Oxford MBA Student Travels To Antarctica To Raise Environment Issues

Oxford MBA student and Skoll Scholar, Songqiao Yao, has embarked on a trip to Antarctica to raise awareness about the continent’s future, its role in global climate change and environmental tourism.

The Skoll Scholarship is a competitive scholarship for MBA students who pursue entrepreneurial solutions for urgent social and environmental challenges. It is instituted by The Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford University’s Said Business School.

Songqiao was selected to take part on the expedition that left on December 12 for the frozen continent, along with a number of Chinese explorers, artists and businessmen.

They hope to learn more about the region which faces a number of threats from climate change, fishing and tourism.

Concerned over the impact of tourism, she wants to promote public awareness about conservation on the continent before the Antarctica Treaty expires in 2048. The treaty currently protects resources from being exploited.

She will use the trip to consider the best way to protect it in the future, by organising environmental workshops and speaking with scientists in order to identify ways of preventing the area from becoming exploited.

“I really hope to raise awareness of the need to protect the territory in a responsible manner in order to avoid environmental damage and degradation in the future,” she said.

Songqiao Yao working on US-China Youth Campaigns at COP17 UN Climate Conference in Durban, South Africa

She had raised the money for the trip with a fundraising campaign at the World Youth Summit in Paris, part of the COP21 Paris Climate Change Conference. She spoke about intergenerational justice and the urgency to address climate change sooner rather than later, at the conference.

One of her main goals is to engage children (in particular, Chinese children) with environmental issues. She also plans to produce photographic postcards that first attracted her towards nature and environmental issues as a 9-year-old girl.

“It was because of these postcards that I developed a strong interest in nature and the environment. I hope to spark the same interest in today’s children with the hope of creating a whole generation who are actively engaged with protecting the planet,” she said.

After her trip, she also proposes to produce an educational video, a children’s book, and a multi-faceted curriculum on Antarctica that would enable children access to tools for creating a sustainable future.

She plans to arrange a summer camp for Chinese families which will raise awareness of the importance of environmental protection.

Songqiao, a global entrepreneur passionate about accelerating social innovation and sustainable development, has previously worked on global environmental sustainability issues such as food, water, and climate change.

She started actively campaigning on environmental justice and climate change as a researcher and youth delegate at UN climate change conferences in 2010.

In 2012, she helped build the environmental NGO International Rivers’ China office and strengthened its programme on river protection in China through extensive field research and policy publications.

More recently, Songqiao co-founded a healthy, ethical juice and snacks brand in Beijing, and is opening a tomato processing project in Sierra Leone to reduce food wastage and strengthen local food security.

About the Oxford MBA, she said, “I’ve found the GOTO module on water scarcity incredibly engaging. The tools, such as scenario planning, which we have been introduced to are so useful and highly relevant in an increasingly uncertain world.”

Songqiao also ran a crowdfunding campaign to support her trip to Antarctica aimed at raising GBP 5,000 in the UK, and GBP 9,000 from a similar campaign in China.

“This trip is the beginning of a conversation movement for Antarctica’s sustainable future; I’m working with experts from the Antarctica Ocean Alliance, as well as key influencers in China, to ensure the protection of the continent,” she said. (Source – Oxford Said, Image courtesy – Youtube)