Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
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Pole to Pole 2000 was a global youth expedition launched at the turn of the millennium that set out to journey from the North Magnetic Pole to the South Pole, using primarily human power. The project combined extreme exploration with a broader mission of youth leadership, global citizenship, and civic responsibility.
The expedition was organized by Martyn S. Williams through the Millennium Leadership Institute, based in British Columbia, Canada. Williams served as the project’s founder and overall expedition organizer.
The expedition team consisted of eight young people from different countries, selected for their leadership potential, resilience, and commitment to positive action. Participants came from North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia, reflecting the project’s global vision.
Beyond exploration, Pole to Pole 2000 aimed to:
Inspire young people to take responsibility for their communities
Demonstrate cooperation across cultures and borders
Show what is possible through perseverance, teamwork, and shared purpose
Collect “Promises of Action” from people around the world, encouraging positive social and environmental commitments
Yes the expedition started at the North Magnetic Pole and ended at the South Pole on December 31st 2000. The expedition undertook major stages of travel toward both poles and achieved significant milestones under extremely challenging conditions. Like many large-scale exploratory projects, the journey faced logistical, environmental, and geopolitical constraints. Pole to Pole 2000 is best understood as a process-driven expedition, focused on leadership and impact rather than a single geographic endpoint.
Travel methods included:
Skiing
Man-hauling sleds
Sailing
Canoeing
Kayaking
Hiking
Bicycle
Overland travel
The guiding principle was to rely primarily on human power, with limited mechanized assistance where safety and logistics required it.
Pole to Pole 2000 unfolded over an extended period around the year 2000, Starting with training in Januaray 2020. The expedition began on March 15 at the North Magnetic Pole. It ended at the South Pole on December 31st 2000 with different phases occurring in various parts of the world. The project combined field expeditions with educational outreach, media engagement, and public events.
During the expedition, the team collected tens of millions of written commitments from people worldwide—simple promises to take positive action in their own lives or communities. These ranged from environmental responsibility to acts of kindness, education, and civic engagement. The promises were collected at school events along the journey where the team spoke to over a hundred different schools in North and South America about the power of the individual to make a difference. Illustrated were stories from the journey. Students were then asked to contribute written promises of action, and these promises were collected and carried with the team to the South Pole. In addition, the United Nations had a similar initiative that we joined forces with, so the pole-to-pole team ended up arriving at the South Pole with over 60 million promises of action collected from schools, universities, and from the United Nations. The promises of action were placed on disks and left in the snow at the South Pole for future travelers to find out at the beginning of the next millennium.
The expedition was timed to coincide with the millennium, symbolizing a moment of reflection and renewal. Pole to Pole 2000 was designed to ask a simple question:
What kind of world do we want to help create in the next thousand years?
While not a formal scientific research mission, the expedition contributed to public understanding of:
Polar environments
Human endurance in extreme conditions
Cross-cultural collaboration
Its primary focus was education, leadership, and inspiration, rather than data collection.
Along the route, our teams interacted via the internet and various educational digital organizations that shared our information with schools and universities. So there was regular discussion and interaction via the internet between schools and universities around the world who were following the journey on a daily basis.
The original expedition has concluded, but its legacy continues through archived materials, educational content, talks, and renewed interest in youth leadership and global responsibility. This website serves as a historical record and storytelling platform for the project.
This site brings together:
Expedition history
Participant stories
Media coverage
Archival photos and documents
Additional materials and third-party references are linked throughout the site where available.
Many of the questions raised by the expedition—about leadership, responsibility, cooperation, and the future—are even more relevant today. Revisiting Pole to Pole 2000 offers perspective on what is possible when people commit to shared purpose across borders and differences.