Open call – Get Involved in the Fifth International Polar Year
Interested in taking part in shaping the future of polar collaboration? Here are three ways to get involved.
The Fifth International Polar Year (IPY-5) is a global scientific effort to advance knowledge, collaboration, and action in the Arctic and Antarctic. Whether you’re part of a research institution, government agency, NGO, or community organisation, there are many ways to contribute. Explore how you can get involved through:
1. The open Call for Bids to host the International Coordination Office
The Executive Committee of the 5th International Polar Year 2032-33 (IPY-5) is now accepting bids to host and sponsor the International Coordination Office for the planning and implementation of the IPY-5. The operational period of the Coordination Office is expected to be from early 2027 until at least the end of 2035.
The bidding process will include the following deadlines:
- 6 February 2026 at 18:00 GMT: Deadline to submit short Expressions of Interest letters (max. 2 pages) via this form.
- After a review of the expressions of interest, the IPY-5 Executive Committee will contact the shortlisted bids to invite them to submit full bids by no later than 31 May 2026. Detailed instructions for the full bids will be sent to the shortlisted bids by no later than early March 2026.
2. Call for IPY-5 National Committees
IPY-5 will be a large-scale multilateral coordinated action to address urgent global challenges by advancing polar research. Its success will depend on strong national contributions linked together through international cooperation.
Local and national contributions will be coordinated by IPY-5 National Committees that any country interested in contributing to the IPY-5 can set up from October 2025. The committees should be active through the IPY-5 in 2032–33 and until at least one year past the conclusion of IPY-5.
IPY-5 will include an ambitious and broad range of research, education, outreach and other projects and activities across the globe focused on the polar regions. A system of project endorsements will highlight and connect initiatives that contribute to IPY-5 from 2026 onwards. Receiving endorsement as an IPY-5 initiative is a way to connect projects to this global polar effort and ensure it contributes to the shared legacy of IPY-5.
The detailed information on the IPY-5 Project Endorsement Processes will be available starting early 2026 on the IPY-5 website.
A first call for project endorsements for international projects will be released in spring 2026.