The Commonwealth Women’s Antarctic Expedition will see women from the Commonwealth countries of Cyprus, Ghana, India, Singapore, Brunei, New Zealand, Jamaica and the United Kingdom brave blizzards, crevasses and temperatures below -30C as they ski over 800 kilometres across Antarctica to the Geographic South Pole.

Marking the 60th aniversary of the Commonwealth, the expedition aims to demonstrate the potential of greater intercultural understanding and exchange, while at the same time highlighting the achievements of women across the world.

The expedition team of 8 women from the Commonwealth countries of Brunei, Cyprus, Ghana, India, Jamaica, Singapore, New Zealand and the United Kingdom were selected from over 800 applicants. The women from Brunei, Cyprus, Ghana and Jamaica will be the first person from their nation to ski to the South Pole. Those from India, Singapore and New Zealand will be the first women from their country to do so.

In February and March 2009, the expedition spent two weeks on the Hardangervidda in Norway - Europe’s largest mountain plateau. Here, they not only met each other for the first time but they learnt how to ski and how to survive in an extreme winter climate. It marks the first stage of their preparation for Antarctica.

5 continents. 6 faiths. 7 languages. 8 women …