News

Archive for 2041 News category
August 23rd, 2010

The Round Britain and Ireland Race

The British Keelboat Academy (BKA) is a new partnership between UKSA and RYA. The BKA has been designed to support young people aged between 18 and 24 in developing the skills needed to take their keelboat racing to a professional level. Currently, an all youth team is taking part in a non stop 2000 mile race around Great Britain and Ireland. The average age onboard is only 22. For many of the crew this is their longest offshore race by quite some way and is deemed very much as an adventure by all. They are competing against some of yachtings most rated professionals on a level playing field in what is recognized as one of the 5 fastest boats in the race. They have trained as a crew all year and operate as a charity; as such, their budget is less than 10% of the annual crew salary of the boats they are looking to beat. The crew is currently running in 2nd place, which is a remarkable achievement! 2041 is a proud friend of this group of visionary young people, and is delighted that they chose to feature 2041’s logo on their yacht during this historic race.

You can follow the BKA on Facebook and Twitter @tweetbka and to find out more about the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race click here. Track the race online, and follow their progress on the BKA blog. To learn more, and to support the British Keelboat Academy, visit their website.

August 18th, 2010

“Cool School Antarctica” Premiers in Australia on 25 September

View clips from the forthcoming documentary “Cool School Antarctica,” a film by IAE 2010 participant Liz Courtney. Liz captures the life-changing experience of visiting Antarctica through the eyes of 2009 Australian Idol runner-up Hayley Warner and 40 other young people from 15 different countries. You can view the documentary on September 25 on Foxtel Nickelodeon at 7pm. The film will also be featured at the Toronto International Environmental Film Festival in October, 2010.

August 10th, 2010

Robert Swan in India

Currently, Robert Swan is speaking at various engagements throughout India. So far, Robert has met with PepsiCo, TATA Steel, Google, the Indian School of Business, Leaps and Bounds, and many schools and universities. The welcome in India has been extremely warm. Large thanks to Chandini Chhabra and many other IAE Alumni for their great support and coordination. We hope to see many of our new friends on the International Antarctic Expedition in March!

July 27th, 2010

First IAE Reunion Takes Place in London

On Saturday, July 24th, the first ever International Antarctic Expedition reunion took place in London. Although many attendees had been on separate expeditions, the life changing experience of visiting the Antarctic with 2041 gave them common ground. Special thanks to Lauren Wylie and Tom Cole for all of their work in putting this special occasion together.

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July 8th, 2010

Robert Swan’s Frog Message

View Robert’s video in support of The Prince’s Rainforest Trust. To learn more about the Rainforest SOS Campaign, click here.

June 15th, 2010

‘2041′ and Robert Swan at the Scott 100 Centenary Celebration in Cardiff, UK

Robert Swan OBE recently visited Cardiff to take part in the Scott 100 centenary celebration of Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s departure for the South Pole on the British Antarctic Expedition in 1910. Yacht ‘2041′ sailed into the Cardiff Harbour, where Robert Swan too began his first Antarctic expedition in 1984, In the Footsteps of Scott.

‘2041’, the floating goodwill ambassador of the Voyage for Cleaner Energy, was berthed at the Millennium Waterfront from 11 –15 June as part of the celebration. To read more about ‘2041′, her time in Cardiff, and the Voyage for Cleaner Energy, visit the Voyage Blog.

2041 in Cardiff

June 12th, 2010

Robert Visits the Green Sheikh in the UAE

Rob and Green Sheikh

IAE 2010 Alumni Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Ali Al Nuaimi and Tamer Hussein, who is 2041’s UAE representative, hosted Robert Swan in Dubai for the Seventh CSR Summit. Sheikh Abdul Aziz, also known as the Green Sheikh, has helped to launch an official campaign to lobby the Ajman government to join 48 other countries in the signing of the Antarctic Treaty. If the campaign is successful, the UAE will be the first nation in the Middle East to sign the 50-year-old treaty. To read more about this landmark campaign, and Robert’s time in the UAE, view the news coverage below:

Campaign begins in UAE for unspoilt Antarctica


Explorer in town to lobby for Antarctic treaty


‘Green Shaikh’ says it’s time for Ajman to make changes

June 5th, 2010

Happy World Environment Day!

