Proudly South African wildlife spotting app “Latest Sightings” is putting South Africa and our animals on the map, after being named one of the Top 5 Most innovative apps for culture and tourism in the world.
The award was accepted by South African app founder Nadav Ossendryver, at the recent World Summit Award (WSA) Innovation Congress, held in Singapore in June this year.
It brought together the world’s best developers, leaders of government, industry, academia, and civil society for thought leadership and broad discussions on how quality e-Content shapes today’s digital society.
Latest Sightings uses the concept of crowd-sourcing, combining social media such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and BBM groups across all smartphone platforms to inform visitors to the park (as well as enthusiasts worldwide) where interesting animals and birds are spotted.
The App was established in 2012 by Ossendryver. As an obsessive Kruger Park visitor, the app founder’s favourite pastime was asking his parents to flag down passing motorists and asking them what they had seen. Eventually they tired of this hobby and began to say no. Ossendryver looked to technology to solve his problem.
He established Latest Sightings and from there it quite literally exploded!
The mention of Latest Sightings in this global award comes at a time when wildlife sightings apps’ contribution to conservation is being questioned in South Africa.
In SA’s most prominent wildlife destination – the Kruger National Park – South African National Parks (SANParks) has curtailed the use of wildlife spotting apps like Latest Sightings, saying the technology has “become a major cause for concern” for the overall well-being of the wildlife.
But Ossendryver, responding to SANParks’ announcement, says his technology has wildlife conservation at its core.
He told Traveller24 his invention, when it was launched in 2011, “was developed with the ethos of enriching people’s wildlife experience”.
He also says his now-thriving business has “worked closely with SANParks and will continue to do so through firstly, protecting our precious wildlife and secondly, enriching people’s wildlife experiences.”
The community is extremely loyal and without question “obsessed” about wildlife and the amazing Kruger Park! Many followers chat with friends daily on the WhatsApp groups, whether they’re in the Park or in the office.
They share incredible video content through the Latest Sightings YouTube channel and it has quickly become one of the top ten most viewed channels in South Africa.
In June this year, Ossendryver was also named as one of Africa’s Most Promising Entrepreneurs on the Forbes list for Under 30s for 2016.
Latest Sightings is a great way to meet like minded people and to explore your passion for wildlife.
When Ossendryver is in the Kruger Park, a new holiday favourite is getting the community together on the deck after a day’s viewing, to meet, chat and share tales. A great way to end off.
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