Clean2Antarctica: A quest for change

Hey people! I'll be going on a 'quest for change': https://www.clean2antarctica.nl/en/explore/challenging-companies-and-millenials

That is, a sailing trip with a tallship ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgenster_(ship) ) from the Netherlands to the Canary Islands, from the 24th of August to the 20th of September. The ship will sail on to Antarctica, where it will drop off a couple that made a vehicle completely out of plastic and other reusable / sustainable things (e.g. solar panels for energy); the Solar Voyager ( https://www.clean2antarctica.nl/en/explore/building-solar-voyager ). This couple will drive the Solar Voyager to the geographical South Pole, where it will conduct some research.

Why? Because one day this entirely ordinary couple - could be you! - turned over their trash bin, saw a lot of 'useless' plastic, and wanted to change this. So they took their plastic, and despite everyone saying how impossible it is, they now have this whole journey planned out. The sailing voyage consists of six parts (e.g. from the Netherlands to the Canary Islands) and on each part 20 students from all over the world (amongst which myself) will work on sustainability projects for certain companies.

But it's not only about multi-national corporate chemical industries or such - it's also about you. They hope to inspire people to look at their own actions; you can shower a minute shorter, or a degree colder, or eat less meat, or not throw plastic away into nature... They are engaging with parties ranging from huge multi-nationals to little children in Africa. Imagine yourself entering a company like Royal Dutch Shell - what could you possibly achieve there? But they have done things like that, with success! And I, and other students, are doing so too, with success!

In order to fully utilise their reach, to truly inspire each and everyone to work towards a sustainable world, they need more than just the two of them and all the amazing things they have achieved so far. I truly think they and their can-do mentality is one of the best ways to get these huge companies to change and to inspire the whole planet. I mean, you can see the results already - they are in National Geography, they are weekly on (Dutch) television, they have these huge companies that have committed themselves to change, it's quite amazing.

Working towards a sustainable future does not mean 'decreasing living standards' or 'having a less convenient life' or anything like that. It is not a negative. What if seven billion people made one tiny tiny change? That adds up! So finally, above all, take a look at your own lifestyle - what tiny tiny change can you make to improve the world?