South is the way forward! A pretty bold statement from our friend and contributor Arturo Pelayo. We recently became aware of his design education project that, with your help, will take place in Antarctica March 3-18.

A year ago we featured the concept Ocean University: A Design Collaborative at Sea. In the year since, the concept has matured and Arturo spoke at IIT DRC10 and Harvard University and attended the TEDxOilSpill Conference in Washington DC. As part of his 2011 activities, Arturo has been accepted to the Inspire Antarctic Expedition 2011. Pelayo's purpose is to design an educational podcasting series with the purpose of highlighting climate change and ways in which human actions are impacting all corners of the globe. "As designers we are co-conspirators in the process. Our goods get produced 'somehow' and 'somewhere' and they are transported as well. In fact, 500 million containers (the same population of Facebook) sail around the world every year to transfer products and materials from one country to another," laments Pelayo. Hopefully, this podcast will be another educational opportunity for fellow designers.

From now until February 11th, you can support the Arturo's Antarctica Expedition and podcast plans via Kickstarter. Pledge levels start at only $1 and go all the way up to an option where companies, individuals and organizations can sponsor an episode of the podcast.

Upon his return from Antarctica, Arturo will share his experience at the Summit Series Conference at Sea where Sir Richard Branson will be keynote the speaker.