The VA TourismPodcast

The Fascinating Africa by Bus Story

In today’s episode, the coordinator of Africa by bus project and lecturer at the University of Johannesburg Maipato Caroline Mmako says the aim of Africa by bus initiative is to expose the University of Johannesburg students to different African countries and cultures.
Maipato Caroline Mmako Lecturer, Coordinator and Learning Development facilitator at the University of Johannesburg. Passionate about student success and advancement, she believes that learning has to happen both inside and outside the classroom and that’s why she jumped on the Africa by Bus initiative and has been the only lecturer to have taken more than 180 students on the Africa by Bus trip. 
I believe that young people deserve the opportunity to travel and see the world, this opens and changes one’s perspective about it. Learning about new cultures and experiencing them allows for our people to be global citizens and more accepting of the differences and similarities we share as people. My favourite say is “if it involves young people, count me in”

Ojimah’s ecosystem of solutions will empower communities and change the dynamics of travel in Africa- Mike Tavares

My Guest today is Mike Tavares, Founder of Ojimah, an African multi-channel online tourism platform. Mike is optimistic that Ojimah’s ecosystem of solutions is poised to empower African communities and change the dynamics of travel worldwide by facilitating a win-win situation for all industry players, travellers, and destinations.
A dynamic, results-oriented leader with a strong track record of performance in Tourism and Hospitality worldwide. Mike is well versed in dealing with multiple stakeholders at the highest level of both industry and government level.
After graduating with a master’s degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management at the University of Coimbra in Portugal, Mike started his career by working for the Portuguese National Tourism Board. Years later, he made his way up to hotel management in brands like Radisson and Intercontinental in the United Kingdom.
Mike then decided to embrace a new challenge and took a new role as Corporate Director of Hotel Operations, being responsible for the operations of the 18 hotels within the portfolio of HCI. With international exposure, Mike and his team created Ojimah, a multichannel platform aimed at developing the economy of Africa through sustainable tourism.
 

CEO of Zimbabwe Tourism Authority Winnie Muchanyuka talks State of Tourism in Zim

On the sidelines of the recently held Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Summit in Windhoek, Namibia I had an exclusive conversation with the newly appointed CEO of Zimbabwe Tourism Authority Winnie Muchanyuka. She talks about the state of tourism in Zimbabwe, the upcoming Sanganai world tourism expo and the industry’s preparedness of the industry as the sector bounces back.

Mice is a driver of talents and a way of spreading knowledge at an inexpensive level- Linda Pereira

My conversation today is about the opportunities that the meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (mice) offer for young people. Dr. Linda Pereira, an industry leader with over 3 decades of experience in business events says mice is a driver of talents and a way of spreading knowledge at an inexpensive level.
ays the MICE masterclass will be a refresher course and a learning curve for practitioners in the industry.
Linda Pereira is the senior partner and CEO of the L&I Communications Group. In addition to her long and respected career as one of the most influential voices in the Meeting Industry, she is also Executive Director of CPL Meetings &Events. Respected internationally as a speaker, consultant, strategic communication expert, writer, and as an educator, she has been an invited speaker in over 149 countries on all continents.
She is an expert in communication and corporate diplomacy and has vast experience in cross-cultural communication strategies, localization, and public speaking and as a master of ceremonies. 
 
She has worked on the major events which marked the last 30 years of modern history, from World EXPOs to Football and Sports Championships, various EU Presidencies, and major political events. She is also an invited lecturer at five different international Universities where she lectures on strategic meetings management and corporate diplomacy and protocol.
She is absolutely passionate about associations and sits on a variety of international association boards herself. Linda is also a consultant to a variety of international Governments and associations. She was considered one of Portugal’s five most influential people in the industry and has received various international education awards as well as the medal of honour for responsible entrepreneurship for her commitment to promoting culture and heritage and for Social Responsibility initiatives. 

