Prince William begins climate-focused trip in SA

Britain’s Prince William began a four-day trip to SA on Monday by meeting young environmentalists and playing rugby with local schoolchildren in Cape Town.

The trip centres on William’s annual Earthshot Prize, which on Wednesday will be awarded to five winners who will receive £1m each to pursue innovative projects addressing environmental issues.

In his first engagement, the 42-year-old prince met with 120 young environmentalists from Africa and Asia who are taking part in a new programme for youth leaders which accompanies the prize.

He then went to a secondary school in the Ocean View township where he participated in a rugby coaching session with the Atlas Foundation, a charity working to address child poverty founded by former English rugby player Jason Leonard.

“Let’s tackle the prince!” several boys yelled gleefully as they grabbed him. Retired SA World Cup winner Tendai Mtawarira, nicknamed “The Beast”, also took part in the coaching session.

William launched the Earthshot Prize in 2020, inspired by a visit to Namibia. Its name is a nod to former US President John F Kennedy’s ambitious “moonshot” project, which led to the 1969 lunar landing.

“By the end of the week, I want the Earthshot Prize to have provided a platform to all those innovators bringing about change for their communities, encouraged potential investors to speed African solutions to scale and inspired young people across Africa who are engaged in climate issues,” he said in a statement ahead of the visit.

The Prince Of Wales is making the trip alone as his wife Kate is still managing a return to work after finishing a course of preventive chemotherapy for cancer.

During his visit, his first to SA since 2010, William will also attend a global wildlife summit and meet President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Reuters