Outreach

Over the years, I have had many opportunities to share my passion for glaciology with the general public. Outreach activities I participated in include interviews for television (e.g. euronews, France24, WDR, Canvas), radio (e.g. BBC, Deutschlandfunk) and newspaper and magazines (e.g. The Independent, Le Figaro, New Scientist). My work was featured in more than 600 newspapers and websites in over 60 countries – among others in Time Magazine, National Geographic, The New York Times, The Guardian, BBC news, Fox News, Bloomberg, Newsweek, Science, National Public Radio and Der Spiegel. I strongly believe in inspiring the next generation of scientists, and trying to pursue this ambition, I regularly give presentations in primary and secondary schools.

List of outreach activities (non-exhaustive):

2023

  • Documentary for Terzake (VRT Canvas) on extreme melt on Swiss glaciers, with related article on vrtnws.be: “VRT NWS op pad met Belgische glaciologen in de Alpen”. Three days shooting at Jungfraujoch, Aletsch glacier, and Rhone glacier (23-25 September 2023; aired on 3 October 2023)
  • Interview for cuej.info on record mass loss of Swiss glaciers in 2023: “Fonte des glaciers : « En 2100, dans le pire des scénarios, les pertes seront supérieures à 90% »” (29 September 2023)
  • Future glacier modelling results highlighted in Het Laatste Nieuws article: “10 procent van het Zwitserse gletsjervolume is nu verdwenen: nieuw rapport legt impact van twee rampjaren bloot” (28 September 2023)
  • Vrije Universiteit Brussel press release ‘Gletsjers: ‘kanaries in de koolmijn’ van de klimaatopwarming’ in the frame of obtaining an ERC starting grant (5 September 2023)
  • Interview for European Bureau of China Media Group on CCTV13 (biggest news channel in mainland China) on global glacier changes (recorded on 20 July 2023; aired on 23 July 2023)
  • “The Future of Glaciers” included in Politico newsletter (politico.eu, 17 July 2023)
  • Article in ‘Nieuwsblad’: “VUB brengt toekomst van 200.000 gletsjers in kaart” (15 July 2023)
  • Belga News Agency press release ‘Free University of Brussels to map future of 200,000 glaciers in 3D’ (press release in three languages), appeared on among others ‘RTL INFO’, ‘La Dernière Heure’, ‘Politico’, ‘BX1’, ‘MSN.com’, ‘proximus.be’ (14 July 2023)
  • Vrije Universiteit Brussel press release ‘3D-model van 200.000 gletsjers moet helpen hun toekomst in beeld te brengen tot het jaar 2300’ (14 July 2023)
  • Article on dailyscience.be, highlighting Antarctic fieldwork to look for meteorites based on Artificial Intelligence methods developed in Tollenaar et al. (2022, Science Advances) (7 July 2023)
  • Interview for ‘Les Eclaireurs’ on ‘La Première’ (RTBF radio) with Fabienne Vander Meerssche on our quest to collect very old ice from the surface of the Antarctic ice sheet (recorded on 26 April 2023; aired on 13 May 2023)
  • Interview for Vrije Universiteit Brussel website ‘VUB en ULB gaan op zoek naar het oudste ijs op aarde’ (May 2023)
  • Interview for ‘Journal Télévisé’ on ‘RTL Info’ on new report by Coperniuc on extreme summer of 2022 and consequences for glaciers “La fonte des glaciers a des conséquences jusque chez nous” (21 April 2023)
  • Interview for ‘El Pais’ on Antarctic meteorites: “How to find a meteorite in Antarctica”/“Instrucciones para encontrar un meteorito” (interview on December 20 2022, live from Chilean mission in Antarctica through videocall; article appeared on March 09, 2023); also a French version in “Le Soir”: “La carte au trésor: instructions pour trouver une météorite” (15 March 2023)
  • Interview for VRT NWS on record low Antarctic sea ice extent: ‘Nog nooit zo weinig zee-ijs rond de Zuidpool: “zomer-minimum” breekt record van vorig jaar’ (28 February 2023)
  • Meteorite treasure map (Tollenaar, Zekollari, et al., 2022) covered in media after retrieval of 7.6 kg meteorite based on locations predicted in treasure map (CNN, Forbes, phys.org, SRF, Swiss Info, Le Matin, Indian Express, VRT NWS, RTBF – Radio & JT 13h, Dernière Heure, Le Soir, La Libre, De Morgen, Het Laatste Nieuws, Nieuwsblad, l’Avenir, BX1, sudinfo, The Brussels Times, Gizmodo, myscience.org, astronomie.nl)
  • Live studio panelist on LN24 – café-débat on snow cover and the future of skiing (“Sports d’hiver : la neige sera-t-elle au RDV dans les années à venir ?”) (17 January 2023)
  • Interview for ‘The Times’ – Does skiing have a future? (7 January 2023)

