The much anticipated event, ZafigoX 2018 was officially announced recently by its founder, Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir.
Aimed at empowering women through informed travel, the event’s panel of inspiring globe-trotting speakers was also unveiled.
Spanning three days, from 9 -11 November, the second instalment of ZafigoX returns with more talks and workshops, and for the first time, encapsulated in a standalone event to be held at The Gardens Hotel, Mid Valley City, KL.
Check out the full list of inspirational people:
1. ANITA YUSOF
A mother of two grown up sons, with a a great passion for adventure riding and travelling, Anita now lives her hobby full time.
After only 3 years of learning how to ride a motorbike, she went on her epic journey – around the world, solo on a motorbike. The ride which she named as ‘Global Dream Ride’ managed to cover 65,369kms, 4 continents, 40 countries in 370 days.
Anita is originally from Ipoh, Perak. She is currently studying for a PhD in Sports Science and is a lecturer in the Physical Education Department at IPG Campus Ipoh.
ZafigoX 2018 Session:
ZagifoTalks
Living Life In The Fast Lane – One Woman, One Motorbike, and the World
2. ADRIENNE LEE
Adrienne believes that some of the world’s biggest problems can be combated through the development of livelihoods through social enterprise.
This is why she joined Planeterra – an organisation doing revolutionary work creating new opportunities through social enterprise in the tourism industry.
Adrienne worked closely with Planeterra’s global community of investors and supporters, advocating for organisation’s partners around the world.
She holds a Masters in Environmental Management, with a focus on developing accessible technologies to test for environmental contaminants in marginalised communities in Southeast Asia.
ZafigoX 2018 Session:
ZafigoTalks
Positively Impacting The World Through Travel
3. CLAIRE MCFARLAINE
Claire is a South African born Australian. In 1999, she was brutally raped and left for dead on a street in Paris. What followed was a long struggle to find justice which lasted 16 years.
Through sharing her own story, she became an advocate for rape survivors.
In 2016, she began running 16km of beach in every country to promote peace and inspire change for survivors of sexual violence.
ZafigoX 2018 Session:
ZafigoTalks
A Woman Traveller’s Worst Nightmare – What I Did To Overcome It
4. CATHERYN KHOO-LATTIMORE
Catheryn is an international expert on women and children in tourism.
She has recently co-published two books: ‘Women and Travel: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives’; and ‘Asian Genders in Tourism’.
Her work has been published in international journals, and those specifically on girlfriend getaways have been featured by travel sites, radio and newspapers.
Catheryn also speaks frequently at corporate training programs, international conferences, lectures, seminars and workshops all over the world.
She is the Second Vice-Chair of The Council for Australasian Tourism and Hospitality Education (CAUTHE); and the proud founder and chair of Women Academics in Tourism (WAiT).
She researches at the GriffithInstitute for Tourism (GIFT).Catheryn has lived and worked in Malaysia, New Zealand and America but is settling for now, in an Australian bayside suburb with her husband and their three young children, where she plans all their travel adventures.
ZafigoX 2018 Sessions:
ZafigoTalks
Travel Trends: What 2019 Will Look Like For Women
ZafigoTravel
Industry Selling Travel To Women: A Masterclass
5. HERMANDARI KARTOWISASTRO
Hermandari, or Ibu Ndari as she’s known to many, is a photographer, activist and world traveller. Through her travels, she picked up an interest in photography.
At 67 and despite her mature age, she pursued her passion and became a professional photographer. During her early years as a professional photographer, she travelled and covered many countries and regions such as Central Asia, Europe and America.
She also travelled locally to places such as Java and Papua’s shining island, Raja Empat.
On her 70th birthday, she launched her first photography book titled ‘Mengapa Tidak?’.
Hermandari also has an interior construction business but because she no longer has to show up at the office every day, she uses her free time to enjoy the fruits of her labours with travel.
Her two children and four grandchildren have also grown used to her being away so much. To date, Ndari has travelled to over 60 countries and is showing no signs of stopping.
ZafigoX 2018 Session:
ZafigoTalks
A Beginners Guide to Travelling Over the Age of 50: Everything You Need To Know
6. MARIN MINAMIYA
Marin is a Japanese University student who completed The Explorer’s Grand Slam (Seven summits + North & South Pole) in April 2017 as the youngest person in the world.
