The Centenary Expedition
In 2011, Norway celebrated two of its great polar heroes with the Nansen-Amundsen Year 2011. An important part of this celebration was informational outreach in the form of a modern-day Antarctic adventure, with special emphasis on polar history and scientific issues – past and present. The Centenary Expedition to the South Pole has retraced Amundsen’s route, and reached the southernmost point on Earth on 14 December 2011, arriving 100 years to the day after Amundsen. The Expedition was run by the Norwegian Polar Institute. The Prime Minister of Norway, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, took part in the celebration at Amundsen Scott base at the South Pole on December 14th 2011.
Jan-Gunnar Winther- Director, Norwegian Polar Institute
Dr. Winther has a Ph.D. from the Norwegian Institute of Technology and is currently the Director of the Norwegian Polar Institute. Winther serves on many committees and delegations including national expert to Arctic Council and Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings, he is a member of the Explorers Club and is Lead Author on UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) fifth assessment report.