Agent for Change

From her roots in KwaZulu Natal, her first underwater experience in Bali in her twenties, to becoming a champion free diver, global traveler, a voice of change, inclusion and diversity, a teacher of possibility, and a conservationist, Zandile will captivate you with stories about her life and work.

Zandile is making sure kids worldwide can discover the wonders of the sea with her new children's book launched last year, "Zandi's Songs", a story of the wonders of the ocean, conservation and transformation.

Each session consists of 20-minute presentations, followed by a joint Q&A session of 15 minutes.

ABOUT ZANDILE NDHLOVU

Zandile Ndhlovu is South Africa’s first black female freediving Instructor, and the founder of The Black Mermaid Foundation, an organisation seeking to create diverse representation in the ocean arena. Her work centres around enabling access to ocean spaces to local ocean-facing communities with hope to diversify ocean spaces recreationally, professionally and in sport, while creating a new generation of ocean guardians.

As a Diversity and Inclusion Consultant, she is able to make use of these skills in her advocacy while working to reshape narratives through storytelling. She has contributed to global topics that include ocean conservation, climate change, coastal justice and capacitating the youth to participate in the Blue Ocean Economy.

Zandile is a change agent, using her voice to create the needed expansion in society while reshaping narratives, through her work in the foundation, public speaking and film.