By Adam Wakefield

It was at the Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff, on Tuesday, 15 November in Johannesburg that Knell addressed a gathering of media, invited guests and persons associated with the society about what it has achieved since its founding, and the critical time in which we live today.

Knell said he first came to South Africa 22 years ago, and having visited on a number of occasions since, loves the country and “all the creative people who are here today”.

“I wanted to walk you through where National Geographic is today, and maybe inspire you to think in new and different ways,” Knell said.

National Geographic, currently 128 years old, was founded on the belief that science and exploration can change the world. Nowadays, the planet finds itself in “an incredibly urgent time” where it was filling up with people. Expected to top nine billion people in 2050, Knell said that 1.2 billion of that global population will come from Africa alone.

“There are babies born in Africa every minute today,” he noted.

The society’s role is to assist in funding scientific tours, and shedding a light on the work those tours do, advancing our understanding of some of “those critical issues we are talking about”.

Even though the National Geographic Society is an NGO, since its founding it has been one of the leading donors of expeditions for over 100 years. Among those funded included the discovery of Machu Picchu, work done by renowned anthropologists and primatologists Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall, and most recently the work done by Lee Berger around the discovery of Homo Naledi here in South Africa.

“That is exactly what we have done. We have been able to invest in people like Jane. In taking risks, and investing in people like that, we really have changed the world,” Knell said.

On Homo Naledi, the National Geographic Society president and CEO said it was “an incredible finding”.

Today, the society is unified around a central purpose: Pushing the boundaries of exploration to further understanding of the planet and generate solutions for all.

“How do we do this? We invest in people… We’re redefining how explorers are documented,” Knell said.

Through scientists, conservations, teachers, journalists, engineers, and other professions, the society seeks create a community and bring about change via their story telling.

The series the society is running on Mars through both television and print has gotten a “whole tribe of people excited”, and when dealing with our planet, the society is telling stories about “our living planet, critical species and spaces, and the human story”.

In Africa alone, since 1925, the society has awarded over 2 300 grants totalling $42 million for field work of the continent, a story which Knell said has not been told enough.

Some of these included the well-known Big Cats Initiative, the enlightening Okavango Delta project detailing the battle to save Africa’s largest wetland, and Pristine Seas, which focused on what is happening to the planet’s oceans.

“As you can see, these projects are all about investing in people. We have a tremendous asset in this yellow rectangle. We are working throughout Africa. We want to increase our work in Africa. We want to increase our grant making in Africa,” Knell said.

South Africa, surrounded by two oceans, was a place that touched all of these issues, more than any other country when we think about Homo Naledi, Knell said, literally 50 minutes’ drive from where he was speaking. 

“Touching on all these pieces, this investment architecture we have at the National Geographic Society is exactly what we trying to do, to create an ethic of conversation, and be able to spread this across the region,” he said.

Through unrivaled storytelling assets, from print to TV, and now social media, the society are able to spread this message, including to over 14.2 million Twitter followers, 42.5 million Facebook followers, 63.4 million Instagram followers, and millions more on Snapchat.

Knell quipped that the society would not stop until it had passed Kim Kardashian on social media, with these platforms serving as carriers of content and educational messages about “the challenge we face on the planet”.

Given the urgency of the times we live in, it can be hoped that the National Geographic Society succeed in its aims, and much more.

For more information, visit www.nationalgeographic.com. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.