African Travel, Inc. President, Sherwin Banda's Interview with TreadRight Ambassador Celine Cousteau

At African Travel, Inc. we are passionate about conservation and supporting the local communities that we visit. As part of the TTC family of brands, we believe that giving back to communities is as important as showcasing the beauty of Africa to our clients. Our commitment to conservation and sustainable tourism has only been further cemented after my recent visit to the Shamwari Game Reserve. The Shamwar Game Reserve is an example of successful sustainable tourism that is nothing short of inspiring.

This month Céline Cousteau and myself sat down to talk about her passion for the environment, along with her work as an ambassador for The TreadRight Foundation. The TreadRight Foundation, established by The Travel Corporation in 2008, is a not-for-profit working to ensure the environment and communities we visit remain vibrant for generations to come. 

 

Sherwin Banda: What inspires you to keep exploring this planet? 

Céline Cousteau: There is so much to be inspired by on this planet. I feel that being able to explore and gather stories, find their relevance for other people, and bring those stories back will always be the inspiration behind my travels. Travelling has the amazing ability to create a deeper appreciation of the interconnectedness of places and people. It also creates a better understanding of the impact that we have on the planet, not just as travelers but as global citizens.

Sherwin Banda: You are a renowned filmmaker and possess a beautiful gift for storytelling. How do you decide what stories are important to communicate with the world? 

Céline Cousteau: There are three big messages that give me the inspiration and energy to keep storytelling, and help me decide which stories I will tell through my films. The first is that I strive to live a life with purpose, and even at the hardest times, believing in what I am doing and be passionate about it keeps me going. If the story is something that I believe in, I want to pursue it and share it with the world. Secondly, I strive to inspire other people by being an example, which means finding the stories and people that are doing amazing things to make a difference on this planet, and bring attention to them, creating local ambassadors of travelers and guests alike. Even if the story I tell changes the life and actions of a single person, it matters. That is the third and probably most important message - every little bit matters. When I see the efforts of people around the world improving humanitarian or environmental situations, it gives me hope which is something I anticipate will resonate with people through my films and stories. 

Sherwin Banda: What’s your next adventure?

Céline Cousteau: This summer, we officially begin the inaugural session of The Céline Cousteau Film Fellowship, an academic leadership program I’ve created currently in partnership with the University of California, Santa Barbara. We’ll be traveling with four fellows on a documentary field expedition to Namibia and will be focusing on the human elements that impact wildlife conservation.

I’ll be following that up with time in South Africa visiting with some of our TreadRight Wildlife Initiative partners, looking to share their stories. This includes a visit to Bushmans Kloof, an important wilderness reserve that is also home to more than 130 sites of bush art paintings, some dating back as far as 10,000 years.

Sherwin Banda: What about the TreadRight Foundation resonated with you and convinced you to become its Ambassador? 

Céline Cousteau: I became a member of the TreadRight Steering Committee in 2012, helping to source and select the projects that TreadRight supports. From there, it was a very natural and organic next step to becoming the TreadRight Ambassador, as it allowed me to further support TreadRight by taking my storytelling abilities to help share the message about the foundation and their project partners’ work to travelers. This role really gives me an incredible outreach opportunity to tell stories to anyone that is paying attention to what travel companies are doing when it comes to local and sustainable initiatives.

Sherwin Banda: Having traveled the globe extensively, in your view what is the greatest environmental challenge of our time? 

Céline Cousteau: The greatest environmental challenge we are facing right now is the future of human behavior and consciousness. My fear is that we aren’t going to react and act in time. We need to listen as a global community, be conscious that every choice matters, and understand that whatever happens to the environment will happen to us. We all have a common stake in the health of our planet. Hopefully, the work of humanitarians and non-profits will inspire more people to think and believe they are an integral part of the environment, and work towards sustaining our planet for generations to come.

Sherwin Banda: Africa offers a plethora of exciting experiences for environmental enthusiasts. What is your favorite African destination? 

Céline Cousteau: I’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunity to see much of the world, but explorers are never done exploring and I’m excited that I still have so much of Africa to experience, beginning with Namibia and South Africa this summer, for a pair of projects, the first of which is for The Céline Cousteau Film Fellowship, and the second for TreadRight.