XXXVII SCAR Delegates Meeting
5-7 September 2022, Goa, India
SCAR XXXVII Paper 45: Secretariat Report 2021-22
Agenda Item: 12.3
Person Responsible: Chandrika Nath / Eoghan Griffin
Report Authors: Chandrika Nath, Eoghan Griffin, Rosemary Nash, Johanna Grabow
Summary
Since the 2021 SCAR Delegates Meeting, the SCAR Secretariat has continued to support SCAR’s remit of facilitating high-quality international research and providing objective and independent scientific advice to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings and other organisations, working closely with the Executive Committee (ExCom).
The Secretariat is responsible for the day-to-day running of SCAR’s operations and acts as a hub for information, discussion and enquiries from the SCAR community and beyond. The Secretariat supports a wide range of SCAR functions, including support to SCAR groups, supporting meetings and events, supporting SCAR’s provision of policy advice, capacity-building work, outreach and communications. The Secretariat also supports the administration of SCAR’s internal processes such as finance, information management and other back-office tasks.
The Secretariat has continued working to support ExCom and SCAR Groups throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, while accommodating internal staffing challenges resulting from the long-term sickness of the Executive Director, who returned to work on a part-time basis in May 2022. The pandemic and transition to online and, more recently, hybrid meetings, have extended the scope of the Secretariat’s activities, for example in the context of the organisation of online components of events and the coordination of online and physical components.
The XXXVII SCAR Delegates Meeting was held in Goa, India and online, making it the first Delegates’ Meeting to be held in hybrid format. The Directors, Executive Officer, Delegates from 15 members and a few observers attended in person. Belgium, France and the UK met at a regional hub in Belgium, supported by SCAR’s Project Officer. All other participants attended online.