The Antarctic expedition that brought the Tomorrow’s Air team together is operating again in March 2022, after a covid hiatus. Jeff Bonaldi, the founder of The Explorer’s Passage, operates this trip with Robert Swan’s 2041 Foundation. Robert Swan started the Expedition to inspire people to take climate change action in their home countries, and with this lofty goal in mind the experience they deliver goes beyond simply reveling in the majesty of Antarctic ice and wildlife; expedition programming includes expert lectures and team projects designed to bring people together and spark collaborations to can help our climate. By training the next generation of climate change champions, the Expedition sees itself is part of the solution to the greater climate change problem.
Participants come from around the world with a range of backgrounds. Imagine mixing with student leaders from India, business executives from New York, academics from the U.K. and documentarians from Scotland. It’s hard to imagine a more stimulating and inspiring combination of people and place.
When asked what he finds most remarkable about this expedition, Bonaldi commented, ”For me, it's really seeing people from vastly diverse backgrounds, genders, economic demographics, interests, race, ethnicity come together in the most beautiful place in the world and all of the prejudices and conflict is nowhere present on our Expedition. I see people embrace their differences. This Expedition is a microcosm for what the world should be.”
Since 1996, over 4,000 people from 90 countries joined Robert Swan in these expeditions. The March, 2022 expedition follows a similar format to those of the past in that it includes climate science education along with group discussions and team projects designed to engage participants in working through ideas and collaborating about ways they can help. The program and session leaders this year are Michele Malejki, Global Head of Social Impact at Hewlett Packard and Winston Cowie, Director of Marine Policy at the Abu Dhabi Environmental Agency. Prospective participants are invited to apply, and ample support and advice for fundraising for the trip is available.
The Explorer’s Passage follows industry standard covid safety measures with required vaccination, social distancing, and testing before and during the Expedition. The team offsets 1.25x the carbon emissions for every trip through participation in renewable energy and forestry projects and promotes carbon removal with permanent storage through Tomorrow’s Air.