Homeward Bound is an organisation based in Australia that holds leadership programs for

women in science The presence of women in science spans the earliest times of the history of science wherein they have made significant contributions. Historians with an interest in gender and science have researched the scientific endeavors and accomplishments ...

. Founded in 2015, the leadership program aims to increase the representation of women in leadership roles in science fields. Homeward Bound participants go through a twelve month training program that is focused around the topic of

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

and concluded with a three-week expedition to

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest co ...

. The first Homeward Bound expedition in 2016 attracted media attention as it was the largest ever all-woman expedition to Antarctica, with 76 participating scientists. Expeditions organised in the following years have had more participants.

Program

Australian marine ecologist

Jessica Melbourne-Thomas Jessica Melbourne-Thomas is a marine, Antarctic and climate change scientist with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia. Her research focuses on climate change, its effects on the marine environment, and ho ...

and entrepreneur

Fabian Dattner Fabian may refer to: People * Fabian (name), including a list of people with the given name or surname * Pope Fabian (died 250), Catholic saint * Fabian Forte (born 1943), 1950s American teen idol, singer and actor, known by the mononym Fabia ...

founded Homeward Bound in 2015 out of discussions regarding the challenges encountered by

. Until the mid-20th century, women were discouraged from exploring

. Only in 1969 did the first American team of women researchers reach the continent. The goal of Homeward Bound is to increase the representation of women in leadership roles in science fields. To that end, it plans to organise expeditions to Antarctica for a decade and establish a network of a thousand women capable of taking these roles and shaping policy. The program has participants go through twelve months of leadership training based around the topic of

. It is concluded with a three-week expedition to Antarctica, where participants observe the

effects of climate change on Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

. A main sponsor of the program is the Spanish energy firm

Acciona Acciona, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational conglomerate dedicated to the development and management of infrastructure (construction, water, industrial and services) and renewable energy. The company, via subsidiary Acciona Energy, produces 21 t ...

00 0018 Breeding colony of Gentoo Penguins (Antarctica)

History

In 2016, Homeward Bound made its inaugural Antarctic expedition with seventy-six scientists of varying fields, then reported to be the largest all-woman expedition to Antarctica. Lack of government support prevented them from sailing out of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, where the program was founded, so the launch was set in

Ushuaia Ushuaia ( , ) is the capital of Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province, Argentina. With a population of nearly 75,000 and a location below the 54th parallel south latitude, Ushuaia claims the title of world's souther ...

, Argentina. They departed on 2 December and spent twenty days at sea, exploring the

Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martín in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctic ...

and landing at various American and Argentinian research stations. Homeward Bound made its next two expeditions in 2018. A second group of seventy-eight participants embarked in February and a third group of eighty participants did so in December. A fourth group of one hundred participants made the expedition in November 2019. Each of the three expeditions was reported to be the largest all-woman expedition to Antarctica at its time. In 2019, participants were selected for a fifth expedition in 2020, however this was later changed to an online program due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. In October 2020, a coalition of 289 scientists and conservation experts associated with Homeward Bound called for the creation of a new

marine protected area Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a conser ...

around the western

. The commentary was published in ''

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans ar ...

'' just as governments convened for the

Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources The Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, also known as the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, and CCAMLR, is part of the Antarctic Treaty System. The convention was opened for s ...

. In 2021, a sixth program of 100 participants was reported to leave in early 2022.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://homewardboundprojects.com.au/ Organisations based in Australia 2016 establishments in Australia Training organizations Antarctic expeditions 2010s in Antarctica 2020s in Antarctica 2010s in science 2020s in science

Program

History

See also

References

External links