2022

  • Scientific publication Zekollari et al., (2019, The Cryosphere) featured in correspondence “Glacier collapse: devise reliable warning systems” in Nature 609, p. 245 (6 September 2022)
  • Interview for RTBF.be (Faky: fact checking): “Les glaciers alpins, témoins et victimes avérés du réchauffement climatique” (29 July 2022)
  • Interview for ‘Het Laatste Nieuws’ – Hitte eist z’n tol: Zwitserse gletsjers krimpen vijf centimeter per dag (28 July 2022)
  • Featured in ‘Nieuwsblad’ article – Te weinig sneeuw voor zomerskiërs, berghutten zonder water en gevaar voor steenlawines: het wordt te warm voor bergvakanties (28 July 2022)
  • Interview for ‘Het Journaal’ on EEN’ (VRT) on record mass loss in the European Alps – headline and opening interview (26 July 2022)
  • Interview for vrtnws.be ‘Gletsjers in de Alpen smelten in recordtempo: 2022 op weg om meest rampzalige jaar te worden’ (26 July 2022)
  • Interview for VRT Radio 1 news on record mass loss in the European Alps (26 July 2022)
  • Interview for euronews ‘Good Morning Europe’ show on the collapse of the Marmolada glacier in Italian Dolomites (6 July 2022)
  • Interview for ‘RTBF – JT 19h30’ on ‘Réchauffement climatique: quell avenir pour les glaciers?’ (4 July 2022)
  • Interview for ‘RTBF – JT 13h’ on the collapse of the Marmolada glacier in Italian Dolomites (4 July 2022)
  • Interview for ‘De Standaard’: Hoe smeltende gletsjers en afbrokkelende rotsen bergbeklimmers klemzetten (21 June 2022 online, 22 June 2022 printed version)
  • Interview for Radio Campus Bruxelles on using deep learning to model glacier mass balance, highlighting the work by Bolibar et al., 2022 (Nature Communications) (recorded on 02 May 2022; aired in June 2022)
  • Interview for VRT Radio 1 – De Wereld Vandaag (Joris Vergeyle) – ‘Pakistaanse brug sneuvelt door watermassa van smeltend gletsjermeer’ (9 May 2022)
  • Interview for Radio Campus Bruxelles on Antarctic research on meteorites, highlighting the ‘Antarctic Meteorite Treasure Map’ (recorded on 22 March 2022; aired on 26-27 April 2022)
  • Glacier projections European Alps featured in National Geographic (French Edition) article: ‘Alpes françaises : sur les traces du glacier Blanc, monument de glace en sursis’ (April 2022)
  • Interview for ‘El País’ on connecting glacier resorts in Austria through Ötztal glacier: “La polémica union de dos estaciones de esquí en los Alpes austríacos” (06 February 2022)
  • Live radio interview for ‘NOS Radio 1 Journaal’ on publication on mass loss on world’s highest glacier: ‘Gletsjers op Everest smelt steeds sneller’ (4 February 2022)
  • Release of ‘Unexplored Antarctic meteorite collection sites revealed through machine learning’ in Science Advances by Veronica Tollenaar (main PhD supervisor) covered by more than 100 news outlets.
    • This includes from my side:
      • Television interview for RTBF: JT 19h30 (aired on 26 January 2022) + RTBF Social Media Team (featured on Facebook and Instagram)
      • Television interview for BX1: le 12h30. 15 minute interview to comment on findings from paper (03 February 2022)
      • Radio Interview for ‘La Première’, featured in ‘Matin première’ on 27 January 2022
      • Online and phone interviews for ‘NBC News’, ‘Science News’, ‘Popular Science’, ‘Numerama’, ‘l’Avenir’, ‘Delta (Journalistic platform TU Delft)’
    • Other coverage includes (including many interviews from PhD candidate Veronica Tollenaar): BBC World Service Radio, NASA Picture of the Day, Der Spiegel, Yahoo news, MSN, Daily Mail, Daily Star, space.com, phys.org, inverse.com, wired.com, The Conversation, AGU Eos, India.com, La Libre Belgique, Le Vif, vrtnws.be, radio één (Nieuwe feiten), Nieuwsblad, De Standaard, Het Laatste Nieuws, Knack, Brussels Times, NPO (Atlas), Scientias.nl, New Scientist (Dutch Version), NRC, Futura Sciences
  • Presentation for ‘zondagslezingen’ in Bosmuseum of Groenendaal (Natuurpunt and Agentschap Natuur & Bos): ‘Gletsjers in een veranderend klimaat’ (January 2022)

