Norwegian polar explorer Liv Arnesen receives the Courage Award at the 2008 Wings Women of Discovery Awards.
3/4/2008 :: On Wednesday March 5th, the 2008 Wings Women of Discovery Awards Gala is held in honor of seven pioneers – and one of them is the Norwegian polar explorer Liv Arnesen.
In 2000, Arnesen and her American colleague Ann Bancroft became the first women to ski across the South Pole alone. Arnesen has also been the first woman to walk to the Southpole. Together with Bancroft, she will receive this year’s Courage Award at the gala in New York City.
The event is hosted by Wings WorldQuest (WWQ), whose mission it is to promote and celebrte extraordinary women explorers.
“These women are finding answers to their questions and ours. The journeys these women take forever enlighten us with vital new knowledge about everything from deep-sea life to distant plant,” the WWQ writes in connection with the event.
“This is very nice, and shows that there is still interest for expeditions,” Arnesen says to the Norwegian daily Dagbladet. She also explains that the reason why she goes through with the extreme expeditions is because it gives the opportunity to teach and educate people about changes in nature, like global warming.
Arnesen will receive her award from actress Uma Thurman.
Silje Bekeng / The Royal Norwegian Consulate General