The Slow Fund is proud to support World Land Trust in their efforts to protect the world’s most biologically significant and threatened habitats.

Protecting the World’s Most Threatened Habitats with World Land Trust 

Butterfield &amp; Robinson has partnered with <a href="https://www.worldlandtrust.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">World Land Trust</a>, pledging US$50,000 per year for the following three years to their '<a href="https://www.worldlandtrust.org/appeals/buy-an-acre/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Buy an Acre</a>' program, supporting the purchase and protection of some of the world’s most threatened habitats and the wildlife and local communities that depend on them.&nbsp; Photo Credit:Wetland restoration at the Guapi Assu Reserve in Brazil via WLT/Kirsty BurgessValcheta Stream, Somuncura Plateau via Fundacion Somuncura

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World Land Trust (WLT) is an international conservation charity that protects the world’s most biologically significant and threatened habitats. Working through a network of partner organizations around the world, WLT funds the creation of reserves and provides permanent protection for habitats and wildlife. Partnerships are developed with established and highly respected local organizations who engage support and commitment among the local community.  

As part of our Slow Fund, B&R has partnered with African Parks, pledging US$50,000 per year to specific parks across Africa for the following three years, commencing 2022.  

Conserving Species & Iconic Landscapes Across Africa with African Parks 

<a href="https://www.africanparks.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">African Parks</a> is a non-profit conservation organization that takes on direct responsibility for the rehabilitation and long-term management of protected areas in partnership with governments and local communities. African Parks was founded in 2000 in response to the crisis facing Africa's protected areas. Their vision is to effectively manage Africa's protected areas and national parks on behalf of governments to benefit wildlife and local communities.&nbsp;&nbsp;Their business model created a new paradigm for conservation, playing a major role across the continent in helping African governments turn their failing parks into ecological, socio-political, and economic strongholds for their countries. It's a solution to one of Africa's most pressing challenges. In 20 years, they've built the largest and most ecologically diverse portfolio of parks of any one organization in Africa. With 19 parks in 11 countries spanning more than 36 million acres, their footprint is the equivalent of half of the land in the US National Parks system.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h3>Akagera National Park, Rwanda: 2022 Project Support</h3>Our nominated park for 2022 was <a href="https://www.africanparks.org/the-parks/akagera" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Akagera National Park</a>, Rwanda. Akagera is Central Africa's largest protected wetland and Rwanda's last remaining savannah ecosystem. It is, therefore, the only protected area in Rwanda suitable and prepared to sustain black rhino and lion populations. 20 years ago, it was on the verge of being lost forever. Following the 1994 genocide, Akagera was a depleted landscape overrun by more than 30,000 cattle. In 2010, African Parks assumed management of Akagera in partnership with the Rwanda Development Board, shifting the park's trajectory. In just five years, poaching was mostly eliminated, and over two decades experienced a dramatic transformation and remarkable revival. Wildlife populations have increased by 48% since 2010, among them 43 lions and 28 black rhinos.&nbsp;&nbsp;The park also offers a secure and healthy ecosystem that can one day be a stronghold for black rhinos and contribute to the conservation of the species on a regional level as a source of individuals and genetics for rewilding and reinforcing populations in other areas. Before the pandemic, when the park took a hard hit on its tourism revenues, Akagera was well on its way to becoming African Parks' first financially self-sustainable park. The park remains an inspiring conservation story that will enthral us for years to come with every re-introduction.&nbsp;&nbsp;Akagera National Park is often included as an extension when planning a&nbsp;<a href="https://butterfield.com/trip/bespoke/rwanda-bespoke" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rwanda Bespoke</a>&nbsp;trip.<h3>Matusadona National Park, Zimbabwe: 2023 Project Support&nbsp;</h3>Our nominated park for 2023 is Matusadona National Park in Zimbabwe, featured on our <a href="https://butterfield.com/trip/scheduled/zimbabwe-conservation-safari" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Zimbabwe Conservation Safari</a>.Photography credit: Akagera National Park, Rwanda © Scott Ramsay / Giraffe in Akagera National Park, Rwanda © Marcus Westberg

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Recognizing the impact the pandemic has had on conservation funding across Africa, which has historically relied heavily on tourism, B&R has partnered with African Parks, pledging US$50,000 per year to specific parks across Africa for the following three years. 

