Youth Workshops

Tourism stakeholders have a custodian duty to lay down roots for new fruits in the next generation.  It is our obligation to assist development by positioning youth at the heart of tourism advancement.

‘The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate action of its members’.  Coretta Scott King.

Here is more insight into the School Tourism Workshops we have run over the past years.  Since 2022 we connected with and inspired over 3 500 school learners in Khayelitsha, Guguletu, Mitchells Plein, Hanover Park, Hout Bay, Woodstock and other areas.

During some of the gloomiest days in 2021 we developed a collaborative programme to help Grade 11 tourism learners better understand the dynamics of our industry beyond textbooks and assessments.  It was our desire to inspire with good news and real-life stories directly from tourism stakeholders, to give learners resources and ignite a passion for further studies with the view to eventually joining our tourism community.  During the process we learnt that some tourism teachers have not been on a tour and there is a desperate need to give both teachers and learners more practical understanding.  

Our pilot programme with a school in Pinelands resulted in grade 11 and 12 learners from all three high schools attending our event in April 2021.  We invited tourism colleagues to speak about their experience and practical day-to-day engagement and give some attention to their own business at a mini-expo which ran alongside panel discussions.  

This format was adapted for a series of school workshops that followed to fit in with the school day and run as a Q&A panel discussion with guideline questions whilst encouraging active participation from learners.

It is our experience that learners are eager to hear from tourism people, asking questions relating to entrepreneurship and job opportunities are often posed.   Aristotle said ‘educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all’.  That about sums it up - tourism people have heart and that is exactly how we navigated the lockdown and following years by helping one another and more importantly by sharing our knowledge and enthusiasm with the next tourism community waiting in the wings.

It is both humbling and inspiring to be part of this initiative, guiding teenagers to take up the baton for tourism.   

If you would like to know more about this project or explore opportunities to participate, please reach out to Lindsey Gibaud at lindsey@bigtreemarketing.co.za.