World Environment Day (WED) is Saturday, June 5. Celebrated annually since 1972, this day encourages positive, environmental action throughout the world. This year’s theme is ‘Many Species. One Planet. One Future’, and will celebrate the diversity of life on Earth as part of the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity. WED 2010 is aiming to be the biggest yet, so help make this event a global success by getting involved! Visit the official page of World Environment Day 2010 by clicking here.

June 1st, 2010

IAE Alumni News

IAE 2010 Alumni Ben Lane was featured in the May 2010 newsletter of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Check out his detailed account of his Antarctic experience here. The Institution of Mechanical Engineers is devoted to improving the world through engineering, and was one of Ben’s generous sponsors. To learn more about the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, visit their website.

Lauren Wylie – a long-time 2041 advocate and alumni – who most recently was a team leader on the IATE expedition, met up with Robert and some of the 2041 team in the Bay Area to present her ‘Inspired by Antarctica’ show for 2 Earth Day events. She was joined for her talk by her fellow IATE alumni Joe Spedding, who is currently bicycling up the west coast of North America, en-route to a camp counselor job in Canada, to raise awareness on sustainablity and eco-efficiency. Follow his journey here.

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Joe and Lauren getting ready to rock the audience. Their presentation took place at the San Domenico School in Marin, a K-12 Catholic School that proudly features a ground-breaking cross-curricula focus on ecological literacy, environmental science, and overall sustainability. More about the school and their intiatives can be found here.

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The whole group, including Robert Swan in the center and 2041’s CEO Anne Kershaw on the right, enjoying some sunshine in San Francisco.

Selected Alumni Projects

Abdulaziz, the ‘Green Sheikh of Ajman,’ and IAE 2010 alumni recently gave in-depth coverage of his expedition to the UAE digest, the first UAE based current affairs magazine. Read the whole story here.

Lauren Wylie, an IAE 2008 alum, marks her experience in Antarctica with Robert Swan as a true turning point in her life, and has since worked tirelessly to share her story and promote awareness of climate change and sustainability through many different avenues. Her website and blog both provide a wealth of information on grassroots action as well as personal insight into the profound effect her expedition has had on her.

Jesse Baker, an IAE 2009 alum, inspired by Robert Swan’s instruction to ‘Take Action!’ has founded and launched a non-profit called Ecofficiency. Their mission is to promote social equality, minimize waste, and reduce pollution by advancing an ethic of consumer responsibility based on understanding the relationships between economy, ecology, and equity. His organization will use programs, education, events, and primary research to promote this consumer ethic.

Richard Dunne, an IAE 4 and 5 team member and head teacher of the Ashley C of E Primary School, received an Ashden Award in the Schools category on 11 June 2009 for his ongoing work towards reducing his school’s carbon footprint. Richard returned from his 2041 Antarctic Expedition in 2007 inspired by Robert Swan’s message and determined to make a difference. Since then, the whole school community has worked together to bring the climate change motive into everything they do. Targets are set to cut energy consumption in the school and home and energy learning is integrated into every subject, including art and math. The school has a biomass boiler, solar heating and PV array and energy efficient lighting is used throughout. View their case study here.

May 14th, 2010

Warmest year on record for the South Pole

Thanks to Darcy Winslow (a leading figure in the business sustainablity movement, also a 2041 alumni and team leader!) for sharing this news story with the 2041 team.

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The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, where the temperature data is recorded.

2009 was the warmest year on record for the South Pole since 1957, when temperature records began. The average temperature for the year at the South Pole was negative 54.2 degrees Fahrenheit. 2009 was also the second warmest year on record for the planet, in a period extending back to the late 1800s when near-global measurements were first recorded. Read more here.