The Slow Fund helps to support Kuska School, an alternative educational initiative in Ollantaytambo, Peru, where education, community and an appreciation for Mother Nature are fostered.

Scholarship Fund with Kuska School

As the only local education offering in rural Ollantaytambo, the school utilizes the multi-cultural environment to nurture individual creativity for local children. The curriculum focuses on developing each child at their own pace.Kuska School offers a multi-grade educational environment, accommodation for visiting guest teachers, and a fully organic farm.

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The Kuska School is an alternative educational initiative in Ollantaytambo, Peru, where education, community and an appreciation for Mother Nature are fostered. While monthly enrollment fees are manageable for some families, equal opportunity for education is bolstered through a community scholarship fund, which B&R is helping to support until 2024. This means that families who cannot afford to send their children to the Kuska School can still enroll their children in classes alongside their peers. The Slow Fund has committed funding over three years (inception 2022) of $8,000 per annum.

WOWNature is a reforestation project in the Alta Badia, aiming to restore the century-old forests that incurred significant damage following Storm Vaia in 2018. 

Replanting Trees in the Dolomites with WOWNature

This ongoing reforestation project with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wownature.eu/en/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(112, 178, 196);">WOWNature</a>&nbsp;aims to visit Alta Badia for tree planting days and to create a “food forest,” where visitors can forage naturally growing herbs and berries in the area. Continuing to plant new trees and adopt adult trees so they are protected in all phases of life is essential for the preservation of this beautiful area in the Italian Alps. The food forest development will eventually lead chefs from local hotels and restaurants to forage ingredients for their own menus, creating a truly unique kilometre zero approach to the Slow Food movement that the region is famous for.

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Eco-sustainability and environmental protection are innate values of the people living in the Alta Badia region of the Dolomites. WOWNature is a reforestation project in the Alta Badia, aiming to restore the century-old forests that incurred significant damage following Storm Vaia in 2018. The Slow Fund has helped plant 100 trees in the Alta Badia through B&R sponsorship and has committed funding over three years of $3,000 per annum. In 2022, the aim of the project has been to adopt adult trees to improve existing food forests, where chefs from nearby restaurants can forage for their ingredients. 

Nimaida Noboru is the sole rice farmer of the all-but-abandoned site in Ozuchi, Japan. The Slow Fund supports Nimaida in his rice production practices and educates visitors on traditional Japanese farming.

Rice Production with Ozuchi Village

Nestled in the Noto mountains, the remote village of Ozuchi is true preservation of historic, rural Japan.&nbsp;The Slow Fund supports Nimaida’s efforts and rice production practices and has included a stop at Ozuchi on our Japan Walking trip.

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Nimaida Noboru is the sole rice farmer and caretaker of an all-but-abandoned site in Ozuchi, Japan. He returned to the village where he was raised to tend to his family’s land. Throughout the year, Nimaida welcomes agriculture students, volunteers, and tour groups to learn about how he helps preserve the heritage of the land. In helping Nimaida develop this visitors program, the Slow Fund supports Ozuchi and educates visitors on traditional Japanese farming. The Slow Fund has donated $5,000 per annum to support Nimaida-San’s endeavours.

As part of B&R’s commitment to reversing global biodiversity loss, we are supporting a number of projects over the coming decade with a focus on conservation research, restoration or protection of ecosystems.

