FAQs
Why South Africa?
Why not?
No, really?
I usually say, they’re just the cards that were dealt to me.
I originally went to South Africa to study abroad at University of Cape Town (UCT) immediately after my freshman year of college, and had an incredible education.
UCT is one of the leading universities in all of Africa, and a great place to learn. My friends were the grandchildren of Nobel Prize winners and the children of Heads of State — all well-spoken and outspoken. Professors were tough. Grading was never curved. You had to earn every inch of a score you received. I was studying PPE (Politics, Philosophy, Economics) with leading figures in those fields, DJing and hosting a provocative talk radio show on UCT Radio, getting into all kinds of rowdy debates at all hours of the night over whether America was a superpower or superass (Bush Jr. was in office!), growing in leaps and bounds and loving every minute of it.
After Cape Town, things calmed down a bit as I was accepted to go study at Oxford University in England. This was, of course, also a fine education but just not the same. South Africa had stuck with me — and spoiled me. I wanted to return to those conversations I’d had in the middle of the night. I felt alive in South Africa. My spirit danced there. I knew I needed to get back.
While in SA, nearly all the friends I hung out with were South African or Zimbabwean, and I found their stories fascinating. So many of my friends then really became family. And even once I’d left the country, we kept in touch. This book is a tribute to those friends and to the courage and creativity I’ve seen in South Africa during my time spent in that country.
How’d the book come about?
Many different factors came into play, all at once, for this book. For one, I never planned to write it, or it was not a deliberate idea of any kind. It sort of just ‘jumped’ into my life. One day, many different influences came rushing in together — my amazing conversations with South African friends, my surprise that no one was documenting their stories, the breathtaking photography of my good friend Rushay Booysen, my love of the country, my own media background, etc.
Something literally just jumped in me, and said – let’s do it!
I just somehow became drawn into doing this. I easily saw the potential of a project like this to really impact many people’s lives in a very positive and powerful way. I wanted to have fun doing something like this while inspiring people. I approached my current partner, Rushay Booysen, to get involved with the project, and he instantly agreed.
That’s pretty much how the book came about. The project has grown significantly since then.
What kinds of leaders are you looking for?
Here’s our criteria:
- Aged 35 & Under
- Based in South Africa – preferably South African by birth, but that isn’t necessary
- They can be in any industry or field. It does not matter.
- What does matter: they must be creating structural change that improves people’s quality of life. We’re not looking for people who are engaged in projects that are interesting without structural or broad impact. We’re looking for people engaged in work that actually shifts the way people live their lives on a large scale. Some measurable impact must have already occurred by virtue of their work.
- Those who have not yet created the kind of impact we’re speaking about, but are well-positioned to doing so, are also of great interest and should reach out to me at info@danyasteele.com.
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