Authored by Fern Hames and Jen Martin (Visibility Faculty) and Alfie Go (Logistics Manager)
We’re winding our way westwards, heading home after three weeks as members of the Homeward Bound Faculty journeying in Antarctica. One of the joys of this journey has been working together with 43 participant correspondents (3-5 different people every day), to create stories to share about our Homeward Bound experience.
One of the key elements of the Homeward Bound program is Impact and Influence. We know that making a difference in the world and achieving impact for our work is only possible when that work is visible, and when we are visible in the relevant contexts. As part of the program, we explore how to create a purposeful Visibility Strategy, how to identify key audiences, how to navigate the labyrinth of science to policy pathways, and how to distil our messages. Writing stories about our journey is a great way to practice some of these skills while on board the ship, and perhaps try new approaches, while sharing updates on our voyage, through a suite of diverse voices and perspectives.
Collating, reviewing, editing, and publishing posts every evening is absorbing, and means we haven’t yet shared our own reflections on the Homeward Bound Island Sky voyage.
One reflection we share is our deep recognition and reminder of the genuine importance of collaboration. ‘#strongertogether’ is much more than a hashtag for us; it is a reminder that when diverse perspectives and skills join together, the outcomes are significantly better. The three of us bring different expertise and lenses to the work of creating Daily Correspondence with the voyaging Correspondents. This is then complemented by the publishing team in Homeward Bound’s Head Office. Our collective efforts delivered a stream of diverse content throughout the voyage and gave a voice to stories on issues such as the Antarctic Treaty, connecting with place, leadership through change, climate change, biosecurity, and collaboration.
Photo: Jen Martin and Fern Hames (Visibility Faculty) on the Island Sky
Photo: Alfie Go (Logistics Manager) on the Island Sky
Thank you to everyone who wrote and submitted an article or photos; we thank you for thinking about your message and doing the work, and we loved reading every one of them. We know they have provided a rich, varied, and dynamic picture of our journey. To everyone who read a post and found it interesting, fascinating, or moving, please do respond to the post and the author; it makes a big difference and helps build the conversation we must have to support a more sustainable planet.
The post Reflecting on the journey – Voyaging correspondents first appeared on Homeward Bound.