Odia Woman Selected For Arctic Expedition

Bhubaneswar: An Odia woman, Neelima Mishra, is the only person from Odisha to be selected for an Arctic mission organised by Climate Force Arctic Expedition and hosted by 2041 Foundation.

Headed by Robert Swan, the first person to have explored both North and South Poles, the 12-day trip will promote sustainability, renewable energy and climate change. “It is a kind of a leadership programme (also called ‘Leadership on the Edge’ programme). There will be a lot of inter-mingling of ideas between experts from the field of climate change, glaciology, media channels such as National Geography and other experts,” said Neelima.

Neelima along with 79 others, will go on a few excursions in the Arctic circle involving short walking hikes of 1-6 miles a day. The days will be packed with workshops and training programmes aimed at improving climate change and sustainability.

“I am looking for funds to finance this expedition. It is going to cost me Rs 13.5 lakh,” said the Outcome & Impact Assessment Specialist to the state finance department. She is raising Rs 3.5 lakh through a crowd-sourcing platform – Gocrowdera. She is also hoping to raise some money from corporates in exchange for branding and promotion.