By Roxanne Francis
South Africa remains a preferred destination for investors, tourists and students. What attracted green hearts and hands to our country this time around, was our on-going commitment to saving the world, prioritising the effects of climate change and accelerating sustainability.
Set against the backdrop of Table Mountain – one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature – The Earthshot Week descended on African shores for the first time ever from 4 – 8 November 2024.
The Earthshot Prize, an initiative founded by Prince William, Prince of Wales in 2020, awards organisations and individuals who have dedicated their time and effort to solving the world’s biggest environmental challenges. To date, Earthshot Prize has seen 5,342 nominations, 60 finalists and 20 winners, while saving countless lives.
According to the 2024 Impact Report, the livelihood of 4, 4 million people has directly improved as a result of the work done by Earthshot finalists, and over 420 000 tons of carbon emissions have been avoided. The impact is not unsung.
This year’s Earthshot Prize Winners: Altyn Dala, GAYO Green Africa Youth Organisation, High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, Keep IT Cool (KIC) and Advanced Thermovoltaic Systems (ATS), received £1 million each, towards their groundbreaking and worldclass environmental solutions.
Brand South Africa joined hands with the Earthshot Prize and the National Geographic Society to host the Slingshot Challenge Workshop in Cape Town, bringing together 100 students from diverse backgrounds, to inspire green living and activate change-making skills, aligned with the Earthshot Prize mission to: Protect and Restore Nature; Clean our Air; Revive our Oceans; Build a Waste-Free World; and Fix our Climate by 2030.
Learners were challenged to identify environmental challenges in their local communities and come up with innovative solutions, before being treated to a behind-the-scenes and front-facing tour of the Two Oceans Aquarium.
This workshop proved to be a sustainable playground for groundbreaking environmental solutions that would one day save the world. There was an atmosphere of great potential and a greener vision as future innovators, investors, philanthropists, marine biologists, environmentalists, world leaders and enquiring minds were fueled to become the “next generation of conservation changemakers”.
Proverbs 13:22: “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children”. With the 2030 goal in mind, we urge all South Africans to Play Their Part in driving positive change so that the inheritance we leave behind is a restored, well-functioning and flourishing planet.
