On 8 June 2025 in Nice, the launch of the UN Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences brought together researchers from the “Génération Cryosphère” programme, including three early-career scientists from Switzerland, to meet and exchange ahead of the One Ocean Expedition.
Proposed by Swiss Polar Institute, three francophone researchers Delphine Gilliard (University of Lausanne), Bastien Ruols (University of Lausanne) and Lison Soussaintjean (University of Bern) were selected to participate in the “Génération Cryosphère” programme by the Fondation Albédo pour la Cryosphère.
Delphine Gilliard (UNIL) 
Lison Soussaintjean (UniBe) 
Bastien Ruols (UNIL) and Jérôme Chartier (Fondation Albédo pour la Cryosphère) 
The early-career researchers of the “Génération Cryosphère” project with Audrey Azoulay (Director General, UNESCO), Frederik Paulsen (President, Fondation Albédo pour la Cryosphère), Jérôme Chappellaz (President of the Scientific Council, Fondation Albédo pour la Cryosphère), Heïdi Sevestre, and Matthieu Tordeur.
In the context of the UN Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences and the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, the Fondation Albédo pour la Cryosphère launched the “Génération Cryosphère” initiative earlier this year to support a new generation of French-speaking researchers specialising in the study of the polar and high-altitude regions. It provides them with exceptional opportunities to expand their professional networks, enhance their communication skills, and acquire valuable experience in their field.
As part of the programme, the participants met at the Cryosphere Pavilion at the UN Ocean Conference in Nice on 8 June 2025 and will take part in a leg of the “One Ocean Expedition” aboard the 111-year old vessel S/S Statsraad Lehmkuhl equipped with state-of-the-art research instruments. Organised by UiT The Arctic University of Norway, in August the expedition will sail in Roald Amundsen’s wake through the Northwest Passage in the Arctic.
Photos kindly shared by Bastien Ruols.