Using Gastronomy to empower communities: the story of Chef Fatmata Binta

My Guest today is the Founder of Fulani Kitchen Chef Fatmata Binta. Chef Binta who has become the first African to win the Basque World Culinary Prize opens on her journey to achieving this noble prize in gastronomy and set sights on expansion of her projects aimed to bring change to the people of her community and also help grow the knowledge of African gastronomy in the world.
Founder - Fulani Kitchen Foundation / Executive Chef - Dine on a Mat
Chef Binta is an award winning chef born and raised in Freetown, Sierra Leone to first-generation Sierra Leonean Fulanis of Guinean descent. She is a modern day nomadic chef. Like her ancestors, Binta has traveled to many countries to explore different cooking techniques, ingredients and ways of life. At Fulani Kitchen, she combines her nomadic Fulani roots, classical training and love for rural life and nature to create modern dishes, while maintaining the simplicity and authenticity of Fulani culture.  By creating a traditional setting, discussing Fulani culture and serving ancient grains, indigenous spices and other exciting West-African ingredients in an interactive way, Binta triggers all senses and takes you to a whole new world. 
Food for Sustenance
Her passion to share African nomadic cuisine is based on her experiences as a child growing up during the darkest period of Sierra Leonean history- the civil war. She experienced first hand how food brings people together and pulls down walls. Many times during the conflict no one could go out to buy food or food was simply not available. She saw neighbors from different backgrounds contribute, share and prepare meals together to make something out of nothing.  The rice they could afford was filled with cockroaches which they had to hand pick, repeatedly wash and blend with bulgur in order to get enough to share for everyone. What she calls creating food for sustenance; learning to create totally new dishes with just a handful of ingredients, sharing and working together, was not only a life-saving skill in a war zone, it has actually made her the chef she is today. 
Fulani Cuisine Ambassador
Chef Binta presents herself as an ambassador for Fulani cuisine and she promotes fonio, an ancient super grain, traditionally grown and consumed in West Africa. Over the last couple of years, fonio, as a result of its similarity to quinoa, has gained more attention in international culinary circles. And rightfully so- it’s gluten free, extremely nutritious, requires minimal water to grow, has a shorter life cycle than its similar foods, is more disease and drought resilient and gives back more nutrients to the soil than other staple crops like rice and maize. This little grain might possibly be one of the answers to food security and climate challenges to come. Binta’s menu almost always features this super grain, fonio, as she continues to promote its value to her guests on the mat.

Instagram Teams up with UNWTO to empower Destinations in Tourism Recovery efforts

Following the renewed partnership between Meta and UNWTO and the launch of their latest program dubbed ‘’See the world through my eyes’’ the policy program manager at Instagram Asya  and Elizabeth Instagram‘s manager of politics, government, and civic engagement says  the project is expected to train young people and creators around the world on how they can become tourism ambassadors for their hometowns, and countries using Instagram's smart glasses Technology called Ray-Ban Stories.

Tourism is becoming extremely relevant for young people -UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth

In today’s episode, the United Nations Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth Jayathma Wickramanayake is my Guest. At the recently held Global Youth Tourism Summit in Sorrento, Jayathma implored the youth not to wait to be invited to the table but take the initiatives they feel strongly about it since it’s the surest way to effect change. She applauded the UNWTO for organizing the landmark youth summit.
Ms. Jayathma Wickramanayake was appointed as the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth in June 2017 at the age of 26. She is the youngest senior official in the UN and the first woman to hold this position. In this role, Jayathma works to expand the UN’s youth engagement and advocacy efforts across all four pillars of the organization’s work — sustainable development, human rights, peace and security, and humanitarian action — and serves as a representative of and advisor to the Secretary-General.
In 2019 Jayathma was recognized by Time Magazine as one of the “Time 100 Next: Rising stars shaping the future” and in 2020 she was recognized by Forbes magazine as part of its “30 under 30” list.
 
Originally from Sri Lanka, Ms. Wickramanayake has worked extensively on youth development and participation, including playing a key role in transforming the youth development sector in her home country.
Prior to taking up her post, Ms. Wickramanayake was instrumental in creating the movement for civic and political engagement of young people, especially young women, in Sri Lanka through the “Hashtag Generation” movement. Previously, she advocated for global youth development on an international level including as the first ever Sri Lankan Youth Delegate to the United Nations and as the youth lead negotiator and member of the International Youth Task Force of the World Conference on Youth 2014 where she played a critical role in mainstreaming youth in the Post-2015 Process and in the establishment of World Youth Skills Day.

GYTSers reflect on First Global Youth Tourism Summit

At the recently held first Global Youth Tourism Summit in Sorrento, Italy I sat down with eight delegates who expressed profound appreciation to the UNWTO and its partners for creating a platform to help them understand the issues around tourism, public speaking, and most importantly the simulation of the UN General Assembly. In an enthralling end to  5 memorable days in Sorrento, Gytsers from Spain, Chile, China, Cabo Verde, Cook Island, DR Congo, Seychelles, Ukraine, and Qatar in their languages pledge to stand for sustainable tourism on the podcast