2021

  • EGU Webinar “Vanishing Glaciers with Harry Zekollari” (15 December 2021)
  • Talk about climate change in secondary school: ‘Ecole Secondaire Plurielle Maritime’, Molenbeek (18 November 2021)
  • Various activities related to COP26 in Glasgow, including:
    • Preparation material shown at the COP26 – Cryosphere Pavillion (presentation M. Huss and L. Compagno)
    • Preparation material for the ‘COP 26 Geneva Cryosphere Hub’
    • Presentation and interactions at press event “COP 26 : Rencontre journalistes-chercheurs @ULB” (13 October 2021)
  • Dedicated glacier calculations for book “Alles Smelt” by Peter Kuipers Munneke and Martijn van Calmthout – Uitgeverij Lias (September 2021)
  • Interviewed for Irish Meteorological Service (Met Éireann) podcast, Season 2 – Episode 3 ‘Why ice matters’ – Importance of glaciers in European Alps and their fate in a changing climate (29 April 2021)
  • Article ‘Smeltende gletsjers luiden klimaatalarm’, contextualizing the glacier and climate change prominently featured in the movie ‘Samuel in the Clouds’ (2016, Pieter Van Eecke). Apache Media (apache.be) (April 2021)

2020

  • Glacier projections European Alps featured in National Geographic article: ‘In the Alps, ski resorts are desperately battling climate change—and local resistance’ (December 2020)
  • Interview for Bloomberg (Bloombeg Green, Bloomberg News, Bloomberg Business, BNN Bloomsberg): ‘Go See the Biggest Glacier in France Before It All But Disappears’ (November 2020)
  • Future glacier evolution projections for European Alps featured in article ‘Knack’ (Belgian weekly magazine): ‘Zwitserse gletsjers blijven in ‘onrustwekkend tempo’ smelten’ (16 October 2020)
  • Interviewed by Rudi Vranckx for documentary: ‘Een zomer als geen andere’ about the state and fate of glaciers in the European Alps. Filming at Morteratsch glacier (Switzerland) in July 2020, broadcasted on September 29, 2020 on Canvas. Chapter in book ‘Een zomer als geen ander’ by Rudi Vranck (Horizon, p.93-99)
  • Interview for ‘Story of Science’ by TU Delft on my job (/vocation?) as a glaciologist: ‘A supermodel for all glaciers on Earth’ (English version) / ‘Een supermodel van alle gletsjers ter wereld’ (Dutch version) (September 2020)
  • Live interview for ‘France 24’ during headlines (English) on new study about Greenland’s point-of-no-return: https://www.france24.com/en/20200815-climate-change-greenland-s-ice-has-melted-past-the-point-of-no-return (King et al., 2020, Communications Earth & Environment)(15 August 2020)
  • Scientific advisor and data preparation on glacier state and future evolution in the European Alps for Alpenbuch (large infographic book) by Marmota Maps in collaboration with Deutschen Alpenverein, Österreichischen Alpenverein and Alpenverein Südtirol (July 2020)
  • Interviewed by ‘Deutsche Welle (DW) Online’ on presence of pink algae on glaciers and future evolution of glaciers in the European Alps: ‘Italy’s melting glaciers face new threat: Pink ice’ (07 July 2020)
  • Interviewed by ‘Nieuwsblad’, ‘De Standaard’ en ‘De Telegraaf’ on presence of pink algae on glaciers in the European Alps: ‘Gletsjer in Italiaanse Alpen kleurt roze: het ziet er mooi uit, maar eigenlijk is het slecht nieuws’ (Nieuwsblad), ‘Italiaanse gletsjer slaat roze uit’ (De Standaard), ‘Mooi, maar treurig: gletsjer in Italië helemaal roze’ (06 July 2020)
  • Live interview for ‘euronews’ in ‘Good Morning Europe’ show on presence of pink algae on glaciers in the European Alps, included in online news item ‘Pink ice spotted in Alpine glacier fuels concerns over accelerated melting’ (06 July 2020)
  • Projections future evolution Waxeggkees, Hornkees and Schwarzensteinkees (Zimmergrund) for Hochgebirgs-Naturpark Zillertaler Alpen, Austria (May 2020)
  • Live interview for ‘France 24’ during headlines (English) on president’s Macron measures to protect the Mt. Blanc area (13 February 2020)
  • Live interview for ‘France 24’ during headlines (French) on president’s Macron measures to protect the Mt. Blanc area (13 February 2020)
  • Live interview for ‘euronews’ in ‘Good Morning Europe’ show on president’s Macron measures to protect the Mt. Blanc area (13 February 2020)
  • Interview for ‘De Standaard’ on publication by Gabrieli and colleagues (PNAS, 2020): ‘Vroegste industrieel roet waaide van Engeland naar Himalaya’ (11 February 2020)
  • Interviewed for ‘Volkskrant’ on publication by Immerzeel and colleagues (Nature, 2020): ‘Wetenschappers brengen ‘watertorens’ in kaart: ‘De vraag naar water gaat enorm toenemen’’ (25 January 2020)