Wolverine Research in the Columbia Mountains

Wolverine are legendary characters in wilderness tales, ferocious and relentless. They can take down a moose, and stand down a grizzly bear in a fight over a carcass. They’ll raid trapper’s cabins and steal from the trapline. They’ll run up a mountain summit like it was flat ground. They live in cold, snowy, inhospitable mountain and arctic environments. They seem unstoppable.But they have a sensitive side too.They need those cold snowy environments to store food and make dens. On a large scale, they are at risk of shrinking habitats due to climate change.&nbsp;Wolverine are also vulnerable to human disturbance on a smaller scale, especially around maternal denning areas.&nbsp;Just one person on skis can cause the female to abandon her den, and seek out a more secure location for her kits.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h3>Wolverine Dens</h3>Wolverine dens are holes in deep snow, often under a large boulder or deadfall, near treelines in roadless valleys. If wolverine aren’t disturbed, the female will use a den or series of dens in the same vicinity year after year, and her daughters, or unrelated females, will use it again when she is gone. These areas are important for wolverine populations to maintain a presence on the landscape, but there have only been a handful of dens found in BC and not much more in the rest of North America.&nbsp;With the increasing popularity of backcountry skiing, heliskiing and snowmobiling, and new logging roads that provide access into previously unvisited valleys, the amount of undisturbed habitat is shrinking rapidly.<h3>Drones in the Columbia Mountains</h3>Our project uses non-invasive methods like; snow tracking, citizen science, aerial surveys, remote cameras and drone photography to locate wolverine denning areas so they can be protected from disturbance at critical times of the year; between February and May. A concentration of wolverine tracks in snow indicates that a wolverine has been staying in the same area for an extended period. They don't tend to stick around one spot unless they are taking care of babies. If we find a concentration of tracks, we can fly the area with a drone and take photos without getting too close to the den ourselves.&nbsp;But it's not easy.<h3>Wolverine Watch</h3>In southeastern British Columbia, there are approximately 2 wolverine per 1000 km2 of rugged mountain terrain. That’s an area about the size of Rome.It takes a lot of searching to find wolverine tracks. In addition to our own surveys, we use citizen science; asking ordinary folk who are out in the snowy mountains working or recreating to keep an eye out for wolverine or wolverine tracks. This puts a lot of extra eyes on the ground! People can report their sightings to <a href="https://www.wolverinewatch.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">wolverinewatch.org&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;This is also a handy site for learning about what wolverine tracks look like and other related conservation research. Wolverine are among the most mysterious and elusive mammals around and citizen science observations have helped us locate 9 new denning areas so far! It’s a great way for non-scientists to become involved in wildlife research and make a big contribution to wildlife conservation.&nbsp;&nbsp;If you’d like to explore the wilderness British Columbia offers, <a href="https://www.butterfield.com/start-planning" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reach out to Tom Abraham</a>, our Experience Designer for the region.&nbsp;&nbsp;Written by researcher Andrea Kortello&nbsp;

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As part of B&R’s commitment to reversing global biodiversity loss, we are supporting a number of projects over the coming decade with a focus on conservation research, restoration or protection of ecosystems. The wolverine research project uses innovative non-invasive methods to study this elusive animal in south-eastern BC and ensures that research is guiding species management and conservation in the region. The Slow Fund has committed funding over three years (inception 2022) of CAD5,000 per annum.

The Slow Fund is proud to support the preservation of culture and traditional arts in the Basque region in partnership with the Musika Etxea Academia Municipal de Folklore.

Commissioning New Instruments for Musika Etxea

The academy is dedicated to teaching traditional Basque music and dance just north of Rioja. Through concerts and Agurra dancing, the school has kept this slice of Basque heritage (from instruments to attire) alive throughout the city with its performances.B&amp;R’s travellers in the Rioja&nbsp;region are often treated to a private performance of traditional Basque music and dance.

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Focused on preserving the culture of traditional arts in the Basque region, the Musika Etxea Academia Municipal de Folklore is an important organization in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. The Slow Fund supported the commissioning of new instruments for the Academia Municipal de Folklore, and the teaching of students on performing traditional Txalaparta, Alboka and Txirula music.

#BIKEYGEES e.V is a Berlin-based project that offers cycling training for refugee women, in turn developing their cycling skills as a sustainable approach to personal empowerment. 

Fostering Freedom Through Mobility in Berlin with #BIKEYGEES e.V.

