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The Kuril Expedition: Why and how?
Appealing to protect one of the least explored regions on Earth
In April 2018, Felicity Aston, an accomplished explorer and adventurer, assembled a group of 11 European and Arabic women to march to the North Pole together. Besides the adventure, it was a march for peace and cross-cultural understanding and collaboration.
The project attracted the interest of software entrepreneur Eugene Kaspersky, who decided to finance the expedition as the main sponsor, having supported Felicity on a South Pole expedition in the past. Extreme photographer Renan Ozturk joined to capture some of the moments before the group left in stunning photography and through powerful storytelling. An adventurer, expedition climber and explorer himself, the idea of the project fascinated him.
A conversation in Svalbard prior to the expedition take-off suddenly focused on the Kuril Islands. With some islands virtually untouched by modern human civilisation and others featuring impressive rock formations with potential for first ascents - each contributing to a unique and beautiful landscape - the first seed for a future expedition had been set.
"We want to show the beauty, but also the fragility of this remote strip of land", says Renan. "But to cut through the noise and create an impact in public awareness, we can't just go on a boat and take beautiful pictures and hope a few media would cover it. So we put together a group of filmmakers, photographers and environmentalists, to make a meaningful representation of this place with wide reach. And we will produce a documentary about it all, including first ascent climbing and true boots on the ground exploration, as that is the kind of content that really creates awareness these days."
15 months of intense planning and logistical ninja moves later, the expedition is about to start. With a high calibre team of film makers, photographers, science communicators and athletes we will document the beauty of the Kurils, shine a light on some of the environmental challenges in the region, and explore in the purest form of the word; though observation. On the 7 July the adventure begins: documenting one of the most remote islands chains in the world: the Kuril Islands in the sea of Okhotsk.
It is one of the least explored regions on Earth and yet one that is endangered by over-fishing, ocean pollution and other environmental threats.
They will leave from the Kamchatka coast on the 7th July and are planning to be out there for 12 days. Weather will play a big role in determining what they will achieve. With an oceanographer, environmentalists, photographers and film makers on board, everyone has their own objective. And yet, all the expedition members have one thing in common: they want to help bring attention to a nearly forgotten, outstanding part of the earth which needs support to stay as unique as it is today.
The Crew
Renan Ozturk
SpaceX's Transporter-1-Mission makes history
Watch the Falcon 9 rocket send a record-breaking 143 satellites and spacecraft into space.
Latest Stories
6 signs you'll make it as a tech entrepreneur
Do you have what it takes to lead a tech start-up?
Feeling like you're back to the same-old, job? It's frustrating when your ideas at work go unrecognized, for reasons outside of your control. What if you were making all the decisions? Do you have what it takes to lead your own tech start-up?
Here are six qualities that make a successful tech entrepreneur, coming from those who've broken the mold of what it means to be one.
