this year's meeting of the Antarctic Treaty, Ukraine and 17 other countries party to the Treaty blocked the granting of the status of Consultative Party to the Treaty to Belarus, and thus the right to vote in decisions on Antarctica.