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HRH Crown Prince Haakon will open the IPY-OSC 2010
The Royal Court today confirmed that HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway will be present at the conference opening ceremony, the morning of the 8th of June. The Crown Prince has been actively and eagerly involved in the International Polar Year.
From the outset, the Crown Prince took on the role of patron for the Norwegian IPY-programme. His fellow Scandinavian heirs took on similar patronage, Crown Princess Victoria in Sweden and Crown Prince Fredrik in Demark. There is a longstanding tradition of Royal patronage, which serves to raise public awareness of an organisation or a specific event that supports a worthy cause.
The patronage of His Royal Highness has been a valuable door-opener for IPY. The Crown Prince inaugurated the Norwegian programme together with the Prime Minister on 1st March 2010 in a huge event on the Oslo Town Hall Square. On various other occasions, throughout the IPY, Crown Prince Haakon has been involved in Polar Year activities.
Photo: Veronika Melå
Discussing the latest data. Oden, June 2008.Crown Prince Haakon has, whenever speaking about IPY, proved to be an eager proponent of polar and climate science. In June 2008, he and his fellow Scandinavian heirs of throne went on a five-day expedition in the waters off the coast of the Svalbard archipelago, onboard the Swedish ice-breaker Oden. They also visited the research stations in Ny-Ålesund. In the summer of 2009, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark invited the heirs on a complementary tour to Greenland. Their visit focused on climate change in Greenland and the consequences for people living there. Their joint and individual involvement have been a valuable contribution to the public awareness about the International Polar Year in the Nordic countries.
Both activities were closely followed by the media. Far from their ordinary royal duties, the three heirs had lengthy discussions about climate change with prominent polar researchers. The three shared their experiences from their arctic travels in the book "Royal Polar Expedition", published last year.
In his chapter, Crown Prince Haakon expresses his concern and encourages leaders not to wait: "It's all about calculating risks, and finding solutions based on the knowledge we already have," he writes.
He urges to search for solutions, not only across national boundaries, but also across disciplines, political points of view and opinions. "It's not about finding the absolute truth. The climate system is far too complex for that."
Crown Prince Haakon is born on 20 July 1973. He is the son of King Harald V and Queen Sonja, and heir to the Norwegian throne. Crown Prince Haakon married Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby in 2001. They have two children: Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus.
Last updated: 09.04.2010
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