1. You embrace diversity and don't let your gender hold you back
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTUxMzkwOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0ODk1ODE5N30.jg7Bkw8n0XuzrplK4QKbrLdWA6vmZqrw0pMACBIsbYc/img.jpg?width=980" id="15281" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a49b04421925ef22c9fa90b54541eebb" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="3875" data-height="2580" />Christina Morillo - Pexels.com
<p>The tech industry benefits from diversity. But there are still perceived barriers for women, like lack of role models, stereotypes and inflexible working hours. The good news? Change is underway. A new <a href="https://kas.pr/wit2021" target="_blank">Kaspersky study</a> shows over half of women working in tech feel women are represented in leadership roles, and 7 in 10 feel confident and respected at work. </p><p>There's some way to go to having gender-balanced tech teams: only 1 in 10 work in female-majority teams, while 1 in 2 work in male-majority teams. Let's be the change we want to see – don't place limits on what you want to achieve in your career. </p>2. Uncertainty doesn't faze you
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e279b9b5cf175f28af1deb8f11f2d528"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OSE6Ja_vup8?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>Starting a tech business is riddled with uncertainty. You need to be able to make a plan when the goalposts, and the ground beneath your feet, are moving. And you'll need to be able to adapt to change fast. You'll never have all the answers, but you'll still be able to see ways to move forward. Did you know that Tesla and SpaceX, both flagship companies of Elon Musk, came close to failing? The first electric car created by <a href="https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/news/a29378/elon-musk-admits-to-shareholders-that-the-tesla-roadster-was-a-disaster/" target="_blank">Tesla, the Roadster, had big production problems</a> and <a href="https://timeline.com/spacex-musk-rocket-failures-c22975218fbe" target="_blank">SpaceX had many launch failures</a> before its final effort was a success.</p>3. You're willing to develop, improve and even throw out your ideas
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="44880f393043d8c33c5dd6a095874418"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6s2nzg2wxUw?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>Tech entrepreneurs don't decide their 'baby' is the right solution and doggedly cling to it. Stories like that of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Holmes" target="_blank">Elizabeth Holmes – inventor of the blood-test biochip that never existed</a> – show just how destructive hanging onto a dud idea can be.</p><p>Great tech entrepreneurs want to solve the problem more than they want to be right about how it's best solved. They're more interested in being useful than in being popular.</p>4. You can be persuasive, but you're more substance than style
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3406bbc59ae87c317b61874c3d06ec90"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ofz3iwX_x-o?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>When you run a start-up, you need to win people over to your idea, time and again. From securing funding to motivating your team, you need to be tireless in inspiring people to give you their best. And you're not just selling your product, you're selling yourself.</p><p>Contrary to popular belief, leaders don't need star quality – <a href="https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/lindred-greer-great-leaders-understand-fundamentals" target="_blank">experience and skills predict success better than charisma</a>. But you do need to make people believe in what you can do. </p><p>The famous author and pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry once said: "If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea."</p>5. You're happy to do whatever needs doing
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="34991cff9a653726279b601b5342c050"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dN2JIp6u4r0?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>Early in the life of your start-up, you'll need to turn your hand to all kinds of tasks that won't feel like what you were born to do. If you're the kind of person who tends to think, 'that's not my job,' or you've developed advanced skills in avoiding tasks you don't like, tech entrepreneurship may not be for you.</p><p>Did you know that the search engine and company we know as Google today, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/04/8-surprising-facts-you-might-not-know-about-googles-early-days.html" target="_blank">has started as a PHD project</a>? At the beginning, the world wide web wasn't that big. As a matter of fact Larry Page, one of the founders of google collected the links on the web by hand. He didn't know exactly what to do with it but it seemed to be a good idea, because no one had ever collected the links before. This seems inconceivable today!</p>6. You can cope with imperfection, and you're willing to put your ideas to the test
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQxODY2NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxODEzNDg4N30.a6hft0WkTI5jrPrYxRpJcoojp8HMd2n2nCq_oxKSZIU/img.jpg?width=980" id="8a97d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ac67d2d45957c27d9971c6709b1505c5" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1280" data-height="959" />Free Creative Stuff - Pexels.com
<p>Gone are the days when entrepreneurs jealously guarded their ideas up until the moment of a giant, glitzy launch. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_is_the_enemy_of_good" target="_blank">Perfect is the enemy of good</a>. And in tech, it's usually much easier to get a prototype or beta version out to gauge the response than it is with other kinds of products.</p><p>As anyone who's done <a href="https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/user-research-what-it-is-and-why-you-should-do-it" target="_blank">user research</a> will tell you, the biggest shortcomings of products often aren't what the team thinks they are. Testing with real people isn't a luxury; it saves time and money.</p><p>Leading your own start-up almost always means working long hours and testing your skills to their limit. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilpatel/2015/01/16/90-of-startups-will-fail-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-10/#7f685a416679" target="_blank">Few succeed</a>, but if you have these six qualities, you have a great chance of being among those who do.</p>