World ORT conquered the North Pole last week when a member of its Board of Directors planted an ORT flag on the North Pole marking ORT’s 121st Anniversary. At the request of Robert Singer, Director General of World ORT, Dr Alexander Gontmacher, together with a delegation of prominent politicians of the Russian Federation, took part in the expedition to the North Pole. Gontmacher, an active member World ORT’s Board of Directors and the ORT Russia committee is the head of the Social Development Department of the Russian Federation’s Government. The expedition consisted of several successive flights to the northern part of Russia, from where a special aircraft of Arctic Aviation flew to the ice airfield far within the Polar Circle. The last part of the distance – several hundred kilometers – was covered by a helicopter straight to the geographical point of the North Pole. The group spent three hours at the North Pole, during which a football match was organized between the Russians and was followed by a barbecue party. Dr Alexander Gontmacher, right, seizes the North Pole for ORT