Marin has completed:
1: Mt.Aconcagua 2015 Highest Peak in South America
2: Mt.Kilimanjaro 2015 Highest Peak in Africa
3: Mt.Blanc 2015 Highest Peak in Europe
4: Mt. Kosciusko 2015 Highest Peak in Australia
5: Mt.Vinson 2015 Highest Peak in Antarctica
6: Ski to the South Pole 2016
7: Mt. Carstensz Pyramid 2016 Highest Peak in Australasia
8: Mt.Elbrus Highest peak in Eurasia
9: Mt.Everest Highest peak in Asia
10: Mt.Denali Highest peak in North America
11: Ski to the North Pole 2017
ZafigoX 2018 Sessions:
ZafigoTalks
Why And How I Did The Explorers Grand Slam. What’s Next?
ZafigoWorkshops
How To Climb The World’s Highest Peaks, and Trek To The North and South Pole
7. MEI MEI CHU
Mei first started travelling at 18 when she went to Colorado for a 4-month working holiday stint. That was when adventure become her drug. She needed to meet different people.
She craved new experiences and didn’t feel at home until she was away from home. So she saved up as much as she could and flew miles around the world for her fix.
She volunteered in Mauritius, backpacked the Middle East, cleaned animal cages in Indonesia, worked with Orang Asli in Terengganu, translocated wild elephants in Kelantan and quit her job to climb mountains in New Zealand.
She’ll be the first to admit that it’s not easy for a girl to travel solo,especially if you’re Asian and female.
Nonetheless, it has been the best learning curve and most defining experience. Mei wants to use her stories to empower others to overcome their fears of travelling.
Meimeichu.com is a concoction of her passions: backpacking, storytelling, and everything in between. For her, travelling is not about seeing a new place; it’s a journey of learning.
ZafigoX 2018 Session:
ZafigoTalks
Millennial Travelling – Not Doing It For The ‘Gram
8. Dr. SAKIA HAQUE
A medical graduate from Bangladesh, Saika is a co-Founder of Travelettes of Bangladesh. Not just an ordinary online travel group, rather it’s a platform of 16,000+ girls of Bangladesh that promotes empowerment of women by telling them, teaching them to raise their voices, going out of their home, speaking out, seeing the beauty of the country through their own eyes.
Sounds normal maybe, but being a Bangladeshi, where girls are taught to lower their gazes, be confined to their homes, that’s actually saying something.
Our main motto is: ‘Empower women through travelling’.
We believe, travelling broadens your outlook. If you can see the world for yourself, you are bound to take a step forward in your life. Gender discrimination? No way. We only want equalisation.
We want to step up to the position, where the men in our country are and then step more and more forward.
ZafigoX 2018 Session:
ZafigoTalks
Breaking Gender Stereotypes And Discrimination Through Travel
9. XYZA CRUZ BACANI
Twenty-seven year old Filipina Xyza had been working as a domestic worker in Hong Kong for nearly a decade.
A few years ago she discovered a passion for photography, and specifically Street Photography, which soon grew into an obsession.
With the help of her previous employer who gave her her first camera, she is now an aspiring Photojournalist and her work has been featured in The New York Times Lens Blog and many other publications.
Her name has been making the rounds in photo circuits not just for the excellence of her photography but for the inspiration of her story.
In her short career, Xyza has become incredibly adept at capturing streets scenes so striking that they speak volumes to the viewer.
ZafigoX 2018 Session:
ZafigoTalks
Luck Or Courage? From Domestic Worker To International Photographer
10. MANDY TAY
A visual storyteller (you might have seen her Iran video) is more into meeting locals than striking off lists of sights when she’s on the road.
Finally back in Singapore after her time in Hong Kong and Dubai, she is on a quest to expand the hearts of everyone she meets (by at least two sizes), one video at a time.
ZafigoX 2018 Session:
ZafigoWorkshops
Capturing Unforgettable Moments While You Travel
11. KHAIRUN NISA MOHAMED ZABIDI
Khairun Nisa consults high profile clients on future-proofing their businesses with PwC Malaysia’s Sustainability & Climate Change practice.
Her interests and expertise centre around corporate sustainability, green public policy and building capacity for the mitigation and adaptation of climate change.
In her past life, Khairun co-founded the Malaysian Youth Climate Justice Network (now the MYD) and zero-waste social enterprise the Recovr Initiative.
She is a Chevening scholar with an MSc in Environment and Development from the LSE.
ZafigoX 2018 Session:
ZafigoWorkshops
Travelling Independently With Children – How To Do It And Why
This is also your chance to meet the one and only Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir and get to speak with her about pressing issues.
You can purchase your 3-day passes* on zafigox.com today.
*Note: Certain workshops may require additional participation fees not included in the base ticket prices.
