This year’s annual ATLAS Africa Honours 2025 student webinar focuses on the topic “Going Green” in alignment with increasing concerns about environmental degradation and the need for a greater awareness of conversations about green conservation.

UPCT is the University of Pretoria Campus Tours, a postgraduate, work integrated learning, live project and experiential teaching model in which the honours students run a real-time tourism business. Throughout the year, the students who operate UPCT learn transferable soft and hard skills, as well as all the aspects of operating a business including: finance, marketing, events planning and management, administration, research and guiding skills.

This year’s UP webinar explores how UP Campus Tours has embraced the concept of the environment in its very broadest sense showing how tourism can contribute to an awareness of the importance of being environmentally conscious. In a world in which tourism is often being accused of leaving a carbon footprint and actually contributing to the destruction of the environment, UPCT intends to prove the opposite. The presentation will show how UPCT has taken the initiative to combine their campus tours with a distinct environmental component making tourists – be they school learners, prospective students, academic dignitaries or the general public – aware of the importance of sustaining and protecting our green environment. Moreover, the student presenters will illustrate how they take pride in celebrating the pristine and biodiverse green landscape where the University of Pretoria is located and reflect on a range of initiatives they have taken to promote sustainable practices fostering respect for the natural environment. The webinar will showcase UPCT as a campaigner for a greater environmental awareness among broader society. This initiative aligns closely with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — particularly Goal 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), Goal 13 (Climate Action), Goal 14 (Life Below Water), and Goal 15 (Life on Land). It serves as a powerful example of how tourism and environmental awareness can work hand in hand. In essence, the webinar contends that tourism can play a critical role to foster and bolster a greater understanding of environmental concerns. In this way, tourism becomes more than just a journey — it becomes a movement toward a more sustainable and responsible future. The innovation and environmental stewardship of the UPCT students underscores our shared responsibility to nurture our planet for generations to come.