Traveler's Philanthropy

"Balancing the needs of the African safari guest with those of impoverished communities"

James Currie

James Currie has many years experience in the wildlife tourism and conservation non-profit arenas. He is an expert in the field of sustainable development and holds a Bachelor's Degree in African Languages and a Masters degree in Sustainable Environmental Management. His research papers and published articles have focused on the relationships between rural communities,conservation and tourism. From 2004-2007 James worked as the Managing Director of Africa Foundation, a non-profit organization that directs its efforts towards the upliftment of communities surrounding conservation areas in Africa. In addition to his passion for community development, James has led professional wildlife and birding tours for over 12 years. He is a fully qualified wildlife guide in South Africa and worked as a senior ranger for CC Africa's Phinda Private Game Reserve for three years. James'spassion for birding, wildlife and remote cultures has taken him to the Ecuadorian Amazon, Fiji, Australia, North America, Europe, Madagascar and Costa Rica. He has contributed to several publications, including the acclaimed Southern African Birdfinder. James has recently immigrated to the United States with his family and currently resides in West Palm Beach, Florida where he works as the Brand Ambassador for Conservation Corporation Africa (CC Africa).

Discover Africa March 2008

A stunning menu featuring African cuisine in Seattle, unique setting at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles, lions roaring at the Zoo in Phoenix and drummers drumming at the Rocky Mountain show – each venue had it's own special ambiance and all had spectacularly successful shows. This year we returned to the round table format as requested at the National Forum. Each vendor had 5 minutes to chat at the tables of agents and they rotated so each vendor got to present to all agents attending.

Seattle?s keynote speaker was Moses ole Kinayia. He addressed the current situation in Kenya and some of the underlying history.

James Currie of CC Africa spoke at Los Angeles, Phoenix and Denver. His discussion of "Traveler's Philanthropy" was both informative and revealing. He outlined some of the distinctions between helpful, effective philanthropy and potentially harmful, though well intended generosity. He provided us with guidelines to help educate ourselves and our clients so that we can better recognize positive ways to contribute to local projects in Africa.

South African Airways donated agent/companion tickets from US Gateways to South Africa to be drawn at each venue. Here are the winners:

• Pacific Northwest – Clinton Kallock
  
  
• Arizona – Shirley Driggs
  
  
• Rocky Mountain – Kay Quinn
  
  
• Kenya Airways also donated Agent tickets from London to Nairobi. Here are those winners:
  
  
• Pacific Northwest – John Moore
  
  
• Arizona – David Isquith
  
  
• Rocky Mountain – Darlene Goman.
  

The names of Los Angeles winners were not available at time of writing.

On behalf of the Executive Board and the APTA Corporate Membership, thanks to the Host Chapters for all the time and energy that goes into these events.

Beth Lincoln
Executive Director for Discover Africa