A hundred women from about 30 different countries, speaking myriad languages and with one mission: to build a global network of 1000 females taking leadership roles and contributing to a sustainable world.
That's Homeward Bound - and one former Gunnedah woman will be setting off on the ship to Antarctica in less than 170 days.
Junior medical officer Jazmin Daniells has secured a place in the fourth year of the groundbreaking initiative.
She said it was a "very exciting" opportunity and one that was still "a little bit unimaginable; that that's something that I'm going to be doing".
"Going to Antarctica is something I've always wanted to do," Dr Daniells said.
"I'm quite adventurous and I love travel and I've always, from a young age, been interested in leadership opportunities."
Read also:
Dr Daniells spent most of her childhood in Gunnedah, going to year 10 at the public high school before the family moved away for a time.
She said "many wonderful women" in town had been role models, including her mother, accountant Treena Daniells, who "[raised me] to believe I'm capable of chasing my dreams ... no matter how wild or big those dreams are, such as travelling to Antarctica".
She is an "incredibly inspirational" woman who rebuilt the family's lives after they lost their father to suicide; young Jazmin was just 10 years old.
"My family misses him very much and wish he could be around to see how wonderful things are for us."
'Interesting liver'
Dr Daniells also credits her grandmother, former nurse Corrine Ferguson, with being a role model and unintentionally putting her on the medical path.
"I remember reading through her pathology books when I was really young," Dr Daniells said.
"I specifically remember looking at a picture of a liver that had a disease, and thinking it was very interesting - that was probably the first time I was interested in something medical."
She did her undergraduate medical degree in Newcastle, and is now a junior doctor working with Hunter New England Health while studying for a master's degree of international public health through the University of Sydney.
After applying for Homeward Bound on a friend's advice, Dr Daniells found out last year she'd been accepted, and has now been cleared for leave.
A $25,000 hurdle
By the time she boards the ship in Ushuaia, Argentina, on November 22, she will have completed 12 months of online learning and a two-day pre-voyage program.
There's just one more rather large hurdle though - the program costs $25,000, not including other expenses such as travel to and from Ushuaia, insurance or cold-climate clothing.
Some participants are sponsored by their workplaces but, as a government employee, Dr Daniells will be self-funded.
She has started raising funds through events such as yoga sessions, and crowdfunding at https://chuffed.org/project/homeward-bound-jazs-journey-to-antarctica-for-women-in-stemm
The 2019 Homeward Bound will be the fourth such event - and the destination has been chosen for the example it provides.
"Regions of Antarctica are showing the fastest responses to some of the global sustainability problems we currently face," the website states.
"Antarctica offers an unparalleled opportunity to observe first hand the influence of human activities on the environment and provide critical insights into the global-scale change required."
Carolyn Millet
Based at The Northern Daily Leader, Tamworth, and Namoi Valley Independent, Gunnedah. Covering general news and features on community, council, arts, business, health, education, entertainment and rural matters.
Based at The Northern Daily Leader, Tamworth, and Namoi Valley Independent, Gunnedah. Covering general news and features on community, council, arts, business, health, education, entertainment and rural matters.