<a href="https://bikeygees.org/en/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BIKEYGEES</a> training sessions include practical cycling experience, multilingual traffic lessons and the basics of bike repair. So far, the project has helped over 1,200 women and girls learn how to ride a bike through training sessions at selected refugee shelters across Berlin and surrounding Brandenburg. All the trainers and volunteers are women, ensuring a safe space for all participants. Aside from the skills developed through the training, the sessions build confidence, connection, independence and the JOY of cycling!&nbsp;

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#BIKEYGEES e.V is an inspiring story of hope and empowerment. Now in its seventh year, the Berlin-based project offers cycling training for refugee women and is open to all women and girls interested in developing their cycling skills as a sustainable approach to personal empowerment. Their work centres around the belief that mobility, through cycling, is a fundamental step towards independence and empowerment for refugee women and girls. B&R is proud to support these remarkable women through the Slow Fund, committing funding of US$10,000 per annum to their work. Grant commencement 2021 through to 2023.

The Slow Fund supports EFA, a foundation that helps young women from the Imlil Valley in Morocco pursue their studies up through high school and go on to study at University.

Empowering Female Education with Education For All

In the High Atlas region of Morocco, more than 70% of young women have no access to education due to the vast distance to the closest school, high cost for transportation and the likelihood that family funds are often allocated to their male siblings instead.EFA has established five houses that provide lodging, meals and education to support nearby communities. Butterfield &amp; Robinson sponsors three young women, allowing them to live at these houses, receive education and nurture their spirit of togetherness and learning.In getting to know these women, they have shared their aspirations with us. They include becoming an engineer to build schools and hospitals, studying architecture abroad, and studying medicine to become a surgeon.Their stories inspire us, as they speak of representing females in male-dominated industries and the importance of supporting each other and the communities they come from.

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Education For All is a foundation that helps young women from the Imlil Valley in Morocco pursue their studies up through high school and go on to study at University. The Slow Fund committed a total of $6,969 in funding during 2019 and 2020. 

The Slow Fund is proud to support the Ujubee project, a conservation effort focused on recording scientific data on wild honeybee populations in South Africa.

Supporting Research With Ujubee Project

This provides an opportunity to study their natural habitat and behaviour, contributing valuable research that can help honeybee populations around the globe.In turn, Ujubee can take steps in order to protect the delicate biomes where these bees live, ensuring both the survival of the bees and the range of species their pollination helps to maintain—specifically, the fynbos region of South Africa, which is the smallest and most diverse floral kingdom in the world.When possible, we bring our travellers through these areas in the Western and Eastern Cape, led by an ecologist to explain the importance of biodiversity and habitat conservation.

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The Ujubee project is a conservation effort focused on recording scientific data on wild honeybee populations in South Africa. Unlike many parts of the world where bee populations are managed by humans and live in manufactured hives, South Africa is home to honeybee populations where 80% remain wild and an integral part of their habitat’s ecosystem. The Slow Fund has committed a total of $7,500 in funding for 2019 and 2020

This is the story of Two Fires: a social enterprise for Rwandan creatives and the opening of a new photography gallery in Musanze, the country’s gorilla-viewing hub.

Launching a Social Enterprise in Rwanda During a Global Pandemic 

<a href="https://www.twofirescreativegroup.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Two Fires Gallery</a> acts as a bridge to communicate the stories of local Rwandan artists with visitors respectfully and provides a space for photographers to visually illustrate the social issues in Rwanda. This allows international guests to have an authentic exchange and be truly connected to the people of Rwanda, as not many travellers who visit the country have the opportunity to learn about the deeper issues that Rwanda faces and interact with the local community outside of gorilla trekking. To learn more about the inception of the gallery, <a href="https://www.butterfield.com/get-inspired/launching-a-social-enterprise-in-rwanda-the-story-of-two-fires" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">click here</a>.