2019

  • Co-author on article ‘The potential of deglacierising basins’ for ‘Water Power Magazine’ (December 2019)
  • Modelling of future evolution all glaciers in the European Alps appears in the “10 new insights in climate science” that was released and handed over to Patricia Espinosa (executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) at COP25 in Madrid (6 December 2019)
  • Interview for ‘Futur Simple: Épisode 10: La fonte des Alpes’ for ‘RTBF: la première’ (18 November 2019)
  • Radio interview on ‘Large hydropower and water storage potential in future glacier-free basin’ for ‘De Ochtendspits’ on ‘BNR Nieuwsradio’ (15 November 2019)
  • Interview for ‘Scientias.nl’: ‘Onderzoekers willen dammen bouwen voor toekomstige weggesmolten gletsjers’ (14 November 2019)
  • Interview for VRT (Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie): ‘Smeltende gletsjers kunnen gigantische hoeveelheden elektriciteit produceren’ (13 November 2019)
  • Interview for ‘Scientias.nl’: ‘Zwitserland raakt een gletsjer kwijt’ (1 October 2019)
  • Live interview for ‘euronews’ in ‘Good Morning Europe’ show on risk of glacier collapse of Planpincieux glacier (26 September 2019)
  • Interview for ‘Journal Télévisé de 13h et 19h30’ for ‘RTBF’: ‘nouveau rapport du GIEC’ (25 September 2019)
  • Interview for ‘Nieuwsblad’, ‘Het Belang van Limburg’ en ‘Gazet van Antwerpen’: ‘Code Rood voor de Mont Blanc: enorme gletsjer dreigt in te storten’ (25 September 2019)
  • Interview for ‘De Telegraaf’: ‘Gebied rond Mont Blanc afgezet en huizen ontruimd’ (25 September 2019)
  • Modelled future glacier evolution European Alps featured on BBC news: Pizol glacier: Swiss hold funeral for ice lost to global warming (www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49788483), Spiegel (www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/natur/gletscher-in-den-alpen-weg-ist-weg-a-1288563.html) and Zeit (www.zeit.de/wissen/umwelt/2019-09/sonderbericht-klimawandel-ipcc-report-ergebnisse-weltklimarat-klimaschutz) (22-25 September 2019)
  • Future glacier evolution European Alps featured in ‘Climate now’ on euronews: ‘From Siberia to Switzerland, scorching August leads to more fires, less ice’ (www.euronews.com/2019/09/16/from-siberia-to-switzerland-scorching-august-leads-to-more-fires-less-ice) (16 September 2019)
  • Interview for ‘De Standaard’: ‘Klimaatsverandering bedreigt bakermat van bergklimmen’ (28 August 2019)
  • Interview ‘Recordhoeveelheid ijs gesmolten op Groenland: “Dit is alarmerend” ’ for Nieuwsblad, Gazet van Antwerpen (GVA) en Het Belang van Limburg (HBVL) (2 August 2019)
  • Interview ‘Hittegolf in Groenland: absoluut smeltrecord op één dag’ for VRT (Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie) (2 August 2019)
  • Interviewed about the ‘Beyond EPICA’ project, aiming at retrieving the oldest ice from a vertical ice core in Antarctica. NTN24, Bogota, Colombia (3 June 2019)
  • Future glacier projections glaciers in the European Alps (Zekollari et al., 2019) used for expo ‘Goodbye glaciers’, in among others Bolzano, Galtür and Innsbruck (31 May 2019 – 27 September 2020)
  • Planet press article (scientific article explained in 300 words for kids between 7 and 13 years old): Alps could lose most of their glaciers by 2100 – based on publication ‘Modelling the future evolution of glaciers in the European Alps under the EURO-CORDEX RCM ensemble’ (Zekollari et al., 2019, The Cryosphere)
  • Research featured in New Scientist article ‘Is there anything we can do to stop Greenland from turning green?’ (1 May 2019)
  • Highlighted in TUDelft university newspaper ‘Delta’: www.delta.tudelft.nl/article/will-there-be-ice-left-end-century (29 April 2019)
  • Research featured on BBC website: ‘The ancient memories trapped in the world’s glaciers’, www.bbc.com/future/story/20190417-preserving-ice-from-glaciers-being-melted-by-climate-change (17 April 2019)
  • Work presented in ‘Modelling the future evolution of glaciers in the European Alps under the EURO-CORDEX RCM ensemble’ was disseminated through more than 15 interviews with international press agencies, newspapers and broadcasting agencies (radio and television). The article was widely covered in the international media (e.g. BBC, France24, euronews, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Independent, Bloomberg, Fox News, Newsweek, Science, Eos). With an altmetric score of 592 (as of February 2020), this is the all-time second most picked up publication from The Cryosphere (out of >1600 articles).
    • Interviews (in person, phone, Skype, email) given to: BBC radio, The Guardian, Independent, Agence France Presse, New Scientist, Euronews (x2), France 24, WDR, Figaro, Earther, Volkskrant, RTBF, De Morgen, Publico, Mongabay, Earther.
    • Projections of glacier evolution in the Alps used in various outreach activities (e.g. Climate bootcamp of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, presentation for 150 years of Deutscher Alpenverein, Wasser Energie Luft magazine) and (under)graduate courses (Surface water hydrology & Land-climate dynamics at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel) (2019)
  • Press conference on EGU2019 abstract: ‘Modelling the dynamics and future evolution of Alpine glaciers under the EURO-CORDEX RCM ensemble’ (Vienna, April 2019)
  • Interviewed by Deutschlandradio/Deutschlandfunk (DLF) – Forschung aktuell: future evolution of glaciers in the European Alps (28 February 2019)
  • Various interviews for secondary school students concerning glaciers and climate change: in Zürich (January 2019) and Brussels (February 2019)

