Prince William today told young environmentalists that they are ‘going to change the world’ as he stepped out for his first outing on a four-day tour of South Africa.
The Prince of Wales encouraged the 120 youngsters participating in the inaugural Earthshot Prize Climate Leaders Youth Programme during an off-the-cuff speech.
William earlier arrived in Cape Town on a commercial flight, determined to put the strains of the last year behind him and focus on his fight against climate change.
The future king, whose father King Charles and wife the Princess of Wales have both faced cancer battles this year, was always determined to attend his Earthshot Prize if their health allowed.
And he has built in a four-day programme of engagements around Wednesday’s high-profile global environmental awards to make the most of his time in the city.
William will meet a wide range of communities to explore issues important to them, and will learn more about work in the region to protect local biodiversity.
Today, William spoke at the Rooftop on Bree in Cape Town to youngsters from across Africa and South East Asia.
After talking with the group about their ideas to tackle climate issues which included a business making handbags out of old tyres, the Prince said: ‘The Earthshot Prize believes in you and the reason we set the prize up is for moments like this.
‘All of you in this room are future change makes, you’re the leaders, you’re the people going to make the difference going forwards. It’s your platform, use it as you need to, take it away, play with it, turn it into something different.
‘Because we believe in you and what you’re going to do is change the world, I really believe that. This is the generation that are going to do that.
‘And your solutions and your impact are so important and so needed right now. This is not noble, this is business and what you’re doing is creating solutions and a better life for all of us. Keep it going, keep the energy up.’
Throughout the week, the attendees are taking part in immersive masterclasses designed to develop their skills in leadership, storytelling and networking around taking action on climate issues, and opening doors for them to secure future internships and jobs.
It comes after the Earthshot Prize announced a series of programmes designed to inspire and engage children and young people from the age of five to join the movement helping to fix the planet.
The new initiatives include Project Slingshot, which will launch in partnership with National Geographic, aimed at challenging youngsters aged 13 to 18 to come up with solutions for the most pressing environmental issues.
Throughout the week William will be wearing and showcasing sustainable clothing. His shirt at the first engagement was by Spanish brand ECOALF, along with a matching blue and green bracelet.
Later, joining a group outside against a backdrop of Table Mountain, William was introduced to budding designer Xolile Mabuza.
When she explained that her business, Tendalo Trading, makes handbags from rubber tubes, including car tyres, the Prince responded as he felt the material: ‘You’re joking? That’s an old car tyre, that’s incredible, look at that.’
‘How much connection to the fashion world do you have? Because they would love you. We need to work on that,’ William said, as the group cheered.
After working his way around the room, there was time for a group selfie, with William enthusing in a social media message that he was ‘already feeling inspired.’
Before his arrival, William said: ‘Africa has always held a special place in my heart – as somewhere I found comfort as a teenager, where I proposed to my wife and most recently as the founding inspiration behind the Earthshot Prize.’
The Prince was pictured arriving at Cape Town Airport today after flying in from London.
Tomorrow he is set to make a landmark speech on nature, the environment and his support for wildlife rangers at the 2024 United for Wildlife Global Showcase.
He will also meet with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa this week, as well as take to the water with a local rescue organisation and meet park rangers and fishermen.
But the focus of his visit is Wednesday’s Earthshot Prize, which will be held in a reusable eco ‘super dome’ in the city and feature a ‘green carpet’.
It will be hosted by American actor and singer Billy Porter and South African television presenter Bonang Matheb.
Model and television host Heidi Klum and supermodel Winnie Harlow will be among the guest award presenters.
The awards will go out live across Africa and available to view in the UK on BBC iPlayer.
Five winners are chosen from five ‘Earthshots’: Protect and Restore Nature, Clean Our Air, Revive Our Oceans, Build a Waste-Free World and Fix Our Climate.
This year’s entrants range from a company which has developed sustainable refrigeration to another that removes harmful CO2 from the Ocean, and one that uses palm oil waste to make a sustainable leather alternative.
Each winner receives £1million in prize money to help develop and scale-up their idea and as well access to a global network of mentors.
‘Unlike most prizes, we don’t give awards to people for what they have already achieved. We award for the future potential of their solutions,’ said Earthshot chief executive Hannah Jones.
Ms Jones also said Earthshot Week is ‘dedicated to celebrating environmental innovation, speeding solutions to scale, and inspiring young people to put their time and talent to fixing the planet one solution at a time’ and ‘represents over a year and half of working in the continent with our partners and stakeholders’.
The concept was devised by William and his team after the Prince expressed his frustration at the level of ‘pessimism and despair’ around the environment and climate crisis.
He decided to highlight and expand positive and innovative solutions to the problem with Earthshot, billed as ‘the most ambitious environmental prize in history’.
This year’s event is said to ‘go above and beyond’ anything he has done before.
Africa is a particularly emotive location for William, who found ‘healing’ on the continent following the death of his mother Diana, Princess of Wales. He also proposed to his wife in Kenya.
But Africa is also the continent that, while contributing least to global warming and having the lowest global emissions, is more adversely affected by the impact of climate change than any other.