PoleSTAH 2024. Polar Science, Technology, Archaeology, History and Heritage

In 2024, the Polar Science, Technology, Archaeology, History and Heritage (PoleSTAH) conference was held at Gateway Antarctica, University of Canterbury, in Aotearoa New Zealand. An initiative of the ICOMOS International Polar Heritage Committee (IPHC), in conjunction with UiT The Arctic University of Norway and the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, the conference linked 'North and South'.

The conference was honoured to have Māori and Sámi speakers share information and insights into their respective engagements with the polar world.

The live link with the Norwegian Polar Institute (Norsk Polarinstitutt) was productive and insightful, demonstrating that responses to climate change in Svalbard can inform the challenges now approaching in Antarctica. Given the time difference, coffee was being consumed on both sides, whether to wake up early or to stay alert late at night. PoleSTAH was the origin of what is now the Micro Arctic and Antarctic Climate Scenarios (MAACS) concept.