Alison is back from the We Are Africa conference in Cape Town

“What an amazing event! Where leaders in the conservation field are recognized as individuals whose tireless passion and dedication to changing perceptions of the continent are shaping Africa’s future for the better”.

I was personally able to spend time with Dereck and Beverly Joubert, award-winning filmmakers, conservationists and National Geographic Explorers-In-Residence, who have been filming, researching andexploring Africa for over 30 years. They have created over 25 films for National Geographic, focusing on Africa’s wildlife with strong conservation messages at their core. One of their most valued accolades was receiving the Presidential Order of Meritorious Service from the President of Botswana in 2011. In recent years they have expanded their conservation outreach through Great Plains Conservation. Dereck is CEO and together with their business partners, under the banner of “Conservation Tourism”, strives to secure African landscapes of a scale large enough to protect its resident and seasonal wildlife. Through Great Plains Conservation and the Great Plains Foundation, they travel around the world speaking to worldwide audiences on conservation and are actively involved in a host of innovative initiatives to save Africa’s wildlife and uplift, educate and care for the surrounding communities, including • The Big Cats Initiative with National Geographic • Big Cats Caring for Communities • Predator Work and Compensation project – Kenya • Land for Lions – Botswana • Ride for Lions – Kenya • Maasai Olympics – Kenya • Rhinos Without Borders – Botswana.

I also spent one-on-one time with Beks Ndlovu of African Bush Camps hiking in the lower slopes of the Table Mountain National Reserve discussing the conservation initiatives he has set up in Zimbabwe and Botswana.