DURBAN - 11th Hour Racing has awarded the Sail Africa Youth Foundation R150 000 to fund its continued sustainability efforts and increase the participation of ethnically diverse and women sailors in the province.
This comes after the foundation won the World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Awards Competition at the Royal Yacht Squadron in the UK last year. It was the first time in history an organisation from Africa had won the competition.
The official handover of the Sustainable Award, made from recycled carbon fibre, was held at the Point Yacht Club in Durban on Tuesday.
The foundation’s managing director, Jackie Bernard, said they had never envisaged such an achievement when they started the Sail Africa journey.
He said that without their partnerships they would not be able to offer these opportunities to young people.
“While awards are not the reason for doing things, it is wonderful to receive recognition because it validates what it is we do. We appreciate the warmth with which it was received. Sail Africa has served the community over the years with dedication and vision.”
Bernard said he was grateful to eThekwini Maritime Cluster (EMC) for its contribution to initiating a sailing programme as part of the EMC My Port City Culture Campaign aimed at documenting the culture that is shared between the Port of Durban, civil society and port resident.
The EMC was established in 2009 with the vision to be the centre for sustainability development through maritime knowledge by 2030.
Its mandate is to promote the blue oceans economy, provide a platform for collaborative engagement and form partnerships with organisations that have a common goal to create sustainable development for the youth.
EMC board chairperson Hans Modipane thanked Sail Africa for affording the youth from disadvantaged communities the opportunity to explore sailing.
Modipane said the youth were the torch-bearers of the 2030 Agenda and were the ones who would contribute to achieving the sustainable goals.
He said the EMC would continue to work in collaboration with those entities with an interest in economic development, job creation and youth development.
“I would like to congratulate Sail Africa Youth Development for this deserved award. No nation can sustain itself without the development of its youth.”
Daily News