Addressing the three „poles“, the Arctic, the Himalayans and Antarctica was held in Hveragerði, Iceland 3. - 6. September 2011.

The Open Assembly was organized by the Northern Research Forum (NRF) and its co-organizing partners from Norway, and hosted by the University of Akureyri in Iceland.

The main objective was to address the impact of dwindling ice – terrestrial, the Arctic, the Himalayans and Antarctica as well as ocean bound – globally and on the complex interface of nature and society in all climatic zones of the world. In light of the man-made part of climate change, particularly meaning global warming, natural ice as a common heritage of humankind is gradually becoming a concept of global politics. Indeed, “a world without ice” would not only look different, but affect societal life in quite dramatic ways on a global scale.