French Embassy, Berlin

Wednesday 14 June 2023
6 p.m. – 8 p.m. and get-together
Wilhelmstraße 69, 10117 Berlin

Entrance free / Event language: English
LIVE STREAM: This event will also be live-streamed on:
https://www.youtube.com/BotschaftFrankreich

+++++ Bitte beachten: Eine Anmeldung bei Online Teilnahme ist nicht erforderlich! +++++

+++++ Please note: Registration for online participation is not required! +++++

We kindly ask you to bring an ID card, which is needed for the security checks.



Sixty years ago, the signing of the Élysée treaty sealed the friendship between France and Germany. Since then, the treaty has become a symbol of their strong partnership, and the two countries and their citizens are expected to work together in a relationship based on trust. 

This event, hosted by the French Embassy, celebrates the 20-year anniversary of the joint French-German research base AWIPEV in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. The station at 78.9°N is operated by Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) and the French Polar Institute Paul-Émile Victor (IPEV).

As a recent study has shown, the impact of climate change is almost four times greater in the Arctic than elsewhere, a phenomenon that has been dubbed “Arctic amplification”. Within the circumpolar Arctic, the Atlantic sector and the region around the Svalbard archipelago are the warmest.

Located in this key region for climate change, AWIPEV offers French and German institutions a vital platform for conducting research. Brief lectures will highlight findings in the areas of atmospheric, glacial, permafrost and marine research made at AWIPEV over the past two decades.

To celebrate this successful collaboration, the directors of the AWI and IPEV will sign a memorandum of understanding. 

The station staff will join via video connection from the Arctic to share their experiences and answer questions “live”. A get-together and photo exhibition will round out the anniversary event and give participants the chance to speak with the people who actively practise French-German cooperation on a daily basis.