EC50 at GLEX 2025

The 2025 Global Exploration Summit (GLEX) convened in Ottawa, Canada, September 12 – 14, in partnership with the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. This landmark gathering brought together explorers, scientists, conservationists, and storytellers from across the globe to chart the future of exploration and celebrate humanity’s enduring drive to discover.

Held on Canadian soil for the first time, GLEX: Canada highlighted the importance of global inclusion, collaboration, and diverse perspectives in science and exploration.

Among the featured speakers were three members of the EC50: Hari Budha Magar, Class of 2024 a double above-the-knee amputee and Everest summiter now completing all Seven Summits; Charles Emogor, Ph.D., Class of 2025 a leading pangolin conservationist; and Gunjan Menon, an award-winning conservation filmmaker Class of 2025.

Filmmaker and EC50 2025 member, Brendan Hall, joined us as an embedded storyteller, capturing the event.

The summit also welcomed an extraordinary roster of global voices, including Professor Brian Cox, British physicist; Louise Leakey, Ph.D., Kenyan paleoanthropologist advancing groundbreaking research on human origins; Sara Seager, Ph.D., Canadian-American astronomer and planetary scientist. Additional highlights included a panel on iconic shipwrecks—Erebus, Terror, Quest, and Endurance—featuring Mensun Bound, David L. Mearns, and Jonathan Moore; insights from Oliver Steeds OBE, director of Ocean Census, working to discover and document marine life on the brink; Valérie Courtois, a global leader in Indigenous-led conservation and stewardship; and Giles Duley, whose photography focuses on the long-term humanitarian impacts of conflict.

Together, these voices underscored the power of exploration to deepen knowledge, inspire action, and connect communities across cultures and disciplines.

Check out the full program recording below: