From Antarctica to the Arctic

Breaking the “Ice” Ceiling: From the Ends of the Earth to the Top of the World. Saanya Bhandari Jain to represent India alongside legendary oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle and 100 global changemakers

In a landmark moment for Indian climate leadership, 25-year-old Saanya Bhandari Jain has been selected as a Next Gen Ambassador for BIG ACE 2025 — the Bears, Ice, Glaciers, Arctic Climate Expedition, led by the legendary oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle and curated by Ocean Geographic.

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Taking place from June 23 to July 5, 2025, this powerful expedition will bring together 100 global changemakers — scientists, environmentalists, indigenous leaders, and creative advocates — to the Arctic, one of the most climate-vulnerable regions on Earth. Their mission: to document disappearing glaciers, endangered wildlife, and shifting ecosystems, while raising a unified voice for climate justice and planetary protection.

India on the Ice: A Journey of Firsts

Saanya’s selection places her among an incredibly rare group: one of the first and youngest Indians — and few South Asians ever — to visit both the Arctic and Antarctic frontlines. In 2022, she joined a carbon-negative expedition to Antarctica led by the iconic Polar Explorer Sir Robert Swan, O.B.E., a journey that ignited a deep commitment to impact entrepreneurship, storytelling and sustainability.

She has already explored all seven continents, but this next chapter marks something far greater than personal milestones.

“This isn’t just an expedition,” Saanya shares. “It’s an urgent call — to bear witness to what’s vanishing before our eyes, and to bring those stories home. We need maximum hands, hearts and minds in this movement. The polar regions are melting 3-4x faster than the rest of the planet. This is ground zero for climate change, and we all have a stake in what happens next.”

From Polar Ice to Public Impact

As an impact entrepreneur, professional dancer, explorer, and youth ambassador, Saanya will co-create a multimedia impact campaign during and after the expedition — blending short films, immersive exhibits, visual storytelling, and impact advocacy. The goal: to translate sustainability into public empathy, amplify indigenous and frontline voices, and reimagine how the next generation engages with sustainability.

At the heart of this campaign lies CitizenEarth, Saanya’s sustainable fashion and lifestyle brand and global community — born out of Antarctica, and rooted in the belief that nature is not a resource, but a relationship. Through responsible designs, powerful narratives, and community-driven storytelling, CitizenEarth invites people around the world to live more consciously and reconnect with the natural world.

“Climate change is no longer just science — it’s story. It’s about who we choose to be, what we choose to protect, and how we choose to live,” she says. “And from the ends of the Earth, and top of the world, we’ll find the beginnings of a new way forward.”

Why BIG ACE Matters Now

BIG ACE is more than an expedition — with a mission to use the collective power of arts, it’s a global climate storytelling movement. Led by Ocean Geographic, this mission brings together artistic expression, scientific inquiry, and indigenous knowledge to shift the world’s consciousness. Through visuals, voices, and visceral truth, it will spotlight what is at stake if we fail to act — and what is still possible if we do.

As the only Indian, Saanya carries not just a national flag, but a generational voice — speaking for the youth of the Global South, for women in business and sustainability, and for those building with purpose and impact are their forefront. 

Her Arctic journey has drawn the attention of respected international institutions and partners, including Apple, Ocean Geographic, Global Choices, and Jindal Steel and Power — all of whom recognize the urgency of this mission and the power of meaningful collaboration.

This expedition marks a bold turning point — not just for Saanya, but for the way we imagine leadership in a warming world. As she heads to Earth’s northernmost frontier, she brings with her a belief that hope is not naïve — it’s necessary. That action begins with awareness, and that stories can move hearts faster than statistics ever could.

“I’m not just carrying my backpack to the Arctic,” she says.
“I’m carrying stories — of resilience, of reckoning, of what becomes possible when we choose to reconnect with nature and celebrate coexistence”