pre-2019

  • Interview ‘Earth Overshoot Day’ (Bruzz, 02/08/2017)
  • Interview ‘Lawinegevaar’ (De Morgen, 09/03/2017)
  • Interview ‘Waar het nog wel veilig skiën is? Óp de piste, tiens’ (Het Laatse Nieuws, 09/03/2017)
  • Interview ‘Lage skigebieden zijn ten dode opgeschreven’ (Het Laatste Nieuws Online, 08/03/2017)
  • Interview ‘Europa onder de ijskap: hoe ijstijden ons landschap veranderden’ for kbf (Klim- en bergsportfederatie Vlaanderen) Magazine (February 2016)
  • Contributor to scientific block calendar ‘Wetenschappelijke scheurkalender 2016’ (Veen Media, 2016)
  • Interviewed for documentary on melting glaciers and impact for farmers in the European Alps by ‘Karrewiet’ (Belgian National Television Kids News) (December 2015)
  • Blog and video for wtnschp.be: ‘A stay at world’s northernmost university: 5 weeks in Svalbard’ (October 2015)
  • Interview and photo material provider for folder ‘Master of Science in Geography’ (VUB) (academic year 2016-2017, 2017-2018, 2018-2019) and social media (Facebook, Twitter) (September 2015)
  • Invited speaker ‘Wetenschapscafé: Klimaatsverandering: wordt het te warm onder onze voeten?’ (Ghent, April 2015)
  • Regular answerer to questions from broad public concerning climatology and glaciology on www.ikhebeenvraag.be (37 questions) (2012-….)
  • ‘FWO Researcher in the spotlight’ blog writer (June 2014)
  • Presentation for Universitair Centrum voor Ontwikkelingssamenwerking (UCOS) at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel: A look at the research of the ‘Ice and Climate’ Group (VUB): why glaciology matters
  • Presentation ‘Life and fieldwork in Antarctica: impressions from a 10 week expedition’ in various schools: GTIL (Londerzeel), Vilvoorde (KAV), Tervuren (Ingenium) (2013-2017)
  • Video shot during Antarctic expedition used in national news bulletin (EEN, 13 and 19 journaal, and RTL-TVI) (2013)
  • Interviewed for documentary about the exposition “Inside the Station” on national TV (Karrewiet, KETNET, 23/05/2013)
  • Organisation of workshops for kids on glaciological research in the occasion of the Antarctic Treaty Meeting (Brussels, 2013)