A group of young British Council Climate Change Ambassadors has commenced its voyage across the Arctic seas.

The 46-strong group boarded the MV Academik Shokalskiy in Iceland on Sunday, after a week of training and a hugely successful launch in front of the Canadian media in Toronto.

The ship set sail from Reykjavik at 1600 on Sunday 7 September. Over the course of the next two weeks the expedition will round Cape Farewell – the southernmost tip of Greenland – and will arrive at Iqaluit (Baffin Island) on 20 September.

The voyage is run by the British Council in Canada, in conjunction with Cape Farewell, a London-based initiative which focuses on the communication of climate change issues by combining art and science.

Green mission
The ship’s company consists of 14, 15, 16 and 17-year-old students from Canada, the UK, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Brazil and India, along with adult artists, scientists, educators, filmmakers and experienced expedition staff.

Rebecca Zalatan, Climate Change Programme Manager for the British Council in Canada, said: 'We are excited by the students’ passion for the environment and the issue of climate change. They have fresh and imaginative ideas and they have already initiated many exciting projects in their schools and communities.'

The students are all backed by a ‘ground crew’ at their respective schools and supported by enthusiastic and committed teachers and head teachers.

Expedition blog
All voyagers have being given media training and are blogging live and uploading videos and photography every day directly from the ship to their families, schools, communities, the public and the world’s media.

Each chosen school’s Cape Farewell team will subsequently develop a project with arts and science teachers. The projects will be worked on during the voyage and on return home, and will demonstrate the communicative potential of crossing borders between arts, sciences and different cultures.

To catch-up on news live from the expedition visit the Cape Farewell Expedition Blog.

Schools in your country can get involved by visiting the Cape Farewell activities web page.