Johannesburg has become the first African city to host the National Geographic Society’s International Explorers Festival, marking a significant milestone for the global organisation and for African-led exploration.
The 2025 National Geographic International Explorers Festival in Johannesburg/Image: Supplied
Held in mid-January, the festival brought together National Geographic Explorers from more than 15 African countries, alongside educators, researchers, filmmakers and storytellers whose work spans conservation, culture, science and community-driven storytelling.
The focus throughout the week was clear: amplifying African expertise and strengthening connections across the continent.
A week of collaboration, storytelling and shared learning
Opening remarks by National Geographic Society Chief Executive Officer Jill Tiefenthaer/Image: Supplied
The festival unfolded over several days, bringing together three distinct groups of Explorers. A select cohort participated in the Storytellers Collective — a three-day programme designed to help Explorers sharpen how they communicate complex ideas and fieldwork to broader audiences. The programme culminated in a lively Spotlight event, where participants delivered short talks to fellow Explorers and students.
Running alongside this was a Community Training programme, while members of the National Geographic Society’s Southern African Hub gathered for an in-person meet-up focused on collaboration, mentorship and regional priorities.
Much of the week centred on dialogue rather than presentation. More than 20 Explorers took part in an extended workshop that encouraged open debate around shared challenges, cross-border collaboration and what meaningful community-building in African exploration could look like in the years ahead.
Celebrating African voices in exploration
Dominique D’Emille Correia Gonçalves, Terrestrial ecologist and conservationist/Image: Supplied
The festival concluded with the Evening of Exploration, a curated event that celebrated some of Southern Africa’s most compelling voices in science and storytelling. Contributors included ethnobiologist and environmental anthropologist Kerllen Costa; terrestrial ecologist and conservationist Dominique Gonçalves; geologist and speleologist Tebogo Vincent Makhubela; film producer Ntokozo Mbuli; and storyteller Noel Martin Anthony Kok.
Each shared personal insights into their work, offering an honest look at the curiosity, persistence and responsibility that underpin exploration across the continent today.
A milestone moment for African-led exploration
Ntokozo Mbuli is a television and film storyteller and a multi-award-winning factual producer/Image: Supplied
As a global non-profit, the National Geographic Society supports Explorer-led work across land, ocean, wildlife, human history, culture and planetary health. Hosting the International Explorers Festival in Johannesburg underscored the organisation’s commitment to elevating African storytellers, scientists and educators — and to recognising Africa not only as a subject of exploration, but as a leader in it.
By the time the festival came to a close, it was clear that Johannesburg had provided more than just a venue. The city offered a fitting backdrop for a gathering rooted in African talent, imagination and ambition — and signalled a growing confidence in stories shaped and told from the continent itself.
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