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Two Fires Gallery is a small photography gallery nestled in Musanze, Rwanda's gorilla-viewing hub. The gallery is dedicated to providing a physical space for emerging East African photographers and local community members to share their work and tell the stories of Rwanda through photography and digital storytelling workshops. This year's Slow Fund grant is going towards producing a 4-5 day digital storytelling workshop for women affected by gender-based violence in Rwanda. The workshop will be facilitated online by the Story Centre in Berkley and build in-house capacity for the Two Fires Creative Group at the same time. Part of this year's grant will also go towards supporting a Rwandan female photographer's creative journey: producing, printing and exhibiting a story at the Musanze gallery. 

As part of our Slow Fund, B&R has teamed up with World Monuments Fund (WMF), the non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and protecting endangered ancient and historic sites around the world.

Preserving the Angkor Park with World Monuments Fund

B&amp;R’s values are exceptionally well aligned with the philosophy and goals of the WMF: we genuinely believe in and practice the virtues and benefits of responsible and sustainable tourism; we have immense respect for the places we travel and the people we meet; we believe in going in deep and off the beaten path to reveal the true character of a destination; and we know firsthand that by sharing our passion with our travellers we can send them home more enlightened, enlivened and educated than when they left.

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We’re thrilled to be the official travel partner of the World Monuments Fund (WMF), the non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and protecting endangered ancient and historic sites around the world. Working with the WMF, we've been able to craft trips that feature behind-the-scenes tours and insider access to some of the world’s most treasured sites. The Slow Fund committed $20,500 of funding during 2019 and 2020.

The Slow Fund is proud to support Salarte in their aim to restore, conserve and revitalize one of the most iconic saltpans of Cádiz: Balbanera.

Restoring Critical Saltpans in Andalucía with Salarte

The objective of the funding supplied by the Slow Fund in 2022 is to restore, conserve and revitalize one of the most iconic saltpans of Cádiz: Balbanera. <a href="https://salarte.org/en/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);">Salarte</a> aims to create and maintain a dynamic space that generates ecological, socioeconomic, and environmental prosperity for this wetland.It will show how conversation and the green economy can work hand in hand through gastronomy, tourism, and wetland farming. In addition to enhancing biodiversity, it will generate multiple associated benefits in terms of the creation of income, wealth and employment based on endogenous resources, with the premise of the sustainability of the actions that are proposed to ensure low environmental impact.B&amp;R is proud to support Salarte as part of the Slow Fund’s mission to help people and nature thrive in harmony.&nbsp;

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The Association for the Land Stewardship and the Recovery of the Salt Marsh (SALARTE) is a private non-profit organization founded in 2012 that works on the recovery, management and enhancement of coastal saltpans, conservation of biodiversity and the promotion of local employment upon endogenous resources. This association was born from the urgent need to restore and “awaken” ancient living territories, once a source of wealth and social cultural pride of Cadiz, previously abandoned. Salarte’s goal is to  serve as an example of the importance of engaging civil society in the restoration of a natural habitat through “territory stewardship”, and to prove that its active management generates environmental and social benefits. Salarte seeks to reproduce the model of management of living territories through stewardship, counting on the support of environmental managers, technicians, companies, entities, institutions and administration.

The Slow Fund is proud to invest in the female guide training program through a partnership with The African Bush Camps Foundation. B&R has committed to sponsoring two female guides per year for three years.

