The Antarctic Flags project: a flagship outreach campaign for international cooperation

Abstract

Antarctica does not have a flag. It is not a country, it has no indigenous population, and there is no government. Despite many countries laying claim to (often overlapping) parts of this frozen region, the continent was ultimately designated as a scientific preserve through the Antarctic Treaty. Military activity is explicitly banned by the Treaty, as are any activities that ‘shall constitute a basis for asserting, supporting or denying a claim to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica or create any rights of sovereignty in Antarctica’ (Article IV, Clause 2). The resulting tenet of scientific cooperation and collaboration underpins all modern activity on the continent and, ultimately, embodies the ideals of Antarctica and notions of Antarcticness. So why, every year, are hundreds of flags designed for Antarctica and sent to the continent from all over the world, if the continent is only to be used for peaceful activities? Originally conceived by the Foundation for the Good Governance of International Spaces, or ‘Our Spaces’,1 the Antarctic Flags project aims to connect schoolchildren to Antarctica through taking their flag designs to be flown on the frozen continent. The project was designed to be a school- level activity that could be carried out in celebration of Antarctica Day, which was established after the Antarctic Treaty Summit in 2009 to carry on the legacy of the Antarctic Treaty.2 The project, devised by Julie Hambrook Berkman, and expanded by the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS), the International Polar Foundation (IPF) and Polar Educators International (PEI), is now coordinated by early career scientists from the UK Polar Network (UKPN) and has involved participants from every non-Antarctic continent. Teachers are sent lesson suggestions, so that their students gain a true understanding of Antarctica’s unique position among the Earth’s continents before they create their designs. Flags from each school are then sent on to those travelling to Antarctica for scientific purposes to display (Figures 11.1–11.3). Here, we reflect on the impact of bringing Antarctica and Antarcticness into the classroom, discuss the evolution of the project with previous participants, and deliberate on perceptions of Antarctica, a continent which the majority of people will never visit, but still have a deep interest in.