This year’s Australian ADR Awards Conference featured many brilliant sessions. Lessons from Antarctica really drew delegates into an area they had not previously considered. Titled The Blue Edge – Science and Diplomacy in Antarctica it featured Dr Annebelle Davis, Mediator and Expert on Antarctic Diplomacy, and Graeme Ayres, ARC Services New Zealand, discussing one of the world’s most enduring joint problem-solving partnerships.
In Antarctica scientists and diplomats use the interface between their professions to achieve outcomes in their own and each other’s interests. In this riveting discussion, Antarctic expert and a leader in the fields of negotiation and mediation, Dr Annebelle Davis, highlighted how this lasting partnership offers a way for others to access expert skill sets beyond their own to help resolve complex issues. International conservationist, Graeme Ayres, then shares his on-the-ice deep practical experience and his unwavering passion in advocating for Antarctic sustainability and the efficacy of the crucial collaborations needed in Antarctica.
We share with you here the video segment of Graeme’s insights. Watch to gain a deeper understanding of the forces shaping the future of polar governance.
Graeme Ayres
Graeme Ayres is the former Chief Assurance Officer at New Zealand’s Department of Conservation and Operations General Manager of Operations for Antarctica New Zealand with deep Antarctic and conservation experience. His leadership roles in Antarctica include Field Leader for New Zealand’s most remote geological expedition to the Ohio Range consisting of two woman and two men without resupply on the edge of the polar plateau for 6 weeks and Officer in Charge of New Zealand’s Scott Base.