Summer Issue, 2013

Candy Ko 高穎堯 (BSocSc 2008) The call of the wild A two-week expedition to Antarctic inspired a rede nition of my life options. How do you rank your life options? Before you answer, think for a second about the options you assume you own and most importantly whether they are the only things that de ne you. Like everyone, I had a number of goals but still I added, "see Antarctica" to my list. There is a Chinese saying: "everything is hard in the beginning". So when you rst act, you have overcome the most dif cult part. That's how I approached the organisation 2041 last summer to spread the climate change message. Luckily, I was selected as its only youth ambassador from Hong Kong and was awarded a full sponsorship to the "Leadership on the Edge" Antarctic expedition from February 28 to March 13 this year. I have long been a fan of nature and adventure, and I've never stopped searching for ways to drive the green agenda in Hong Kong. Who could have imagined that my Geography studies and the Intensi ed Learning Opportunities Programme (ILOP) had led me to as far as Antarctica - the last great wilderness on Earth? During the two-week expedition to the endless white and blue continent, we worked on team-building tasks, solution-driven workshops, and climate change and sustainability presentations. We also made numerous eld trips to obtain in-depth knowledge of Antarctic preservation and prepare ourselves to make changes when we went back home. As an Antarctic ambassador, we are expected to carry a lifelong mission to combat climate change through exerting substantial in uence in the public sphere. I cannot simply use a word or a sentence to describe the trip; since experiences are abstract, you have to feel it, embrace it and regenerate it. One thing I always emphasise in my post-expedition sharing is how to make the right decisions for our planet. After my Antarctic expedition, I can con dently say: trust your instincts. Human instinct helps us identify what matters to the Earth, and our future generations. We might have forgotten, but still we are a part of nature. If we know how to survive, we know how to save the Earth. The problem now is we allow ourselves to keep ignoring the fact, the fact all of us know much better than we think. When I was in the undisturbed wilderness of the Antarctic, I could feel my heartbeat and my breath in the middle of this mesmerising beauty. I asked myself: what am I short of? Nothing, I possess the sky, the wild and the ocean. I am willing to give up everything in exchange for a day in Antarctica, a day of freedom, a day of satisfaction. I believe our instinct, our connection to the Earth is the ultimate solution to environmental problems. I can still remember the day I was rst impressed by the report about 2041 and its global actions. I remember the moment I rst landed on the continent, with penguins curiously looking on, the glacier under my feet and being encircled by icebergs. Then came the call from the wild afar for action on climate change, my missionary self that emerged after completing the expedition, and the incomparable joy in empowering oneself and others through sharing the experience. This is the process, the process to a right decision, the process to be remembered for a continuous lifetime of explorations. Antarctica, the symbol for a greener lifestyle, now becomes much visible to me as a life option and of course an unbeatable one. Be observant, be sensitive, and then be aware of the never-closing door of opportunities. For the opportunities I gained, I especially give thanks to my sponsor Kiehl’s, HKU mentor Danny DB Ho's family, my family and friends for their wholehearted support. Parties interested in attending one of my Antarctic sharing events or holding one are welcome to contact me at ikoko@graduate.hku.hk , or simply go to my Facebook page www.facebook.com/DreamAntarctica. 46 Class Notes