For 35 years the Explorer weekend at the Royal Geographical Society has been an incubator and supporter of exploration.
I’ve been a Fellow of the Society for almost 20 years now and often been invited to contribute or speak on the expedition advisory panel.
Wonderfully, I was nominated for my earlier works with Amazonian tribes. Simply put, the RGS is an extraordinary organization that for the last 180 years has been a driving force of global exploration, nurturing intrepid spirit by supporting those brave, bold or foolish enough to risk their lives and push the boundaries in an effort to communicate a better understanding of the world around us. To be recognized as a part of this endeavour is, without doubt, my proudest achievement.
Across the year’s thousands of expeditions undertaken by young and Intrepid have taken shape, found support, and set off from what has often been described as the epicentre of global exploration… the Royal Geographical Society…The Explorer weekend is my favourite date in the calendar it’s as if the event acts like a people magnet drawing in the Intrepid.
Strolling the oak-panelled corridors of this iconic venue is a wonder in itself but brushing shoulders with those who view the world with wonder and want to know more is the real joy of Explorer. In a strange way, everyone who attends has or is about to put a pin in a map, set themselves on a path towards something extraordinary.
Standing on the stage as I started my lecture (available to listen to below) I couldn’t help imagine those pathways finding out from the crowded Ondaatje Theatre across the globe a multitude of journeys yet to be…. inquisitive minds heading out across mountains, jungles, desert, oceans and icy landscapes. It was a wonderful vision in my mind’s eye…. if only I could have articulated it… there’s an audio recording of what I did say below…
Hi-Tec Exploration
How high-tech low-cost expeditions and how now more than ever, technology can be used to dramatically enhance your endeavours help communicate discoveries and enrich your story here is the screens that accompanied the talk he also is an audio a friend grabbed on their phone bad quality but obviously office some context just press play to click through
You can listen to my talk here as you click through the slides below:
To me, the challenge of exploration in the 21st Century is an urgent one…
It’s no longer about planting flags or egocentric feats of endurance. It’s about exploring the issues of a world well known, about examining the relationship between Man and Nature, cultures and commerce, land and its governance, about the science of change and the quest for solutions. A high bar for sure, but I reason that small steps in the right direction lead to any goal.