Heading for South Africa (RSIC 2017)

Keynote Speakers 

1.  Mrs Graça Machel

From freedom fighter to first lady – twice! – Graça Machel is an inspiration to women all over the world. Born in 1945 in Mozambique, Graça Machel has led a life committed to the upliftment of Africa and all of its peoples. Mrs Machel grew up in Mozambique and won a scholarship enabling her to study at the University of Lisbon. There she joined FRELIMO, the leading resistance movement opposing colonialism in Mozambique.

Suspecting that she was under surveillance by the Portuguese Secret Police, Mrs Machel fled to Switzerland and then to Tanzania where she underwent military training at a FRELIMO camp. She returned to Mozambique, where she met Samora Machel, a FRELIMO commander who became her husband and later the first President of independent Mozambique.

Mrs Machel is also the only woman in the world to have been married to not only one president but two, as she later wed Nelson Mandela many years after the tragic death of her first husband. In 1975, she was appointed Minister for Education and Culture in Mozambique. During her time in office, she helped raise primary and secondary school enrollment significantly.

Mrs Machel’s involvements and contributions have been far too numerous to list here, but include being President of the National Commission of UNESCO and Chancellor of the University of Cape Town. She is a proud advocate for women’s and children’s rights globally and established the Graça Machel Trust in 2010. Graça Machel is a remarkable woman and world leader.

She is a true inspiration to us all, and has done great honour to our schools and to Round Square by agreeing to be a keynote speaker at this year’s conference in South Africa.

2.  Lorne Sulcas

Lorne Sulcas is a former longtime game ranger and an acclaimed photographer.

He has spent more than two decades studying and photographing Africa’s big cats in the African bushveld. Africa’s three big cats – cheetah, leopard and lion – have a million-year-old proven track record of survival in a wild, fiercely competitive, constantly changing world. In his presentations, Lorne shares the success lessons he has learnt from these potent hunters – lessons of survival and thriving, lessons of growth and leadership and lessons that talk to the importance of synergy and networking in the face of massive challenge and change.

A compelling and passionate speaker, an entertainer and an inspirer, Lorne uses his insights and expert knowledge to share captivating personal stories and experiences with his audiences. His address at the conference will touch on many of the Spirits and the Discoveries that are found in the RS Discovery Framework.

3.  Caleb Swanepoel

Caleb Swanepoel could have given up on life after he lost his right leg during a shark attack‚ but instead he turned the traumatic experience into a career and he is now a South African Adaptive Surfing Champion.

The 22 year-old University of Cape Town Drama Student was body surfing with his brothers on a family holiday in June 2015 when the incident occurred. His brother pulled him from the water and they were assisted on the beach by the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI). Caleb attributes his mom’s support and her outlook on life that “it all depends on you” (IADOY) as the reason that a mere three weeks after his life changed forever, he returned to the water and faced the fear head on. He represented South Africa in the Adaptive Surfing Championships in San Diego and is completing his Drama degree against all odds.

His ability to, quite literally, stand up in the face of adversity and seize the challenge shows true grit and embodies Kurt Hahn’s quote, “There is more in you than you know”

4.  Dr William Fowlds

Dr William Fowlds is a renowned South African wildlife vet and rhino specialist who is passionate about wildlife conservation.

His day job includes darting lions, elephants and antelope, relocating animals to other parts of the reserve, helping injured animals and applying tracking collars to cheetahs.

The current crisis regarding our rhinos has greatly concerned Dr Fowlds. He described seeing rhinos lying helplessly on the ground after poachers had brutally removed bone, skin and horn with either machetes or axes, leaving the rhinos for dead.  His struggle to save these rhino has made headline news around the world. He was interviewed on Sky News, BBC News, CNN and ABC television.

Dr Fowlds dedicates a huge portion of his time championing the plight of the rhino through various initiatives and has raised a great deal of awareness about poaching and the illegal rhino horn trade. He feels strongly that the only way to successfully stop the poaching crisis is to stop the demand for the rhino horn itself.

Dr William Fowlds is an amazing vet doing incredible work to protect rhinos throughout the world. As he says, “tomorrow will simply be too late, we need to stop rhino poaching today”.

Information provided by Mr. Steven Page.