Supporting Gender Equality in the Safari Industry

In November 2021, the African Bush Camps Foundation launched a female safari guide project that is targeted at creating job opportunities for local women. The project aims to develop female safari guides through skills training, mentorship, job shadowing and rotations at African Bush Camps lodges. The response was overwhelming with 350 applicants but only 5 positions were available for the first intake. The training is a two-year program that will provide theory, practical and on-the-job training at ABC camps as a safari guide.&nbsp;&nbsp;This program will allow the new recruits to gain significant professional experience in travel and tourism, as well as hospitality. Once the training is complete the female guides will be experts in wildlife, conservation, safe practices, photography, natural history, tracking, communication, and patience! The female guides will join the renowned team of professional guides at African Bush Camps, who are an integral part of the safari experience.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Slow Fund is proud to invest in the female guide training program through a partnership with The African Bush Camps Foundation. B&amp;R has committed to sponsoring two female guides per year for three years, commencing in mid-2022. You can meet the trainee female guides during a stay at African Bush Camps Linyanti or Khwai properties, which we love to include when planning a <a href="https://www.butterfield.com/trip/bespoke/botswana-bespoke" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bespoke Botswana trip</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;In 2023, the female guide training program is rolling out in Zambia, restricted to only 10 applicants, and only three new trainees will be selected. B&amp;R's 2023 Slow Fund sponsorship will go to two new Zambian trainee guides, who will commence their 2-year safari guide training in March.<h3>About African Bush Camps Foundation</h3><a href="https://www.africanbushcampsfoundation.org/focus-area/projects/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The African Bush Camps Foundation</a> is a registered non-profit organization that has been in operation since 2006. The Foundation’s mission is to partner with communities that are located near our camps to improve quality of life and achieve long-term conservation through programs focusing on Education, Community Empowerment, and Conversation.&nbsp;We have projects running in Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Botswana that focus on addressing challenges that include unemployment, food scarcity, poor education and healthcare infrastructure, low school attendance and dropouts due to financial constraints, wildlife poaching, and preserving natural resources.&nbsp;

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Safari guiding across Africa is predominantly a male-dominated space. In Botswana over 90% of safari guides are men. Women in the region do not have access to the same career paths that tourism offers to their male counterparts. To date, there has been little active or ongoing investment, training and skills development in female guides that would empower them to pursue their dreams, open new career choices and provide for their families. The notable exception is Chobe Game Lodge with an all-female guide team, the Chobe Angels.  

Discover the incredible power of music in the fight for human rights with WE ARE NOT AFRAID, a captivating documentary co-directed by Janie Cole and Shameela Seedat.

Exploring the Power of Music with Music Beyond Borders

Set against the historical context of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle, <a href="https://www.musicbeyondborders.net/#page-section-72" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WE ARE NOT AFRAID</a> explores music’s critical role as a force for resistance and survival in the apartheid prisons, especially at the maximum-security prison on Robben Island, where activists including Nelson Mandela were imprisoned from the early 1960s onwards and at Number 4 women’s jail at the Old Fort in Johannesburg.&nbsp;&nbsp;Through torture, harrowing prison conditions and abuse, black music performance provided resistance, critique, community, communication, therapy, memory and identity for political prisoners, uniting an oppressed people against a common enemy. Night and day, political prisoners sang whatever was in their defiant hearts through torture, despair and hope, and united as one they could not be defeated. Women’s narratives and songs expose the deadly gender-based violence that underlay structures of state violence and express their fight against both racial and gender oppression and dehumanizing prison experiences, which differed sharply to a male-centred struggle world.&nbsp;&nbsp;Through these remarkable resilient individuals, testimonies and music, the film touches on broader questions about cultural expression as advancing social change and the uses of music by individuals suffering and protesting the violation of human rights under oppressive patriarchal regimes at the intersections of music, resilience, power, violence, gender, race, trauma and human rights.&nbsp;Dr. Janie Cole collaborates with B&amp;R on Bespoke trips to South Africa and offers unique, private lecture experiences in her <a href="https://www.musicbeyondborders.net/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Music Beyond Borders</a> “Travels in Sound” series, including “Robben Island, Mandela and the Story of Music in the Apartheid Prisons” to travellers.

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Discover the incredible power of music in the fight for human rights during apartheid in South Africa with WE ARE NOT AFRAID, a captivating documentary co-directed by Janie Cole and Shameela Seedat. This inspiring film, set for release in 2023, delves into the lives of former political prisoners and how they used music as a tool for resistance. The Slow Fund contributed US$10,000 to the development phase of the film project in 2019, enabling the completion of critical interviews with former political prisoners. The Slow Fund further supported the film's completion with a contribution of $15,000 towards the budget, and we're deeply honoured to be associated with this important work.

Protecting the World’s Most Threatened Habitats with World Land Trust

The Initiatives