Student Finalists of the Next Einstein Competition.

Travel Designer was asked by Singita to design a five day Cape Town itinerary for the Next Einstein Competition finalists, students from The Xhimungwe school district of South Africa’s Mpumalanga province.

More about the Next Einstein Forum.
Launched in 2013, the Next Einstein Forum (NEF) is an initiative of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) in partnership with Robert Bosch Stiftung. The NEF is a platform that connects science, society and policy in Africa and the rest of the world – with the goal to leverage science for human development globally. The NEF believes that Africa’s contributions to the global scientific community are critical for global progress. At the centre of NEF efforts are Africa’s young people, the driving force for Africa’s scientific renaissance.

“We believe the next Einstein will be African. We are working to make Africa a global hub for science and technology.”
The NEF is a unique forum because it:

Is youth driven. At least 50 percent of participants are age 42 or younger. The NEF will also showcase the contributions of Africa’s brilliant youth to Africa’s scientific emergence through its class of NEF Fellows who are Africa’s top scientists and technologists, all under the age of 42.
Tells untold stories. The NEF will highlight innovation and scientific advancement that has often been overlooked by the media and global scientific community.
Builds an African scientific identity. By bringing together key stakeholders, the NEF hopes to drive the discussion from policy to implementation by leveraging buy in and best practice results from Africa and the world.
Programmes
Singita’s Community Development.
Communities close to Singita reserves are key role-players in preserving the integrity of each wilderness area and its wildlife. It is, therefore, important that they understand and benefit from the existence of the reserves. Singita’s long-term, broad community development objective is to assist communities to thrive, both economically and socially. Singita employs 1 100 staff within its 5 regions and deliberately maximises monthly purchases from local enterprises. In this way, Singita plays a role in strengthening the local economy. In addition to this, the Community Development teams on each property co-ordinate active support for development initiatives. Community development programmes have three main objectives: well-educated children; the development of small enterprises; and an enhanced awareness of conservation and sustainable daily living practices among local community members.

About Our Days Together.
The Singita Community Development Trust offers amazing support to the forum and the finalist students. In this case, we were lucky enough to enjoy time with finalists Adroit, Mzwakhe, Jasmine, Rhulani, Fedile, Memory and their amazing teachers. Please watch the video to see more about the time that we enjoyed together. With special thanks to the following who hosted us:

Susan Horst the woman behind Singita Community Development Trust for her huge support.
Singita for hosting these briliant kids and their teachers in Cape Town.
SeaSky Villas for providing beautiful accomnodation for the kids during their Cape Town visit.
Origin Coffee Roasters and 2017 barista champion of South Africa Winston Thomas for teaching them how to make coffee.
Cape Town Science Centre for the amazing educational experince.
Ocean Jewels Fish Julie Carter for the yummy sea food lunch and giving infirmation about sustainable fishing practice in South Africa.
Mak1one for highly educational and fun street art experince they had.
Ree Treweek and Tulips and Chimneys for hosting us at their house for dinner and showing kids how illistrators make animations.
Robben Island for having us.
Chef Clara Sophie Cooked with Clara for helping kids to make sandwiches for the shelter.
Steve Benjamin Animal Ocean for organizing beach clean up for us in Hout Bay and taking them to seal island.
Iziko Planetarium and Digital Dome for the fun movie night.
Stellenbosch University for opening their doors during school holiday for the kids to see the university.
Waterford Estate and Kevin Arnold for meeting the kids, the porcupine trail walk, yummy picnic and chocolate tasting at Waterford Wine Estate.
Slow Jack for making their last night unforgettable with amazing private concert and thanks to Music Experience for hosting the concert
David Patrick for his amazing guiding and taking the role of their big brother.
Christopher Kenneth Faure the creator of “the porcupine trail walk” at Waterford for leading the hike and giving a lot of information to the kids about cape floral kingdom.
Dominic Taylor for travelling with us the entire trip and filming.
Ginkgo Agency for creating this amazing video.

At Travel Designer we feel so grateful to have got to know these wonderful inspiring children and will never forget the five days we spent together in Cape Town.